Tuesday - May 16, 2006

Clay Sell (third from left) at the Overlook with Keith Hodgson, Nancy Sanchez, John Galayda, Jonathan Dorfan, and Jeff Logan.  (Click on image for larger version.)

Deputy Secretary of Energy Visits SLAC

by Chandra Shekhar

It was SLAC's great privilege and pleasure to host Deputy Secretary of Energy Clay Sell on May 15. The Deputy Secretary met with senior management, researchers and members from the Stanford Site Office as he toured the facilities.

After a brief welcome and overview of SLAC by Jonathan Dorfan and a discussion about safety at the lab, the Deputy Secretary took a brisk tour of the site. From the overlook, he was able to grasp the extent and footprint of the laboratory and its relationship to the main Stanford campus.  Read more...

What Use Are Breaker Panel Labels?

by The Electrical Safety Committee

There was a serious electrical arc flash accident at SLAC in 2004, and another recently at Brookhaven National Laboratories (BNL). Both accidents involved injuries which would have been significantly less severe if correct warning labels had been posted and the workers had worn the proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Consequently, labels on breaker panels are appearing all over SLAC.

The labels on breaker panels, disconnect switches, industrial control panels and motor control centers warn of potential shock and arc flash hazards. This equipment should only be used by a person who is knowledgeable of equipment powered by an electric panel or switch, has received safety training on shock and arc flash hazards, and has the approval of his or her supervisor and possibly area managers for breaker or disconnect switch operation.

An electric arc flash can cause very serious injuries. To help reduce potential injury it is imperative that the Flash Protection Boundary (FPB) be observed and the correct PPE be worn when operating breakers and disconnects switches. Note that no breaker can be operated at SLAC without the use of safety glasses.

See explanations of the different types of electrical panel warning labels here.

symmetry magazine:
Signs of the Times

by Heather Rock Woods

Small whiteboards, hung on office doors, and ubiquitous bicycle helmets are signposts for the interactive, fluid nature of current endeavors at SLAC.

The whiteboard on Phil Bucksbaum's door has a hand-drawn calendar, titled "Days I am at SLAC." Bucksbaum is the director of the new Photon Ultrafast Laser Science and Engineering (PULSE) center, a collaboration between SLAC and Stanford University. For the spring semester, he's splitting his time between the lab and campus, and the University of Michigan, where he is wrapping up his professorial teaching duties.

Down the hallway, another whiteboard proclaims its owner "on campus." This building houses faculty of the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, part of SLAC. Many SSRL professors hold joint faculty appointments at Stanford. If Stanford is land and SSRL water, their graduate students and postdoctoral researchers are amphibians.  

The Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC) is another relatively new SLAC-Stanford joint venture. Scientists frequently bicycle between office and lab space at SLAC and on the Stanford campus, building formidable leg muscles during the uphill ride. The flow between campus and lab is so frequent that individual whiteboards would not do the trick, says KIPAC administrator Martha Siegel, although group members do note their travel dates on a large whiteboard in the hall. Read more in symmetry...

Events (see all | submit)

• May 16: (8:00 a.m.) SSRL Workshop: Synchrotron X-ray Scattering Techniques in Mat & Env Science
• May 16: (12:30 p.m.) Experimental Seminar: First MINOS Results from the NuMI Beam

Access (see all)

• 5/2 - 5/30: Sand Hill Rd Construction
• 4/3 - 6/1: Short Spur Road Off North Access Road Closed
• 3/27 - TBA: Alpine Gate Temporarily Closed
• 3/31 - TBA: Gate 17 Hours Extended During Alpine Gate Shutdown

Announcements
(see all | submit)

 Lab Announcements

• Public Speaking Course 6/6/2006
• Limited Access to PeopleSoft Financial Applications
• The DOE designates May as National Electrical Safety Month
• Register now for LoopFest V - June 19-21, 2006

Community Bulletin Board

• SLAC Wine Tour
• Stanford Drama Department Presents Deianeira
• Invitation to Japanese Cultural Day
• Juneteenth Celebration Tickets Now On Sale
• Great Strides: Taking Steps to Cure Cystic Fibrosis (Palo Alto)
• Employee Appreciation Day at the NCAA Tennis Championships

News (see all | submit)

• U.S. Asks Panel to Add It Up  Science
• Super-Kamiokande Finds Structure in the Cosmic Ray Sky  PhysOrg.com
• A Ruler to Measure the Universe   Berkeley Lab
• Impressive New Tricks of Light, All Within the Laws of Physics  NY Times

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What's Cookin' at the Linear Cafe (see weekly menu)

Tuesday
Breakfast Boosters	Waffle with Strawberries, Whipped Cream, Sausage and Egg	$4.73
Hot	Barley and Beef or Cream of Three Mushroom Soup	$2.35/$2.95
Outdoor BBQ	BBQ Tri-tip Steak Sandwich or Grilled Chicken or Boca Burger	$5.65/$5.95
Good Food For You	Sweet 'n' Sour Chicken or Tofu over Steamed Rice	$5.45
Tossed	Grilled Salmon Caesar Salad	$5.45
Panini	Fresh Mozzarella, Sweet Basil and Tomato on Baguette	$5.35
Outdoor BBQ	Hot Link Sausage	$5.65