Steven Lundgren (left) and Kim Cook with their "intricate little monster," a beam collimator rotator recently built by a team effort at SLAC.

A Monster in the Machine

by Ken Kingery

A team of SLAC engineers and machinists recently brought one small component, which may someday be a part of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), from paper to reality. The proposed device under development at SLAC will rotate the cylindrical beam collimators that shave off unwanted portions of the proton beam. It is no bigger than a six-pack of soda and topped with a collection of precision gears. (See a related SLAC Today article here.)

"It's an intricate little monster," SLAC machinist Kim Cook said of the device. "It took a lot of teamwork to transform a 23-pound block of stainless steel into such a complicated device."

The device is a small but important piece of the proposed collimator. When the LHC is up and running, the collimator edges will occasionally be struck by errant protons and stripped of some of their surface metal. When this hopefully rare event happens, the newly built support and gear cluster will rotate the collimator to present an undamaged surface to the beam. Read more...

SLAC Today Quiz: Where in the Lab is...

by Kelen Tuttle

Can you name the office where this poster recently appeared? Click on the image for a larger version and to find out if you're right!

Kids Day Registration Ends July 31

by Kelen Tuttle

Kids Day 2006
(Image courtesy of Diana Rogers.)

Don't forget to sign your kids up for SLAC's annual Kids Day! The 300 available spots are filling up fast, and registration ends next Monday, July 30.

SCCS Rolls Out MySQL

by Ken Kingery

The Scientific Computing and Computing Services (SCCS) Database Group at SLAC recently rolled out a new service to provide central support for MySQL databases across the site. MySQL is open-source database software maintained by a network of people across the world and widely used by industry giants including Google, Yahoo! and eBay. At SLAC, the software primarily provides and manages databases for research projects.

Providing central support for MySQL on-site will benefit SLAC in several ways. MySQL databases, previously scattered throughout the lab, will now have a home in recently installed, dedicated servers with room for future upgrades. This will allow better system administration, backup and security, all performed by dedicated SCCS database administrators. Additionally, a MySQL support group will provide assistance, maintenance and planning for users.

"SCCS created this centralized service so scientists don't have to manage their databases," said Arash Alavi, who was hired in December in part to bring SLAC this service. "It will allow them to focus entirely on their research projects."

For more information about the SCCS MySQL service, check out their website.

Events (see all | submit)

July 30: (8:00 a.m.) The 35th Annual SLAC Summer Institute (SSI) begins
July 30: (9:30 a.m.) What's New in Mathematica 6

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Announcements
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Lab Announcements

Kids Day - August 20, 2007

Community Bulletin Board

News (see all | submit)

It's Super Paper! Science
Extremely Short Bursts Of Light Produced: Could Probe Motion Of Electrons ScienceDaily

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

Steven Lundgren (left) and Kim Cook with their "intricate little monster," a beam collimator rotator recently built by a team effort at SLAC. A Monster in the Machine by Ken Kingery A team of SLAC engineers and machinists recently brought one small component, which may someday be a part of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), from paper to reality. The proposed device under development at SLAC will rotate the cylindrical beam collimators that shave off unwanted portions of the proton beam. It is no bigger than a six-pack of soda and topped with a collection of precision gears. (See a related SLAC Today article here.) "It's an intricate little monster," SLAC machinist Kim Cook said of the device. "It took a lot of teamwork to transform a 23-pound block of stainless steel into such a complicated device." The device is a small but important piece of the proposed collimator. When the LHC is up and running, the collimator edges will occasionally be struck by errant protons and stripped of some of their surface metal. When this hopefully rare event happens, the newly built support and gear cluster will rotate the collimator to present an undamaged surface to the beam. Read more...

SLAC Today Quiz: Where in the Lab is... by Kelen Tuttle Can you name the office where this poster recently appeared? Click on the image for a larger version and to find out if you're right! Kids Day Registration Ends July 31 by Kelen Tuttle Kids Day 2006 (Image courtesy of Diana Rogers.) Don't forget to sign your kids up for SLAC's annual Kids Day! The 300 available spots are filling up fast, and registration ends next Monday, July 30.	SCCS Rolls Out MySQL by Ken Kingery The Scientific Computing and Computing Services (SCCS) Database Group at SLAC recently rolled out a new service to provide central support for MySQL databases across the site. MySQL is open-source database software maintained by a network of people across the world and widely used by industry giants including Google, Yahoo! and eBay. At SLAC, the software primarily provides and manages databases for research projects. Providing central support for MySQL on-site will benefit SLAC in several ways. MySQL databases, previously scattered throughout the lab, will now have a home in recently installed, dedicated servers with room for future upgrades. This will allow better system administration, backup and security, all performed by dedicated SCCS database administrators. Additionally, a MySQL support group will provide assistance, maintenance and planning for users. "SCCS created this centralized service so scientists don't have to manage their databases," said Arash Alavi, who was hired in December in part to bring SLAC this service. "It will allow them to focus entirely on their research projects." For more information about the SCCS MySQL service, check out their website.	Events (see all \| submit) July 30: (8:00 a.m.) The 35th Annual SLAC Summer Institute (SSI) begins July 30: (9:30 a.m.) What's New in Mathematica 6 Access (see all) Bldg 50, SLAC City, and Vacuum Building Parking Lot Closure - July 30 Parking area east of 031 (near 279) closed for construction Construction on Sand Hill Road and at SLAC Main Gate Alpine Gate & PEP Ring Road closed Gates 17 & 30 open 24-7 Research Yard bisected Announcements (see all \| submit) Lab Announcements Kids Day - August 20, 2007 Community Bulletin Board GE's Jeff Immelt to speak on "Ecomagination" at Stanford - July 30 Diabetes Management Program Africa on Stage presents "Les Blancs" at Stanford Retirement Celebration for Kate McMillen Summer 2007 Grief Support Group News (see all \| submit) It's Super Paper! Science Extremely Short Bursts Of Light Produced: Could Probe Motion Of Electrons ScienceDaily
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