Have a safe day!
Wednesday, Aug. 22
3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over
THERE WILL BE NO FERMILAB COLLOQUIUM THIS WEEK
Thursday, Aug. 23
2 p.m.
LHC Physics Center Topic of the Week Seminar - WH11NW
Speaker: Roger Wolf, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Title: Search for a neutral Higgs Boson in the SM and MSSM
2:30 p.m.
Theoretical Physics Seminar - Curia II
Speaker: David Tran, University of Minnesota
Title: Unstable Dark Matter: Indirect Detection and Constraints
3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK -
2nd Flr X-Over
4 p.m.
Accelerator Physics and Technology Seminar - One West
Speaker: Michael Pellin, Argonne
Title: Plasmonic Photocathodes for Efficient Light Conversion
Click here for NALCAL,
a weekly calendar with links to additional information.
Upcoming conferences
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Wednesday, Aug. 22
- Breakfast: crustless quiche casserole
- Hearty beef barley
- Chicken gyros
- Seafood Newburg
- Smart cuisine: baked penne w/ chicken and mushrooms
- Grilled veggie panini
- Barbecue chicken calzone
- Pork carnitas
Wilson Hall Cafe Menu |
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Wednesday, Aug. 22
Lunch
- Chile rellenos
- Spanish rice
- Confetti salad
- Pineapple flan
Friday, Aug. 24
Dinner
- Mandarin orange and red-onion salad
- Grilled mahi mahi w/ tomatillo-avocado salsa
- Thai rice pilaf
- Coconut cake
Chez Leon Menu
Call x3524 to make your reservation.
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NNN12 workshop pushes bounds of particle detector technology
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Researchers meet at the annual NNN12 workshop to discuss future detectors for research on neutrino physics and nucleon decays.
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In six weeks, Fermilab will be abuzz with detector scientists working to advance technologies for future particle detectors.
From Oct. 4-6, Fermilab will host the 13th annual international workshop on Next Generation Nucleon Decay and Neutrinos, or NNN12. In addition to furthering experiment development and detector R&D for neutrinos and nucleon decay, attendees will discuss the theoretical physics issues related to workshop topics.
As particle physicists go looking for rarer and harder-to-observe particle phenomena, the need to develop larger and more capable detectors becomes more pressing. Meeting that need requires furthering technology for smaller detectors and advancing designs for larger detectors weighing tens of kilotons.
"The NNN workshop series attempts to present a blend of experimental and detector talks and discussions motivated by timely physics questions and how they can best be addressed," said Local Organizing Committee Co-chair Gina Rameika.
One day before the workshop begins, on Oct. 3, the LBNE Science Collaboration will also host the International LBNE Symposium, giving attendees a chance to learn about LBNE progress and to discuss international participation in the future experiment, which aims to precisely measure important neutrino properties.
Visit the NNN12 website for more information or to register.
—Leah Hesla
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University of Texas at Arlington
NAME:
University of Texas at Arlington
HOME TOWN:
Arlington, Texas
MASCOT:
Blaze the Mustang
SCHOOL COLORS:
Orange and blue
COLLABORATING AT FERMILAB SINCE:
Since 1991
WORLDWIDE PARTICLE PHYSICS COLLABORATIONS:
ATLAS (CERN), CALICE (ILC), DZero, RD51 (CERN), SiD (ILC)
NUMBER OF SCIENTISTS AND STUDENTS INVOLVED:
11 faculty, three senior researchers, three postdocs and five graduate students
PARTICLE PHYSICS RESEARCH FOCUS:
The UTA high-energy physics group has been at the forefront of Higgs and supersymmetric particle searches and QCD measurements. We have built calorimeters for DZero and ATLAS. Our leadership in grid computing includes establishing a successful exchange program with Fermilab and hosting the ATLAS Southwest Tier 2 computing center. PanDA, the ATLAS distributed computing application software we developed, is being adopted by many experiments within and outside the field. Finally, we have leadership roles in new detector development initiatives: digital hadron calorimetry using gas electron multipliers for future lepton colliders and a picosecond timing detector for the ATLAS forward proton detector upgrade.
WHAT SETS PARTICLE PHYSICS AT UTA APART?
We are the world leader in proton detectors and gap calorimeters, in distributed computing software and facilities and in calorimeter technology for future lepton colliders. We have active ongoing Higgs and SUSY analyses. We enjoy strong support for HEP research at our university.
FUNDING AGENCIES:
DOE, NSF
View all university profiles.
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Big bang theory challenged by big chill
From The Melbourne Newsroom, Aug. 20, 2012
The start of the Universe should be modeled not as a Big Bang but more like water freezing into ice, according to a team of theoretical physicists at the University of Melbourne and RMIT University.
They have suggested that by investigating the cracks and crevices common to all crystals - including ice - our understanding of the nature of the Universe could be revolutionised.
Read more |
Laser research shows promise for cancer treatment
From Los Alamos National Laboratory News Center, Aug. 20, 2012
LOS ALAMOS, New Mexico, August 20, 2012—Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory have observed for the first time how a laser penetrates dense, electron-rich plasma to generate ions. The process has applications for developing next generation particle accelerators and new cancer treatments.
The results, published online August 19 in Nature Physics, also confirm predictions made more than 60 years ago about the fundamental physics of laser-plasma interaction. Plasmas dense with electrons normally reflect laser light like a mirror. But a strong laser can drive those electrons to near the speed of light, making the plasma transparent and accelerating the plasma ions.
Read more |
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Look before you leap
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Teri Dykhuis
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Teri Dykhuis, ES&H NEPA Program Manager, wrote this column.
When asked what I do vocationally, I often say that I'm an environmental professional who helps the lab to "look before we leap." This axiom is a simple way to describe what the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires federal agencies to take into account the potential impacts of their proposed actions to the quality of the environment, is all about.
Recently, the LBNE project team initiated preliminary planning for a NEPA evaluation of potential impacts to the proposed near and far sites. The evaluation will take considerable time, and extensive planning is vital because it requires a multidisciplinary team of experts in the social, economic, engineering and environmental sciences. It also involves interactions with federal and state agencies, tribal nations and the public.
For a mere six-page statute, NEPA dictates a substantial evaluation process, which includes impacts to human health and the built environment, in addition to the more obvious impacts to the natural environment. For Fermilab, these include impacts to:
Human health:
- risk of damage from natural disasters
- risk of exposure to hazardous materials, wastes and activities
- risk of contracting diseases
The built environment:
- traffic and transportation
- noise
- historic and cultural resources
- land use conflicts
- agricultural resources
- population and housing impacts
- recreation
- utilities and public services
The natural environment:
- water resources, including water quality, hydrology and water supply
- air quality
- biological resources, including fish, wildlife and plant species, and ecologically critical resources, such as endangered and threatened species
- soils, geology and mineral resources
- visual, scenic or aesthetic resources
I recently had the opportunity at the National Association of Environmental Professionals Annual Conference to attend a presentation by Yardena Mansoor from the DOE Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance regarding the 2011 revised DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures. More than 300 attended the conference, which explored the complex interconnected issues faced by environmental professionals today. The keynote speaker inspired the group when he stated that "environmental professionals are part of what makes America great. We are the nexus of science, politics and policy." My attendance immediately paid off as it aided me, upon my return to the lab, in obtaining the necessary NEPA approval from DOE for the Mu2e Project.
So whether at work or at home, remember to "take five" and "look before you leap."
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A case of mistaken identity
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The flowers on the ring pond by DZero, often mistaken for water lilies, are actually American lotuses. Photo: Alex Waller, AD
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Editor's note: Yesterday we ran a photo of flowers floating on the ring pond by DZero, incorrectly identifying them as water lilies. Judy Jackson, former head of communication at Fermilab, set us straight:
Aug. 20, 2012
Dear Fermilab Today,
Actually those "water lilies" in today's issue of Fermilab Today are not water lilies but American lotus, Nelumbo lutea. I think fondly of them, because they made a great centerpiece for the lunch table when the Deputy Secretary of Energy came calling a couple of years ago. Fermilab Today is looking good these days!
Best,
Judy Jackson
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ES&H weekly report, Aug. 21
This week's safety report, compiled by the Fermilab ES&H section, contains two incidents.
Two employees were stung by wasps. They received first-aid treatment.
Find the full report here. |
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Sunny
