East gate change Q&A

The concrete wall, pictured here, is part of gate construction, scheduled to finish in November.

Editor's note: As reported in the Sept. 24 issue of Fermilab Today, the east gate will begin closing from 1 to 5 a.m. in November, once construction has finished. Fermilab Today has received many of questions about the change to the laboratory's east gate. Here are answers to some of our readers' most pressing questions from Bill Flaherty, head of security, and Bruce Chrisman, Fermilab's chief operating officer.

Q. Why not install automatic gates? In fact, why not use automatic gates all the time?

A. Automatic gates are not reliable, as we learned from experience when we used them in the mid-90s. They often failed to open, and people crashed through. We replaced several gates each month. An attendant would need to be on hand to address these issues. Also, automatic gates didn't allow us to admit neighbors and visitors without passes. Guards at the gate not only check IDs, but answer questions, give directions and provide information.

Q. Can we arrange for people who need access (operations, technicians, Roads and Grounds crews) to be admitted during the 1-5 a.m. period?

A. We're looking into that. If we can provide access for those folks, we will.

Q. How many people typically use the East Gate during that time frame?

A. An average of six people use the gate between 1 and 5 a.m. However, we know that averages don't tell the whole story.

Q. What about emergency vehicles?

A. Local municipalities' emergency vehicles have the special equipment necessary to open the gate. It is the same technology that they use to control traffic signals.

Restored prairie attracts
local species, students

Felicia Calderon, a senior at Waubonsie Valley High School, takes a photo of a section of woods adjacent to the prairie. Teacher Matt Logan, standing behind her, organized the trip.

A group of 24 students from Waubonsie Valley High School visited one of Fermilab's restored prairies last Thursday to imagine what the Great Plains might have looked like undisturbed.

The visit was an introduction to Illinois history for instructor Matt Logan's U.S. geography class. He wanted to give the class a firsthand look at the state's prairie ecosystem.

"I was just looking for ideas of how to show what Illinois looked like prior to urban development," Logan said. "I figured Fermilab would have something and it did."

The class took an hour-long self-guided tour, following placards posted in the prairie with information about prairie life cycles, plants and the role of fire. Stuart Young, a senior in the class, said being able to visit a restored prairie was helpful.

Felicia Calderon and Martha Amaya, both of Waubonside Valley High School, take notes.

"I wouldn't want to live out here personally, but it's nice to be out here and see what it was like before we paved everything over," Young said.

When only 10 acres of original prairie remained in the 1970s, Fermilab began restoration with the help of volunteers and prairie experts. By restoring natural seed banks and planning controlled burns, Fermilab has given native species a fighting chance against the fast-growing invasive species that would otherwise dominate, said Mike Becker, Fermilab Site Services assistant manager.

Becker said it takes them between 10 to 12 years to convert a fallow field into a young prairie with 50 to 100 native plant species. Today Fermilab has 1,100 acres of restored prairie, which are home a diverse animal population, native plants and the occasional classroom visit.

Site Services will hold a volunteer seed harvest on Oct. 3 and Oct. 31 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Volunteers should bring a hand clipper, paper bags, gloves and field clothing. Lunch will be provided.

--Chris Knight

LHC gets warning
system upgrade

From BBC News, Sept. 28, 2009

Engineers hope an early warning system being installed at the Large Hadron Collider could prevent incidents of the kind which shut the machine last year.

The helium leak last September, which resulted from a "faulty splice" between magnets, has delayed the start of science operations by more than a year.

Officials aim to re-start the collider, known as the LHC, in mid-November.

The vast physics lab is built inside a 27km-long circular tunnel straddling the French-Swiss border near Geneva.

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