Monday, Jan. 28
2:30 p.m.
Particle Astrophysics Seminar - Curia II
Speaker: M. Wyman, Perimeter Institute
Title: Magnetogenesis from Cosmic String Loops
3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over
4 p.m.
All Experimenters' Meeting - Curia II
Special Topics: Rapid Transfers to the Recycler Ring; 11 Batch Main Injector Operation
Tuesday, Jan. 29
3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over
THERE WILL BE NO ACCELERATOR PHYSICS AND TECHNOLOGY SEMINAR TODAY
Click here for NALCAL, a weekly calendar with links to additional information. |
Monday, Jan. 28
- French Quarter gumbo
- French dip w/horseradish cream sauce
- Smart cuisine: Santa Fe pork stew
- Chicken adobo
- Spicy hot Greek wrap
- Assorted slice pizza
- Sweet n' sour chicken w/egg roll
Wilson Hall Cafe Menu |
Wednesday, Jan. 30
Lunch
- Chicken curry
- Steamed jasmine rice
- Sautéed vegetables
- Coconut flan
Thursday, Jan. 31
Dinner
- Closed
Chez Leon Menu
Call x4598 to make your reservation. |
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US-CMS tutorials prepare collaborators for taking data
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20080920192507im_/http://www.fnal.gov/pub/today/images08/JTermworkshop08-0005-05D-s.jpg)
Attendees pose for a group photo during the JTerm workshop. More than 50 people registered.
Anyone from a graduate student to a senior physicist can feel overwhelmed when starting on an experiment as large as CMS. To help ease that feeling, the LHC Physics Center recently created a CMS starter kit. After beta testing within the LPC, the starter kit went live earlier this month at the second JTerm workshop at Fermilab.
The JTerm, or January Term, workshop took place in between school semesters when graduate students and postdocs had their winter break. The LPC asked US CMS members to send their graduate students and postdocs to the three-day workshop, and many senior scientists on CMS also participated. "We hope that the tutorials will get you up to speed quickly and help you get started on your analysis," Fermilab's Dan Green, LPC co-coordinator told attendees.
The workshop started with a general overview of the detector, progressed to software tutorials and then culminated with the release of the CMS starter kit. Essentially a physics tool kit, the starter kit provides collaborators with a set of clean code that lets them get started right away. "Our goal is to reduce frustration," said Sal Rappoccio, a postdoc at Johns Hopkins University who helped create the starter kit. "We want someone with zero experience to be able to use the kit and generate a reasonable plot in a couple of hours."
Without a starter kit, it could take a new user several weeks to generate a single plot. "You get this vast flux of information when you are first getting started," Rappoccio said. "It is very frustrating to not know what to do with it."
So far, the kit has received positive reviews. "The starter kit is really necessary," said Malina Kim, a graduate student at the University of Maryland. "It gets you started with things that you need and then lets you add to it."
--Elizabeth Clements
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Wide-eyed looks at Fermilab
From Daily Herald, Jan. 28, 2008
Batavia accelerator laboratory opens doors to families
When Mike Hickey of Geneva decided he would take his 9-year-old daughter and her friends to Fermilab for an afternoon of educational science demonstrations, the reaction was less than stellar.
"They weren't real enthusiastic right off the bat, now that we're here they're really enjoying it," Hickey said. "The games have captured their attention and imagination."
Like Hickey, many of the people who attended Sunday's annual family open house were visiting Fermilab for the first time, as they learned about magnets, gravity, light and all things science with the laboratory's staff members.
In the sunlight-filled atrium of Fermilab's towering Wilson Hall, parents watched as their wide-eyed children performed simple science experiments.
Read more
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Putting science in young hands
From Kane County Chronicle, Jan. 28, 2008
A tangle of plastic filaments floated over the piece of PVC pipe held by Mary Hawthorne. The demonstration was one of the activities that children could participate in Sunday at Fermilab's annual Family Open House. The Fermilab Family Open House has been held for four years at the Wilson Hall building, coordinator Karen Bass said.
"The idea is for kids to experience some of the science principals, to explore," Bass said.
The event featured tours, hands-on activities, such as magnets, and a cryogenics show by Mr. Freeze, Jerry Zimmerman.
Batavia resident Sandy Baker brought her two grandchildren, Rachel Maldonado, 4, and Hunter Hecklinger, 3, to the event. Baker had never been to Fermilab.
"I didn't know what Fermilab was," Baker said. "They've never experienced this."
Read more
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Laptop computer safety
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20080920192507im_/http://www.fnal.gov/pub/today/images08/Safetytiplaptop012808.jpg) |
Ergonomically positioning a laptop correctly helps to prevent injury. |
You may have noticed an increasing number of laptop computers in meetings at Fermilab. People are busy checking online materials, taking notes, and other miscellaneous tasks. Laptops can have the power of some desktop computers, while weighing typically far less. The average laptop weighs 5-7 pounds and provides a viewing area of about 15 inches wide.
Although extremely convenient, laptop computers do have problems. ES&H staff members concern themselves mostly with ergonomics and heat generation.
A keyboard in a well-designed computer workstation should sit low and tilt downward toward the user. The screen top should sit near eye height. Amber Larson, chair of Fermilab's Ergonomics Subcommittee, pointed out that meeting these criteria takes work because of the connection of the keyboard and screen. Setting the laptop on a stand that tilts the base down in front and up in back can help. The picture shows a basic compact stand available from Keynamics. Larson also advised laptop users to take several stretch breaks per hour and to avoid resting their forearms on sharp-edged work surfaces. If you experience discomfort with laptop computer use, please report to the Medical Department for evaluation and follow up.
According to Fermilab's Senior Fire Protection Engineer, Jim Priest, heat generated by lithium ion batteries can cause problems. Skin burns, equipment damage and fire can occur. Priest recommended that users make sure they have adequate space below their computers, unblock ventilation ports and make sure that cooling fans are running. A laptop stand, such as the one pictured, can help to efficiently channel air through the computer. This added airflow helps to cool a laptop's lithium ion batteries, which also helps to extend their service life.
Safety Tip of the Week Archive
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Have a safe day!
Financial counseling available
Need financial advice? For financial counseling or advice, employees can
call on the resources of the Employee Assistance Program. Call the EAP 24/7
at 1-800-843-1327, and tell them you're from Fermilab. Or get directly in
touch with employee assistance counselor Brian Malinowski at 1-847-625-3532
or bmalinowski@vmceap.com. Access furlough information here.
Intermediate Word course Feb. 21
Learn how to create customized lists, tables, charts, graphics and personalized Word 2003 efficiency tools at an Intermediate Word 2003 course on Feb. 21. Learn more and enroll
Brown Bag Traffic Safety Seminar
Illinois Department of Transportation representatives Dianne Williams and John Bartman will give presentations on safe winter driving and distracted driving at a Brown Bag Lunch on Jan. 30 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in Curia II. Prizes will be raffled.
Scottish country dance Tuesday
Scottish country dancing will meet Tuesday, Jan. 29, at Kuhn Barn. Instruction begins at 7:30 p.m. and newcomers are always welcome. Most dances are fully taught and walked through, and you do not need to come with a partner. Call (630) 840-8194 or (630) 584-0825 or e-mail for more information.
Additional Activities
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