Volunteer teaches English language survival

Kim Habig teaches survival English to Lena Singatulina, the spouse of Russian scientist Shavkat Singatulin.

Kim Habig knows a thing or two about language. She spent 19 years teaching language, including two years in Japan teaching English and a few years teaching Japanese to native English speakers in Minnesota. So when her husband, Alec, a MINOS collaborator, took a one-year position as run-coordinator at Fermilab, she decided to put her skills to use.

She began Jan. 30 teaching English as a Second Language class weekly at the Fermilab Users' center.

Other laboratory employees' spouses who were attending intermediate ESL classes suggested that she start a beginner class onsite.

Although so far Habig has only had a handful of attendees to her class, she hopes that others will take advantage of the free service soon.

On Wednesday, Habig instructed Lena Singatulina, wife of Fermilab scientist Shavkat Singatulin in how to recognize and answer basic social questions, such as "When did you come to this country?" and "How many children do you have?" Singatulina and her husband came to this country about a year ago.

Unlike traditional language classes, Habig's focuses less on grammar and more on need-based language such as how to describe an illness to a nurse.

"My class targets the beginner. The people who need help in everyday situations, such as grocery shopping. It's survival English," Habig said.

The class runs each Wednesday from 10-11:30 a.m. through May 14. Newcomers can come anytime. Anyone interested can contact Kim Habig via e-mail or at x4240.

-- Rhianna Wisniewski

HC Physics summer school for Generation LHC

CERN-Fermilab Hadron Collider Physics Summer School registration is open until Feb. 29.

When students emerge from the CERN-Fermilab Hadron Collider Physics Summer School later this year, organizers hope they'll be better positioned to make discoveries.

"We're preparing them to better analyze and interpret data at the Tevatron and the LHC," said school co-director and Fermilab physicist Harry Cheung. "So far, they probably have had limited exposure, so this is a chance for them to see what else is out there that may interest them."

The third session of the summer school, held at Fermilab Aug. 12-22, will focus on exposing young post-docs and advanced graduate students to broader theories and real data beyond what they've learned at their home institutions.

Experts from across the globe will lecture on the theoretical and experimental foundations of hadron collider physics, host parallel discussion sessions and answer students' questions. This year's school will also have a greater focus on physics beyond the Standard Model, as well as more time for questions at the end of each lecture.

"We really want to emphasize student participation," said school co-director and Fermilab theorist Marcela Carena.

Students attending the nine-day school will learn about the latest theoretical ideas as well as experimental techniques from the Tevatron experiments, something that Carena believes is crucial to prepare the next generation of researchers.

"I hope that the students get a great foundation," Carena said. "The school is very special because of the current situation. It is an amazing time with the startup of the LHC, and with great data from the current Tevatron run, which can lead to discoveries, or exciting expectations for the LHC."

Applications from both theorists and experimentalists interested in Hadron Collider physics will be accepted until Feb. 29. Visit the HCP Summer School Web site to apply or for more information.

-- Rhianna Wisniewski

Budget cuts undermine U.S. role in atom-smasher project

From Wired.com,
Feb. 13, 2008

Physicists have developed a plan to keep a $6.6 billion international particle accelerator project moving forward, despite deep budget cuts that have all but stopped participation by American and British scientists this year.

However, those funding cuts have made it less likely that the groundbreaking project will wind up on U.S. soil, participants say. American researchers, fearful of losing their traditional leadership in the field, had hoped to bring the proposed facility to the United States.

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