Amanda Petersen to oversee Users' and Visa Offices

Amanda Petersen will oversee both the Users' Office and Visa Office.

Amanda Petersen knows the obstacles and sticking points that immigrants have to navigate when they come to the United States. Not only has she practiced U.S. immigration law for the past eight years, but she also is an immigrant herself. In her new job as International Services Supervisor, she will give support to Fermilab's visiting scientists and foreign employees as she oversees the Users' Office and Visa Office. She also will help Fermilab employees relocating on temporary expatriate assignments.

Petersen was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and moved to Canada at the age of three. After receiving her law degree from the University of British Columbia, she moved to the United States in 1994. "I moved to the U.S. thinking I would get a job, explore America, see more of the country and stay for two years," she said. "Then I met my husband." Petersen has lived in the United States ever since.

Petersen has a background in corporate law and did not intend to become an immigration lawyer. But then she joined the international law firm, Baker & McKenzie, in Dallas, TX. The immigration counsel happened to leave when she arrived, so her supervisor handed her a book on immigration her first day on the job. She continued practicing immigration law when she opened her own practice in 1999.

Petersen said that immigration law is one of the few areas of law where one can make a positive difference and get to know a diverse group of people. "Everyone comes from different cultures and experiences," she said. "And everyone has an interesting story to share."

Petersen is the author of two books on nonimmigrant, employment-based visas. She also is the mother of three children and the caretaker of a dog, cat, lizard, turtle and fish. Her move to Fermilab allows her to continue to interact with people from diverse backgrounds while being closer to her family. "This is an exciting place to work because, in some small way, I'm contributing to the scientific developments and advancements being made here," she said.

-- Haley Bridger

Axions not cause of unexpected observation

From Physorg.com, Nov. 20, 2007

Scientists from France have shown that hypothetical axion-like particles cannot explain some unexpected observations in an Italian experiment carried out last year. Ruling out axions will likely subdue some of the renewed interest in axion searches, currently underway at several major institutions.

Researchers Cécile Robilliard et al., with group members from the Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, and École Polytechnique, have published their results in a recent issue of Physical Review Letters. The results invalidate the axion interpretation of the PVLAS optical measurements with a confidence level greater than 99.9 percent.

Read more

Nov. 21, 1905: It was a very good year, if you were Einstein

From Wired, Nov. 21, 2007

1905: The Annalen der Physik (Annals of Physics) publishes Albert Einstein's paper, "Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?" It is the last in a series known collectively as Einstein's "annus mirabilis," or "extraordinary year," papers. Taken as a whole, they represent his basic theory of relativity and help form the basis of modern physics.

Einstein's final 1905 paper (.pdf) solidifies his theory of special relativity (E = mc²), demonstrating that radiation converts mass to energy.

Read more