From left: Christopher Melton, John Castro, Philippe Hering, Sasha Gilevich, William White and Alan Miahnahri.

Laser In Chief

by Brad Plummer

Achieving ultra-short, ultra-fast x-ray pulses with the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) requires a long list of complex hardware and instrumentation. At the top of that list is the drive laser system, housed two-thirds the way down the linac at Sector 20. This sophisticated installation marks the beginning point of the LCLS.

The drive laser system comprises dozens of smaller lasers arrayed together with a variety of optics across a special table inside a clean-room. The system starts with a pulse of red laser light which then passes through a series devices that shape and amplify the beam. The final product is an ultra-short pulse of UV light, two millimeters across, that is sent below ground to the injector system, where the radio frequency (RF) gun uses the pulse to create electron bunches.

The laser development team has been working since July of 2006 to configure the system. In early April 2007, physicists and engineers successfully cleared a major milestone as they used the drive laser and RF gun together for the first time.

Turner Keeps People
—and Animals—Safe

by Alison Drain

(Photo - Samantha Turner)
"If there's one thing these animals teach," Turner said, "it's that all life is precious."

If you have four legs, it's the kind of place you can enter with your back covered in gnats and leave with confidence and a fancy coat. Samantha Turner's ranch is a haven for the animal kingdom's derelict, and has been for some time: she has spent the last 30 years rescuing and rehabilitating neglected, abused, and unwanted animals using her own resources.

"It's not about money," said Turner, an Environment, Safety and Health Construction Safety Engineer. "It's about giving back. I think this ranch has something very valuable to give to society." Read more...

Human Resource News:
Performance Evaluations

by Charlotte Carlson

This time of year, managers and supervisors are preparing performance evaluations for their direct reports. Reviews are due to Human Resources (Attention Claudia Ransom, MS 11) by May 31, 2007 for non-bargaining unit employees and June 30, 2007 for bargaining unit employees, and covers the period from May 1, 2006 to April 30, 2007.

Performance evaluations look back at the work of the prior year and set the direction for the next year's work. Here are some behaviors that SLAC supervisors and employees describe as useful in motivating optimal performance from employees:
- communicating about
performance throughout the
year
- providing positive feedback,
support and encouragement
- showing respect for and trust in
your direct reports
- delegating responsibility
- giving recognition and praise
- leading by example
- setting clear and realistic goals
- being culturally sensitive

Contact Carmella Huser or Barry Webb in Human Resources with questions or requests for help in conducting performance evaluations.

Events (see all | submit)

May 2: (1:30 p.m.) AIS Seminar: Compton X-Ray Camera
May 3: (4:00 p.m.) PULSE Seminar: Electron dynamics at ice-metal interfaces

Access (see all)

Announcements
(see all | submit)

Lab Announcements

Community Bulletin Board

View photos from Pief's birthday

News (see all | submit)

Academics Chosen for Arts, Sciences Panel SF Chronicle
The Efimov Effect: Three's Company, Two's a Crowd Physics News Update

<% Response.AddHeader "Last-modified", getArticleDate() 'Response.AddHeader "Last-modified","Mon, 01 Sep 1997 01:03:33 GMT" 'Monday, December 06, 2010 %>

View online at http://today.slac.stanford.edu/.

From left: Christopher Melton, John Castro, Philippe Hering, Sasha Gilevich, William White and Alan Miahnahri. Laser In Chief by Brad Plummer Achieving ultra-short, ultra-fast x-ray pulses with the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) requires a long list of complex hardware and instrumentation. At the top of that list is the drive laser system, housed two-thirds the way down the linac at Sector 20. This sophisticated installation marks the beginning point of the LCLS. The drive laser system comprises dozens of smaller lasers arrayed together with a variety of optics across a special table inside a clean-room. The system starts with a pulse of red laser light which then passes through a series devices that shape and amplify the beam. The final product is an ultra-short pulse of UV light, two millimeters across, that is sent below ground to the injector system, where the radio frequency (RF) gun uses the pulse to create electron bunches. The laser development team has been working since July of 2006 to configure the system. In early April 2007, physicists and engineers successfully cleared a major milestone as they used the drive laser and RF gun together for the first time.

Turner Keeps People —and Animals—Safe by Alison Drain "If there's one thing these animals teach," Turner said, "it's that all life is precious." If you have four legs, it's the kind of place you can enter with your back covered in gnats and leave with confidence and a fancy coat. Samantha Turner's ranch is a haven for the animal kingdom's derelict, and has been for some time: she has spent the last 30 years rescuing and rehabilitating neglected, abused, and unwanted animals using her own resources. "It's not about money," said Turner, an Environment, Safety and Health Construction Safety Engineer. "It's about giving back. I think this ranch has something very valuable to give to society." Read more...	Human Resource News: Performance Evaluations by Charlotte Carlson This time of year, managers and supervisors are preparing performance evaluations for their direct reports. Reviews are due to Human Resources (Attention Claudia Ransom, MS 11) by May 31, 2007 for non-bargaining unit employees and June 30, 2007 for bargaining unit employees, and covers the period from May 1, 2006 to April 30, 2007. Performance evaluations look back at the work of the prior year and set the direction for the next year's work. Here are some behaviors that SLAC supervisors and employees describe as useful in motivating optimal performance from employees: - communicating about performance throughout the year - providing positive feedback, support and encouragement - showing respect for and trust in your direct reports - delegating responsibility - giving recognition and praise - leading by example - setting clear and realistic goals - being culturally sensitive Contact Carmella Huser or Barry Webb in Human Resources with questions or requests for help in conducting performance evaluations.	Events (see all \| submit) May 2: (1:30 p.m.) AIS Seminar: Compton X-Ray Camera May 3: (4:00 p.m.) PULSE Seminar: Electron dynamics at ice-metal interfaces Access (see all) Alpine Gate & PEP Ring Road closed Gates 17 & 30 open 24-7 Research Yard bisected Announcements (see all \| submit) Lab Announcements Stanford Wellness Fair - May 9 Workshop: Selecting Mutual Funds Community Bulletin Board View photos from Pief's birthday News (see all \| submit) Academics Chosen for Arts, Sciences Panel SF Chronicle The Efimov Effect: Three's Company, Two's a Crowd Physics News Update
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<% Response.AddHeader "Last-modified", getArticleDate() 'Response.AddHeader "Last-modified","Mon, 01 Sep 1997 01:03:33 GMT" 'Monday, December 06, 2010 %> View online at http://today.slac.stanford.edu/.