From the Director of LCLS Construction:
Okay, So We Build the LCLS
and Turn It On—Then What?
by John Galayda
When the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) was first conceived in 1992, an x-ray free-electron laser was considered an expensive and technically high-risk endeavor to create a light source with unprecedented and indeed uncertain potential. Early SLAC reports describing the LCLS concept hint at its scientific potential, but not much more. The LCLS proposal had an advantage that would prove decisive. It took a lot of the cost risk away, because using the SLAC linac would cut several hundred million dollars off the size of the bet one had to make to find out what an x-ray free-electron laser (FEL) could do.
Holding down the cost was considered important to keeping the LCLS proposal viable; every effort was made to re-use existing facilities. In 1996, the facility design made use of the Final Focus Test Beam facility to house the undulator magnets. A 24-meter long enclosure built onto the end of the Final Focus Test Beam (FFTB)
was provided for x-ray experiments. The need for longer x-ray beamlines was
recognized back then, and the 1996 Design Study Report included a concept for
shooting LCLS x-rays to the eastern edge of the SLAC site through a very narrow
tunnel.
Read more...
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Payroll to Mail
Tax Forms
by Ellen Remerata
 SLAC's
Payroll Department will mail W2 forms for 2007 on or before January 30, 2008. Please contact
Claudia Ransom or
Niesha Bryant-Williams as soon as possible if you have changed your address and have not
yet notified Human Resources.
Withholding Allowance Certificate, W-4
If you did not have income tax liability for 2007, your exemption expires on February 16, 2008. If you anticipate you will not have income tax liability for 2008, you need to complete a new W-4 form and submit it to Payroll on or before February 15, 2008.
Nonresident for Tax Purposes
If you were considered a nonresident for tax purposes in 2007, the IRS requires that you complete new payroll tax deduction forms to determine your tax status for 2008. If you are claiming a tax treaty for 2008, a new 8233 form must be completed as well.
Please contact Claudia Ransom or Niesha Bryant-Williams in Human Resources to obtain new forms. Completed forms must be submitted to Payroll on or before January 31, 2008 in order to continue a tax exempt status, if applicable.
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Word of the Week:
Birefringence
by Brad Plummer
 Birefringence, or double refraction, is an optical property of materials, such as certain crystals, that splits a ray of light into two, which can create the appearance of a double image when light passes through. It's a property with a host of applications, from liquid crystal displays to medicine. It is also the mechanism responsible for the iridescent coloring of certain insects, such as in the wings of various butterflies. The birefringent crystal pictured above was designed for physics laser research.
SLAC Welcomes
New Employees
Image courtesy of Diana Rogers.
(Click on image for larger version.)
Last week, SLAC welcomed eight new employees at New Employee Orientation. From left to right, front to back, they are: JoAnn Marie Polizzi, Angela Marie Garcia, Ellajean Polk, Leonel Campos, Cheryl Nadler, Daryll Cannon, John Maki and Josh McDonald.
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