Seminars

MSD Colloquium: "Interplay Between Spin and Charge Carriers in Superconducting Spin Valves: Alternative Ways to Reach Infinite Magnetoresistance" by Guo-Xing Miao, Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 11 a.m., Building 212, Room A157.

Tuesday, Sept. 16

HEP Seminar: "AdS/QCD for Nucleons" by Ho-Ung Yee, International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy. 1:30 p.m., Building 362, Room E188.

Medical Department to offer flu vaccines

The Medical Department will offer flu vaccines to Argonne, U.S. Department of Energy and University of Chicago employees on the following dates:

• Tuesday, Oct. 7:
Ages 65 and over: 8:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Ages 55-64: 1 - 3 p.m.

• Wednesday, Oct. 8:
Ages 45-54: 8:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Ages 44 and under: 1 - 3 p.m.

• Tuesday, Oct. 14:
Make-up for all ages: 1 - 3 p.m.

Flu Vaccines will be given during the posted dates and times only, and can not be held. There will be no exceptions. Please do not call the Medical Department.

Vaccines will be given in the Argonne Medical Department, Building 201.

CIGNA EAP to hold telephone seminar on stress management

The CIGNA Employee Assistance Program will hold a telephone seminar, "Stress Management 101" Wednesday, Oct. 8,
at 1 p.m.

Register at least 48 hours in advance online using confirmation code 9469281.

Weight Watchers to host open-house meeting

Weight Watchers will host an open-house meeting Wednesday, Oct. 1, at 11:30 a.m. in Building 200, Room J183.

The new session starts Oct. 15, and will run through Jan. 14, 2009. There will be no classes on Dec. 24 and 31.

Science update

Constantinescu

Constantinescu named Argonne Wilkinson Fellow in Scientific Computing

Emil Constantinescu received the 2008 Wilkinson Fellowship in Scientific Computing, one of the world’s most prestigious postdoctoral fellowships in computational mathematics. He joined the Mathematics and Computer Science Division in August.

Constantinescu received his doctoral degree in numerical analysis and scientific computing from Virginia Tech in 2008. For his thesis, he created multirate discretization methods for problems involving time-dependent partial differential equations. These problems are challenging because different scales or physical processes require different computational approaches. Traditional spatial mesh refinement methods used to handle such problems have been hampered by the fact that the time evolving algorithms had to be reduced to accommodate the finest grid resolution. Constantinescu’s innovative multirate methods enable large-scale computations to treat each scale with its appropriate time stepping algorithm, thus significantly reducing the simulation time while preserving consistency, stability and conservation properties. The methods have been applied successfully to a large-scale, state-of-the-art atmospheric model, one of the first dynamically adaptive grid studies in air quality resolution.

Constantinescu has also developed ensemble Kalman filtering techniques for chemical data assimilation and has demonstrated the power of these techniques in real-life atmospheric simulations over Asia and the United States. This work has generated considerable interest in the scientific community, with the results reported in two articles in the prestigious Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society.

Constantinescu completed an internship at Argonne in 2006 as a Givens Associate.

“We are delighted that Constantinescu will join us again,” said Mihai Anitescu, computational mathematician and head of the Wilkinson Fellowship selection committee.

Anitescu noted that the search committee was impressed by the breadth and depth of Constantinescu’s knowledge in computational science, his strong background in mathematics and numerical analysis, and his creative problem-solving skills. Constantinescu has already published 11 articles in refereed journals and refereed conference proceedings, and he was first author of seven of these – an outstanding record for a scientist at the start of his career.

The Wilkinson Fellowship was created at Argonne in 1988 in honor of the late James Hardy Wilkinson, noted computational mathematician and Fellow of the Royal Society.  The fellowship, renewable for a second year, is intended to encourage young scientists actively engaged in state-of-the-art research in scientific computing.

Working Safely

Injury reporting – Employees who sustain an on-the-job injury must dial 911 and immediately report to the Medical Department, accompanied by their supervisor, for diagnosis and treatment.

During off-shift hours, employees should report to the Fire Department paramedics by dialing 911. The Fire Department will initiate the process of recording the claim and providing employee care. 

For more information see the HR Policy and Procedure Manual Section 4950.2

Safety resources

• Integrated Safety Management
• Director’s Safety Council
• Environment, Safety and Health / Quality Assurance (EQO) home page
• Daily occurrence reports (ORPS system)

• Report safety concerns to Safety@anl.gov

Around the Lab

NAO offers conversational English classes

The Division of Educational Programs' Newcomers Assistance Office (NAO) is once again offering free conversational English classes this fall.

Classes will be held Wednesdays from 9:30 -11:30 a.m. in Building 223 Room L119. Four talented and energetic English-as-a-second-language teachers volunteer their time to lead the group each week. Depending on the skill levels and the number attending, the participants will be divided into groups. 

All interested visiting researchers and those accompanying them are invited to attend the classes, improve their English skills and make new friends in the Argonne community.  Even those who cannot come on a regular basis are welcome to join the class. For more information contact the NAO at newcomers@anl.gov or ext. 2-8647. 

Argonne Choral Group's rehearsals start today; all are welcome

The Argonne Choral Group will resume rehearsals on Mondays and Thursdays, 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Building 362 Auditorium starting today. The fall performance schedule is still being developed, but typically includes programs of patriotic selections near Veteran's Day, seasonal favorites near Christmas, and an occasional appearance at the Music Club's open-mic nights.

New singers, both male and female, are invited to join this group, which sings myriad music, including classical, madrigal, traditional and rock, in multi-part harmony. Participants need not attend both weekly rehearsals; the two different days are to accommodate as many people's schedules as possible. The group merely asks that participants regularly come at least once per week.

The Choral Group is part of the Argonne Club. Additional information, including sound clips from recent performances, can be found on their Web site. Contact President Patrick Garner at ext. 2-4872 or Director Katie Weber at ext. 2-8101 with questions or just drop by for one of the rehearsals.

Building 213 Cafeteria

Breakfast grill
Cinnamon raisin French toast with two pieces of bacon or sausage - $4.10
… Add a 12 oz. Intelligentsia coffee and a fresh fruit cup - $5.60

The breakfast grill is open until 9 a.m. Breakfast items like sweet rolls, cereal, muffins, yogurt, coffee and juices are available until 10:30 a.m.

Soups and chili
Cream of potato leek (v) or old-fashioned vegetable beef soup - small $1.68, large $2.30
Cilantro steak chili - small $1.96, large $2.54

Entree feature
Market bistro: Beef short ribs in chipotle and green chili sauce or chicken lasagna made with white sauce with two side dishes - $6.87

Chef’s special
Risotto: Butternut squash and leeks with choice of chicken or beef served with flat bread - $6.67

Luncheon broiler
Philly cheese steak sandwich - $4.65
With French fries and coleslaw - $6.15
Catch of the day and fresh vegetables -$6.32

Healthy choice
Chinese chicken salad with Mandarin oranges, chow mein noodles and wonton crisps (cal 350, fat 4.8g/ 12.4 percent, chol. 104mg) - $4.95

The budget special
Calzone classico: Basil and mushrooms or pepperoni
Includes a 16 oz. fountain beverage - $4.52

Building 213 Cafeteria hours: 7:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.