 | Wednesday, August 24, 2005 |
|
Wednesday, August 24 3:30 p.m. Director's Coffee Break - 2nd Flr X-Over 4:00 p.m. Fermilab Colloquium - 1 West Speaker: Z.-T. Lu, Argonne National Laboratory/Enrico Fermi Institute Title: Atom Trap, Krypton-81, and Saharan Water Note: There will be no Fermilab ILC R&D Meeting this week
Thursday, August 25 |
 Mostly Sunny 76º/59º
Extended Forecast |
Secon Level 3 |
|
Wednesday, August 24 French Onion Soup Texas Style Meatloaf Sandwich $4.85 Grilled Chicken with Black Bean & Corn Salsa $3.75 Kielbasa & Sauerkraut $3.75 Smoked Turkey Panini $4.75 Sausage & Pepperoni Combo Pizza $3.50 Fettuccine Carbonara w/Ham & Mushrooms $4.85 The Wilson Hall Cafe now accepts Visa, Master Card, Discover and American Express at Cash Register #1. |
|
Wednesday, August 24 Lunch Curried Chicken & Pineapple Salad Raspberry Sherbet w/Raspberry Sauce
Thursday, August 25
Chez Leon Menu |
| Fermilab Today is online at: http://www.fnal.gov/today/ Send comments and suggestions to today@fnal.gov Fermilab Today archive Fermilab Today PDF Version Fermilab Result of the Week archive Fermilab Safety Tip of the Week archive Linear Collider News archive Fermilab Today classifieds Subscribe/Unsubscribe to |
| Colloquium to Discuss Dating of Water Samples |
||
|
||
|
A vast amount of fresh water has existed beneath the Sahara Desert for approximately a million years. In today's Fermilab Colloquium, Zheng-Tian Lu of Argonne National Laboratory and the Enrico Fermi Institute will explain how that water can be dated by using single atoms, trapped by laser light, of rare Krypton isotopes. The Krypton was made in cosmic ray interactions in the atmosphere
long ago. The method is called ATTA for Atomic Trap Trace Analysis, and should have many applications,
including dating ancient polar ice and learning about climate history.
Fermilab Colloquium presentations begin at 4:00 p.m. in Wilson Hall, 1 West. All are welcome.
|
| Thoughts on a Butterfly Walk through the Prairie |
||
|
||
|
Fermilab public affairs intern Elizabeth Wade reflects on her recent Butterfly Walk through Fermilab's Prairie
While most people are scared of spiders or snakes, the creepy-crawlies that terrify me the most are butterflies. Ridiculous, I know, but I still scream and jump away when they fly at my face. In light of this fact, I'm not quite sure why I decided to go on Tom Peterson's most recent Butterfly Walk. Like normal people, Peterson likes butterflies; unlike most people, he is also an encyclopedic source of knowledge about them, and shares his passion with others from the Fermilab community on his Butterfly Walks through the prairie. The last Butterfly Walk was held on such a nice day that I wanted any excuse to spend my lunch hour outside. Peterson, who works in the Technical Division's Development and Test Department when he is not studying butterflies, pointed out at least a dozen species in our one-hour walk—making many of his identifications by expertly spotting subtle markings on the butterflies as they flew past us—and made sure to include interesting facts about each one. When we saw monarchs, Peterson told us about the species' regular migration to Mexico. A camera-shy butterfly flew away when we tried to take its picture, but Peterson advised us to wait, because many butterflies return to specific perches. Sure enough, it came back and was ready to pose.
Not only was Peterson's walk a fascinating trip into the world of butterflies, it also raised some important issues about nature at Fermilab. Walking slowly through the prairie and taking time to examine the life around us gave participants a sense of how vibrant the ecosystem is. The lab works hard to restore and maintain its beautiful environment, and the Butterfly Walk is a great way to fully appreciate importance of the effort—even if butterflies aren't exactly your cup of tea.
|
|
From The New York Times, August 23, 2005 Scientists Speak Up on Mix of God and Science By Cornelia Dean At a recent scientific conference at City College of New York, a student in the audience rose to ask the panelists an unexpected question: "Can you be a good scientist and believe in God?" Reaction from one of the panelists, all Nobel laureates, was quick and sharp. "No!" declared Herbert A. Hauptman, who shared the chemistry prize in 1985 for his work on the structure of crystals. Belief in the supernatural, especially belief in God, is not only incompatible with good science, Dr. Hauptman declared, "this kind of belief is damaging to the well-being of the human race."
|
| Future Teachers Complete Fermilab Prairie Research |
||
|
||
|
Two recent graduates of the University of Illinois at Chicago spent this summer conducting research projects at Fermilab. Dedicated to a career in teaching, Kristen Maier and Dorothy Wyrzykowski recently wrapped up their summer internships in the Pre-Service Teacher internship program with research presentations on ecology. A DOE-funded program, PST helps future teachers increase their scientific knowledge by working at a national laboratory.
"There aren't that many opportunities for teachers to get their hands dirty and actually do science, especially at the elementary and middle school levels," said Spencer Pasero, who manages the program for the Education Office. With master teacher Anna Zuccarini at their side, Maier and Wyrzykowski rose with the sun, trudged through wetlands and grasses two meters tall, and even endured poison ivy to complete their research projects. Working with physicist Tom Peterson and Fermilab ecologist Rod Walton, Wyrzykowski conducted research on the vegetation in the habitat of the Meadow Fritillary butterfly, evaluating the quality of native plants found onsite for butterfly survival. "This internship not only helped me better understand the research process, but by understanding the natural regions in which butterflies live, conservationists will be able to better manage the habitats in which these butterflies are found," Wyrzykowski said. In collaboration with Walton and physicist and bird expert Peter Kasper, Maier studied the preferred habitats for Henslow's Sparrows and Grasshopper Sparrows. "My study left us with more questions than answers," said Maier. "But that's the scientific process." The interns also completed education modules, which outline a method by which teachers can teach students about butterflies and birds.
"So many teachers try to teach science without having actually taken and analyzed data themselves," said Pasero. "This program offers the perspective that there's more to teaching than you can find in a textbook."
|
|
Mixed Bowling League The Fermilab Tuesday Night Mixed Bowling League will begin on September 6th, 2005. It is a 30 week ABC/WIBC sanctioned league and meets at AMC Bowling Center (formerly Valley Bowl) in North Aurora. We are looking for complete 4-person teams or any number of individual bowlers. Start time is 6 p.m. For information contact Dan Johnson (x2074), Rene Padilla (x3160) or Jackie Coleman (x3027).
PC Manager Meeting
Power Outage
Upcoming Classes
Vending Machines Out of Service
|
