What look like decorative elements on the façade of this building actually serve to shield the glass from strong southern sunlight, so the interior light remains diffuse and cool, says designer Matthew Majack.
symmetry Gallery: SCI-Arc
by María José Viñas
Physics can be a source of inspiration for new architectural and spatial concepts, according to Jean Michel Crettaz,
a professor at the Southern California Institute of Architecture, Los Angeles
(SCI-Arc). Last fall, 15 of his students visited SLAC to meet with researchers and gain a better understanding of phenomena such as supernovae, black holes, and neutrino oscillation. The students spent most of the semester translating their discoveries into hypothetical design concepts for buildings for the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), the world's first hard-x-ray laser now under construction at SLAC.
Crettaz says the idea was to engage with new concepts of space as a way of developing new concepts for architecture. When compared to other areas of industry, he says, "architecture is very slow at integrating new and available knowledge and technology. Architecture too often stays attached to outdated, antiquated and un-ecological concepts that are barely evolved from the Newtonian world," and "too often operates with spatial conceptions that can be understood as primitive and medieval."
Read more in symmetry...
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Reminder:
Voicemail System Upgrade and Outage
by Brenda Eberle & David Howard
 As previously announced, SLAC's voicemail system will be upgraded to CallPilot this Saturday, September 15, beginning at 10:00 a.m. The outage is expected to be completed by 6:00 p.m. During the outage, there will be no access to voice mailboxes either to leave or review messages. There will also be no access to announcements, menus, or remote notification to pagers or mobile phones.
During the upgrade, all personal verifications, greetings, and messages will be transferred by tape to CallPilot. This tape will be made beginning at 5:00 a.m. on Saturday. There is a possibility that a message received between 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. may not be included on the tape. If you are concerned about losing messages received during those hours, please update your temporary voice mail greeting to advise callers of this risk and remember to check your messages before 10:00 a.m.
You can help the upgrade go smoothly by deleting any unneeded messages before you leave on Friday. This will reduce the volume of messages that must be transferred to CallPilot and allow services to be quickly restored.
Following the outage, all voicemail capabilities will be restored. You can continue to access your voice mailbox in the same manner and using the same commands with which you are familiar. With the exception of the outage, the transition to the new system should be transparent.
SLAC Area Telecommunications Office Motivators (ATOMs) have received training on CallPilot and alternate communications options available during the outage. ATOMs have also received quick reference cards to distribute to their groups.
If you have any questions about the upgrade or how to use the new CallPilot
system, please contact your ATOM for assistance. To locate your ATOM, check the
ATOM Listings Menu.
Stanford Wellness Fair
 This Saturday from
8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., the Stanford Prevention Research Center
will hold a free Health Screening and Recruitment Fair. The event will offer information about research center programs including the
complementary and alternative medicine program and the
bone health improvement project. Fair attendees can also receive complimentary
cholesterol and blood glucose screenings as well as blood pressure checks.
Learn more...
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Pipes Blow Out
At Sector 30
by Neil Calder
The linac at Sector 30.
(Click on image for larger version.)
Just after 8:00 a.m. yesterday morning, PVC pipes blew out along side the linac at Sector 30. The pipes, which were to be used to water-cool the linac, had been installed the day before using PVC cement. Residual vapor from this installation was likely trapped inside the piping system.
Yesterday morning, as a subcontractor many yards up the linac installed a pressure gauge onto a metal pipe in the same piping system, the heat from the subcontractor's torch apparently ignited the vapor downstream, causing the pipes to blow out.
The Fire Department, Security, and Environment, Safety and Health (ES&H) responded immediately to the situation and took action to ensure the safety of the responders. The area was cordoned off and was tested for residual PVC cement vapors. This testing led to the purging of the remaining lines with nitrogen.
Due to the pressure from the blow out, four nearby workers were medically evaluated for hearing trouble. One worker was taken to Stanford Medical Center for evaluation and released. That individual and one other will have their hearing re-evaluated early next week.
Windy City Prepares
For ALCPG07
by Elizabeth Clements,
ILC NewsLine
Get ready for deep-dish pizza and hot dogs piled high with onions, peppers and a pickle because the 2007 American Linear Collider Physics Group and International Linear Collider Global Design Effort
meetings are heading for the windy city. Fermilab, located just outside Chicago, Illinois, will host the joint ALCPG07 meeting on October
22nd to 26th in a continuing series of workshops on the physics, detector and accelerator issues of the proposed ILC. Interested participants should register soon, as the deadline to
book a hotel room is September
19th.
Read more...
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Lab Announcements
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