Wednesday - August 23, 2006

No to Identity Theft

To eliminate the possibility of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) leaking from the lab, all employees are asked to search their files for PII and, if so, to take aggressive steps to protect this information.

by Jonathan Dorfan

We are all aware of the dangers of identity theft. Each one of us needs to be vigilant at all times to ensure that important personal information does not get into the wrong hands. This issue is of great importance to us as individuals, to government, and to industry. Here at SLAC, we must take every measure to eliminate the possibility of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) leaking from our lab. To accomplish this goal, I am asking all employees to determine if they are in possession of PII and, if so, to have them take aggressive steps to protect this very private information. Some of the most obvious examples of PII are Social Security Numbers, places of birth, dates of birth and medical history information. A definition of PII can be found here.

Very few people at the lab need to be in possession of PII information. Read more...

Tracy Usher Wins National Sailing Title

by Brad Plummer

(Click on image for larger version.)

If a SLAC "Who's had the best summer" competition came to a vote, almost certainly among the top contenders would be physicist Tracy Usher. As if becoming newly wed in July wasn't a laudable enough achievement, Usher can also now boast another great accomplishment. On August 14, Usher claimed the 2006 Masters' U.S. National sailing championship title.

Usher demurred at the congratulations of his coworkers, but coworker Richard Dubois, computing coordinator for GLAST, qualified the success, saying "It's a special thing to have a U.S. National champ... he's just being modest."

Usher, who has been sailing since high school, bested 42 others in the Laser class regatta hosted at the Richmond Yacht Club at Point Richmond, California. Laser sailboats fall into the one-design category, wherein all competing boats are identical. These 14-foot, 130 pound boats are the same vessels used in Olympic sailing, and are prized for their quickness and maneuverability.

Usher will travel to compete in the world championship next month in South Korea, and he says his most recent victory, which is his first national title, has been a good confidence builder.

"Because all the boats are the same, this kind of sailing is not a competition among boats, but among sailors," Usher said.

Photo of the Moment: Family Day Approaches

(Click on image for larger version.)

Volunteers pitched a tent outside Panofsky Auditorium yesterday to advertise Family Day. The event takes place this year on Saturday, September 16. Tomorrow is the last day to order t-shirts for the event.

New ROB Photo Exhibit:
Arizona Cactus Garden

by Krista Zala

(Click on image for larger version.)

Come celebrate the official opening of Bob Steele's photography exhibit at 4:30 p.m. tomorrow in the Research Office Building (ROB).

Steele, a software developer for SLAC's klystron department, has taken thousands of photographs of Stanford's Arizona Garden over the past three years. This exhibit features 22 pictures from his collection.

"In my images I aim to represent the subject matter but I am always conscious of how the composition might work as abstract painting," he says. Many of his images use unusual angles, points of interest, and cropping to present common sights in unfamiliar and refreshing ways.

But he doesn't manipulate images. "Other than cropping, the image comes straight from the camera," he says.

A challenge in this project was the ephemeral nature of the cactus flowers. Many last a day, if that. He points to a photo of a Trichocereus and says, "I took pictures of this flower at 10:30, and by 2:30 it had fallen over."

Steele hopes that this exhibit brings the garden to people's attention, and perhaps inspires them to volunteer time. He would do so himself, but "I have a black thumb."

Meet and chat with Steele at the official opening, beginning at 4:30 p.m. tomorrow in the ROB.

Events (see all | submit)

• August 23: (4:00 p.m.) Accelerator Seminar: Beam Optics for Free-Electron Laser in Hamburg
• August 24: (12:30 p.m.) Experimental Seminar: Summary of ICHEP'06 Results
• August 24: (4:00 p.m.) Accelerator Seminar: Post-linac Collimation Systems...

Access (see all)

• LCLS Construction Surveyors
• A&E ADA Restroom Renovation
• Road Closure - Acess to B062 (End Station B) Parking

Announcements
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 Lab Announcements

• Notice to SRAP Participants
• Benefits Review Meetings (updated)
• Supervisor and Manager Training: ES&H Self-Assessment
• Fiscal Year-End Procurement Deadlines

Community Bulletin Board

• SLAC Blood Drive - Wednesday, August 23rd
• SLACerMAN T-shirt Orders Due August 24
• Family Day 9/16 ~ Register Today
• San Francisco Jug Band Festival: Aug. 27
• SF Opera in Golden Gate Park (Sun. Sept. 10th 1:30pm)
• Rusty Humphrey's Retirement Party
• Marc Ross's Farewell Party

News (see all | submit)

• Astronomers in a Quandary Over Pluto's Status NYTimes
• Carbon Fibers Make Tiny, Cheap Video Displays Science Daily

• Flea Market
• Linear Café Menu
• Employee Milestones
  
  
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