Monday - April 2, 2007

Committee Seeks Staff's Help in Director's Search

by Carmella Huser

The Director's Search Committee would like your help determining the attributes of the ideal director and well as the opportunities and challenges facing the lab in the next decade. To this end, the Committee invites staff to share their views at one of several one-hour focus group sessions. After the sessions, lab staff will compile information for a report they will present to the Search Committee at its first meeting in May.

"Your input is extremely important in this search," said Persis Drell, Chair of the Search Committee. "I encourage you to attend one of the sessions."

Focus group sessions will be held as follows:

Each year a team of high energy physicists who carry out their research at SLAC and Fermilab travels to Washington D.C. to build relationships with members of Congress and their staff, and to seek support for the DOE Office of Science programs, including particle physics. On March 21-23, 40 participants took part in a record 290 appointments with Congressional representatives, covering well over half the offices of all members of Congress.

These meetings are extremely important, as they give our scientists the opportunity to thank Congress for the support they have given to the physical sciences. Our science is made possible by government (i.e. public) funding and the difficult budgetary decisions that are made in Congress each year are facilitated by clear information such as that given during these face-to-face meetings.

In my opinion, the most important aspect of this trip is that it underlines that science is a human endeavor. No number of reports, proposals, or white papers, will ever substitute for face to face meetings with people who love their work and are able to clearly express its importance. Take a look at this photo of the group on Capitol Hill. The dress code is certainly different but the same energy and enthusiasm that we experience everyday at the labs is there.  Read more...

SLAC Summer Institute Open for Registration

by the SSI Committee

The SSI Committee is pleased to announce this year's SLAC Summer Institute (SSI), which will be held at SLAC between Monday, July 30 and Friday, August 10, 2007. This year's topic is "Dark Matter: From the Cosmos to the Laboratory."

Morning lectures will cover all aspects of dark matter, from observational evidence for its existence, to its role in cosmic evolution and structure formation, to indirect and direct searches and attempts to produce it at colliders. In the afternoons, topical conference talks will alternate with discussion sessions, tours, and social events.

The full lecture program can be found on the SSI website.

Safety Firsts

by John Cornuelle

Ed Viesturs, one of the few living mountain climbers in the world to have climbed all 14 peaks over 8,000 meters (26,000 feet) without using supplemental oxygen, is often called a risk-taker by the press. Note that statistically many of these mountains are ferociously dangerous; on Annapurna, for example, for every two climbers who reach the summit someone dies on the mountain. Do you know what Ed's response is?

Events (see all | submit)

• April 4: (1:30 p.m.) AIS Seminar: Laser Wakefield Acceleration

Access (see all)

• Alpine Gate & PEP Ring Road closed
• Gates 17 & 30 open 24-7
• Research Yard bisected

Announcements
(see all | submit)

 Lab Announcements

• New Publication: ESH Manual, Chapter 49, Service Subcontractor Safety
• 2007 Employee Recognition Awards open for nominations through Monday

Community Bulletin Board

• Dhrupad (Indian Classical Music) Recital
• Thank you from Marvin Jones
• Behavior Change/Weight Management Program
• Upcoming Financial Fairs

News (see all | submit)

• Upbeat Appropriations Hearings on DOE Science Request AIP
• Scientists Track Remarkable "Breathing" in Nanoporous Materials Lightsources

• Flea Market
• Linear Café Menu
• Employee Milestones
  
  
• Search the Archives
• Subscribe non-SLAC e-mail
• Send Us Your Feedback