Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014
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Have a safe day!

Tuesday, Sept. 30

3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over

4 p.m.
Accelerator Physics and Technology Seminar - One West
Speaker: Timofey Zolkin, University of Chicago
Title: Horizontal Head-Tail Modes for Fermilab Booster

Wednesday, Oct. 1

10:30 a.m.
Research Techniques Seminar - Curia II
Speaker: Kevin Hickerson, University of California, Los Angeles
Title: Precision Electroweak Tests for New Physics Using Ultracold Neutrons

3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over

THERE WILL BE NO FERMILAB COLLOQUIUM THIS WEEK

Visit the labwide calendar to view Fermilab events

Weather
Weather Mostly cloudy
61°/48°

Extended forecast
Weather at Fermilab

Current Flag Status

Flags at full staff

Wilson Hall Cafe

Tuesday, Sept. 30

- Breakfast: All-American breakfast
- Breakfast: bacon, egg and cheese bagel
- Grown-up grilled cheese
- Herbed pot roast
- Chicken vesuvio
- Gourmet chicken salad croissant
- Classic cobb salad
- Chef's choice soup
- Green pork chili
- Assorted pizza by the slice

Wilson Hall Cafe menu

Chez Leon

Wednesday, Oct. 1
Dinner
- Grilled tilapia
- Smoked paprika and parmesan polenta
- Sauteed green beans
- Walnut tart

Friday, Oct. 3
Dinner
Closed

Chez Leon menu
Call x3524 to make your reservation.

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Feature

High school students advance particle physics and their own science education at Fermilab

Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy students Nerione Agrawal (left) and Paul Nebres (right) work on the Muon g-2 experiment through the Student Inquiry and Research program. Muon g-2 scientist Brendan Kiburg (center) co-mentors the students. Photo: Fermilab

As an eighth grader, Paul Nebres took part in a 2012 field trip to Fermilab. He learned about the laboratory's exciting scientific experiments, said hello to a few bison and went home inspired.

Now a junior at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) in Aurora, Nebres is back at Fermilab, this time actively contributing to its scientific program. He's been working on the Muon g-2 project since the summer, writing software that will help shape the magnetic field that guides muons around a 150-foot-circumference muon storage ring.

Nebres is one of 13 IMSA students at Fermilab. The high school students are part of the academy's Student Inquiry and Research program, or SIR. Every Wednesday over the course of a school year, the students use these weekly Inquiry Days to work at the laboratory, putting their skills to work and learning new ones that advance their understanding in the STEM fields.

The program is a win for both the laboratory and the students, who work on DZero, MicroBooNE, MINERvA and electrical engineering projects, in addition to Muon g-2.

"You can throw challenging problems at these students, problems you really want solved, and then they contribute to an important part of the experiment," said Muon g-2 scientist Brendan Kiburg, who co-mentors a group of four SIR students with scientists Brendan Casey and Tammy Walton. "Students can build on various aspects of the projects over time toward a science result and accumulate quite a nice portfolio."

This year roughly 250 IMSA students are in the broader SIR program, conducting independent research projects at Argonne National Laboratory, the University of Chicago and other Chicago-area institutions.

IMSA junior Nerione Agrawal, who started in the SIR program this month, uses her background in computing and engineering to simulate the potential materials that will be used to build Muon g-2 detectors.

"I'd been to Fermilab a couple of times before attending IMSA, and when I found out that you could do an SIR at Fermilab, I decided I wanted to do it," she said. "I've really enjoyed it so far. I've learned so much in three weeks alone."

The opportunities for students at the laboratory extend beyond their particular projects.

"We had the summer undergraduate lecture series, so apart from doing background for the experiment, I learned what else is going on around Fermilab, too," Nebres said. "I didn't expect the amount of collaboration that goes on around here to be at the level that it is."

In April, every SIR student will create a poster on his or her project and give a short talk at the annual IMSAloquium.

Kiburg encourages other researchers at the lab to advance their projects while nurturing young talent through SIR.

"This is an opportunity to let a creative person take the reins of a project, steward it to completion or to a point that you could pick up where they leave off and finish it," he said. "There's a real deliverable outcome. It's inspiring."

Leah Hesla

Video of the Day

Unsung hero cold cases - the Slipher file

One hundred years ago, an American astronomer by the name of Vesto Slipher became the first to measure streams of galaxies in our local neighborhood. Slipher used the 24-inch telescope at Lowell Observatory to measure galaxy velocities. Most of the galaxies he measured are receding from the Milky Way rather than moving toward it — the first indication of cosmic expansion. Read more in Dark Energy Detectives. Video: Dark Energy Survey
Photo of the Day

American lady

On the first day of fall, an American lady butterfly sits atop a Mexican torch sunflower in the Fermilab Garden Club plot. Photo: Julianna Holden Mohler
In the News

Mr. Freeze gives a chilling performance for Chicago area kids

From Chicago Parent, Sept. 23, 2014

"Why is Mr. Freeze so healthy? Because he never catches a cold!"

Corny cryo jokes are part of Jerry Zimmerman's (a.k.a. Mr. Freeze) trademark humor. They are sprinkled throughout his popular cryogenic demonstration (a branch of physics that deals with the production and effects of very low temperatures) along with lots of ice and fog, pops and explosions. Zimmerman's signature "cryo-mallows" — marshmallows dipped in liquid nitrogen, frozen to a crunch — delight kids and adults alike.

As a kid, Zimmerman dreamed of becoming an inventor someday.

"I was always the great inventor, a Thomas Edison or Nikola Tesla, and my invention would revolutionize the world," says Zimmerman.

Read more

Director's Corner

ROC West opens

Fermilab Director
Nigel Lockyer

The new west remote operations center, or ROC West, is open for business in Wilson Hall. Construction, which began in March, is on schedule and nearly complete. A few details remain, including restoring the stairway to the ground floor over the next few weeks.

Supporting the P5 plan, ROC West will serve as a centralized hub for scientists who work on Fermilab's neutrino and muon experiments (LBNF, MicroBooNE, MINERvA, MiniBooNE, MINOS, Mu2e, Muon g-2 and NOvA), similar to ROC East for the CMS experiment. ROC West's open-concept design and layout allow for future experiments to be accommodated as well. Reinforcing the "One Lab" concept, experimenters who are working on different projects will be in close proximity to each other as they commission and operate their experiments, which encourages sharing of information and provides a logistical focal point for operations. ROC West also brings scientists to the Wilson Hall atrium, creating a more vital atmosphere here at the lab.

Having a centralized location also simplifies communication between the Main Control Room and the experiments and provides a single point of contact for experimenters at Fermilab and university researchers at their home institutions. This is especially important for experimenters involved in remote monitoring and operations.

Located adjacent to the atrium in Wilson Hall, ROC West will facilitate education and public outreach regarding particle physics research. Visitors and tour groups will be able to observe experimenters at work and see educational content displayed on the many screens located throughout the center. The brightly lit control room, as well as the newly installed lighting in the atrium, will be especially appreciated during the coming winter months.

If you haven't had a chance to see the attractive new space, stop by the next time you're in Wilson Hall. Also, ROC West will be open to employees during the Oct. 8 labwide celebration from 4 to 6 p.m., and staff will be available to answer questions.

Thank you to the entire team who has helped to make ROC West a reality. While quite a few experiments have been establishing remote operations centers at their home institutions, it is our goal to continue to make it desirable for scientists to be on site at Fermilab. ROC West will certainly help us to accomplish that goal.

The new ROC West will provide a hub for scientists who work on Fermilab's neutrino and muon experiments. Photo: Reidar Hahn
In Brief

ESH&Q hosts no-waste picnic

The ESH&Q Section held their summer picnic last week. Photo: Eric Korzeniowski, ESH&Q
After using reusable cups that were brought in for the occasion, picnickers placed the ware in bins to be washed and used again. Photo: Eric Korzeniowski, ESH&Q
ESH&Q's Environmental Protection Group organized the picnic. Photo: Anna Campbell, ESH&Q

Last week Fermilab's ESH&Q Section held their summer picnic at Kuhn Barn. True to the E in their name, the section members aimed for environmental sustainability. Members brought in reusable ware, and anything that couldn't be reused was recycled or composted. None of what was left over went to a landfill.

Announcements

Lunch and Learn on LivingWell Cancer Resource Center - today

Access 2010: Intermediate - Oct. 1

Employee discount for Chicago Fire vs. Montreal Impact - Oct. 5

English country dancing Sunday afternoon at Kuhn Barn - Oct. 5

Labwide celebration - Oct. 8

Nominations for Director's Award close Oct. 10

Interpersonal Communications Skills - Oct. 21

Excel 2010: Intermediate - Oct. 29

Writing for Results: Email and More (morning only) - Oct. 30

Managing Conflict course (morning only) - Nov. 5

Access 2010: Advanced - Nov. 12

Excel 2010: Advanced - Dec. 3

Featured eBook on HEP data analysis

Needed: BeV Accelerators: Studies on Experimental Use, vols. 1 & 2

NALWO Playgroup meets Wednesdays at Users Center

Yoga Registration

International folk dancing Thursday evenings at Kuhn Barn

Scottish country dancing Tuesday evenings at Kuhn Barn

Indoor soccer