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In this issue:
Public Lecture Tonight: Redefining High Energy
Safety Today: Fire Safety at SLAC and Beyond
Limited Recreational Access Along Linac
Tony Chan Visits SLAC
Safety Seconds

SLAC Today

Tuesday - June 19, 2007

Public Lecture Tonight: Redefining High Energy

(Poster - Public Lecture)
Image courtesy of SLAC InfoMedia

This evening at 7:30 p.m., SLAC researcher Sarah Demers will present the public lecture The Large Hadron Collider: Redefining High Energy in the Panofsky Auditorium.

Although the Standard Model—which describes the forces of nature—is powerful, it is not complete. Important details like the masses of particles are not well explained, and realities as fundamental as gravity, dark matter, and dark energy are left out altogether. In tonight's public lecture, Demers will explain the gaps in the model and describe why there is hope that some puzzles will be solved with the Large Hadron Collider.

Beginning next year, this machine will accelerate protons to record energies, hurling them around a 27 kilometer ring before colliding them 40 million times per second. Detectors the size of five-story buildings will record the debris of these collisions. The new energy frontier made accessible by the Large Hadron Collider will allow thousands of physicists to explore nature's fundamental forces and particles from a fantastic vantage point.

(Column - Safety Today)

Fire Safety at SLAC
and Beyond


Grass fires similar to this one are possible at SLAC.
(Image courtesy of Brian Sherin.)

Cellular phone towers don't usually affect firefighting, but they did on May 19 when a grass fire broke out near Region 12 and the SLAC Garden area. When people passing by SLAC first reported the fire and dialed 911, their cell phones were routed to the San Mateo County Dispatch instead of the Palo Alto Dispatch, which is responsible for emergency calls from SLAC.

SLAC sits near the border of these two districts, making it unclear where emergency cellular calls will be routed. As a result, it's important for anyone reporting an emergency to clearly identify their location and, if they're on the SLAC site, to inform the dispatcher that the Palo Alto Fire Department should be contacted. This avoids confusion and questions over jurisdiction between fire departments.

SLAC has received a notice from the National Interagency Fire Center that there is a higher danger of grass fires this year, making it especially important to remain diligent. A series of fires have occurred all over the state early in the year and it is a significant problem here at SLAC, according to Robert Reek, SLAC's Fire Marshal.

"We want to make people aware of the danger, to be cautious, and to know what to do in an emergency situation," said Reek.

Because of the elevated risk, please remember the following guidelines:
• do not smoke within 25 feet of
  dry grass areas and hillsides
• dispose used cigarettes and
  lighters in approved receptacles
  only
• make sure ash trays are cool
  before dumping
• keep hot work materials, such
  as welded or cut metal, away
  from grassy areas
• be aware of hazardous
  conditions
• if a fire is started or seen, call
  9-911 and give the fire
  department complete details
  including what is burning and
  its exact location

Read more...

Limited Recreational Access Along Linac


Click on image for larger version.

With the past week's sunny weather, SLAC security officers have received numerous reports of pedestrians walking on North Gallery Road past Sector 21-2. This road, which runs down the North side of the linac, is accessible to non-vehicular traffic only from Sector 30 to Sector 21-2. Non-vehicular traffic traveling along the linac should branch off onto Access Road at Sector 21-2.

In addition, South Gallery Road is reserved solely for vehicular traffic.

"South Gallery Road is narrow, making it unsafe for both vehicles and pedestrians to pass," said Simon Ovrahim, SLAC's new Head of Security. "For safety reasons, we ask everyone to obey the posted signs."

Tony Chan Visits SLAC


Neil Calder (left), Tony Chan (center) and John Galayda at the LCLS construction overlook.
(Click on image for larger version.)

Tony Chan, the Assistant Director for Mathematics and Physical Sciences at the National Science Foundation, toured the lab yesterday after meeting with Jonathan Dorfan, Persis Drell, Philip Bucksbaum, Roger Blandford, Jo Stohr, and Neil Calder.

Keeping to the arranged tour schedule was a challenge, as at each stop Chan asked question after question, with obvious fascination, to learn as much as possible.

"It's great to be able to meet people and see the installations," Chan said. "Visiting labs is so important."

Safety Seconds

Forty-five years ago I was taught to not talk; to not have on the radio; (both of those are the sterile cockpit rule); to constantly scan all around me; and to anticipate what might go wrong and make sure I could avoid it (situational awareness). I was learning to drive (barefoot, of course) from a retired police officer in Hawaii, and boy was he both thorough and serious. I taught my kids to drive the same way (with limited success no doubt).

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