From the Director: Planning the Future

by Persis Drell

As a laboratory, we must constantly look toward our future. Over the past nine months, there has been a concerted effort across the lab to articulate science goals and develop plans for future facilities that will help us achieve those goals. Faculty and staff from across the laboratory have been involved in a variety of planning efforts. The long term scientific future of the laboratory will be on the agenda for the Scientific Policy Committee when it meets at SLAC next week.

We have an opportunity to share our long term plans with the Department of Energy Office of Science this week and next. The Office of Science has given us the opportunity to include, as part of our annual business plan, a major section on our science strategy for our future. We sent our business plan to the DOE Office of Science this past Monday. Next week, Keith Hodgson, Lowell Klaisner, Bill Madia and I will travel to Washington D.C. to present our long term plans to Ray Orbach, director of the Office of Science.

In the near term we are focused on the completion of Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) and commissioning of the LCLS Ultrafast Science Instruments (LUSI). We are working towards full utilization of the increased brightness afforded by the SPEAR3 upgrade. We will complete the exploitation of the BaBar data and launch and do science with the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST). We will continue to support accelerator research and detector development aimed at a future electron–positron linear collider.
Read more...

Meet Your ES&H Coordinator:
Frank O'Neill

by Matt Cunningham

Frank O'Neill

Particle Physics and Astrophysics Environment, Safety and Health (ES&H) Coordinator Frank O'Neill works in a world of reviews, milestones and approvals. Working with physicists and engineers to optimize safety in the design, assembly, operation and upgrade of experiments, he takes a systematic approach that requires him to understand how things can go wrong and then ensure appropriate controls are in place to reduce the probability of that happening.

"BaBar and GLAST are success stories," he said. "I am proud to be involved in these projects and to be part of the teams that made them successful."

After achieving an MS in Safety and a CSP, O'Neill worked for a couple of world-leading aerospace technology companies as a System Safety Engineer before joining SLAC in 1994.

All ES&H directorate coordinators provide education, support and resources by clarifying safety concerns related to requirements and training and other safety-related information, as well as overseeing implementation of ES&H program guidelines. Individuals working within Particle Physics and Astrophysics with questions and comments can contact O'Neill x5300.

Reminder: Computing Outage This Weekend

Please remember to power off your SLAC computer before leaving work today to minimize problems caused by a nearly lab wide central computer services shutdown. The shutdown will begin at 5:00 p.m. Friday, with all services restored by 7:00 a.m. Monday. Learn more...

Word of the Week:
Angstrom

by Brad Plummer

An angstrom is a very tiny unit of measure equivalent to 10^-10 meters, or about the average distance between individual atoms. It's commonly used to describe the lengths of chemical bonds and wavelengths of light, such as X-rays. The Linac Coherent Light Source will produce "hard" X-rays with a wavelength of 1.5 angstroms, giving it the power to make images of objects on the atomic scale.

Building the LCLS: Weekly Update

by Brad Plummer

Construction highlights from the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) this week include:

- Electricians are disconnecting lighting in the Beam Transport Hall for a few days while connecting the switchboard in utility Building 2.3, which sits atop the Beam Transport Hall.

- Crews inside the Far Experimental Hall are applying the final lining of shotcrete.

- The temporary adit that was opened to expedite X-ray tunnel excavation is being backfilled, now that tunneling operations are complete.

Events (see all | submit)

April 26 - 28: Computing Outage
April 28: (10:00 a.m.) Performance Evaluation Training Session

Access (see all)

Announcements
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Lab Announcements

Community Bulletin Board

News (see all | submit)

The Dynamics of Dark Energy: ZEN Probes the Limits International Science Grid This Week
Evolution of Internet Powers Massive Particle Physics Grid Network World

<% 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 the Director: Planning the Future by Persis Drell As a laboratory, we must constantly look toward our future. Over the past nine months, there has been a concerted effort across the lab to articulate science goals and develop plans for future facilities that will help us achieve those goals. Faculty and staff from across the laboratory have been involved in a variety of planning efforts. The long term scientific future of the laboratory will be on the agenda for the Scientific Policy Committee when it meets at SLAC next week. We have an opportunity to share our long term plans with the Department of Energy Office of Science this week and next. The Office of Science has given us the opportunity to include, as part of our annual business plan, a major section on our science strategy for our future. We sent our business plan to the DOE Office of Science this past Monday. Next week, Keith Hodgson, Lowell Klaisner, Bill Madia and I will travel to Washington D.C. to present our long term plans to Ray Orbach, director of the Office of Science. In the near term we are focused on the completion of Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) and commissioning of the LCLS Ultrafast Science Instruments (LUSI). We are working towards full utilization of the increased brightness afforded by the SPEAR3 upgrade. We will complete the exploitation of the BaBar data and launch and do science with the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST). We will continue to support accelerator research and detector development aimed at a future electron–positron linear collider. Read more...

Meet Your ES&H Coordinator: Frank O'Neill by Matt Cunningham Frank O'Neill Particle Physics and Astrophysics Environment, Safety and Health (ES&H) Coordinator Frank O'Neill works in a world of reviews, milestones and approvals. Working with physicists and engineers to optimize safety in the design, assembly, operation and upgrade of experiments, he takes a systematic approach that requires him to understand how things can go wrong and then ensure appropriate controls are in place to reduce the probability of that happening. "BaBar and GLAST are success stories," he said. "I am proud to be involved in these projects and to be part of the teams that made them successful." After achieving an MS in Safety and a CSP, O'Neill worked for a couple of world-leading aerospace technology companies as a System Safety Engineer before joining SLAC in 1994. All ES&H directorate coordinators provide education, support and resources by clarifying safety concerns related to requirements and training and other safety-related information, as well as overseeing implementation of ES&H program guidelines. Individuals working within Particle Physics and Astrophysics with questions and comments can contact O'Neill x5300.	Reminder: Computing Outage This Weekend Please remember to power off your SLAC computer before leaving work today to minimize problems caused by a nearly lab wide central computer services shutdown. The shutdown will begin at 5:00 p.m. Friday, with all services restored by 7:00 a.m. Monday. Learn more... Word of the Week: Angstrom by Brad Plummer An angstrom is a very tiny unit of measure equivalent to 10^-10 meters, or about the average distance between individual atoms. It's commonly used to describe the lengths of chemical bonds and wavelengths of light, such as X-rays. The Linac Coherent Light Source will produce "hard" X-rays with a wavelength of 1.5 angstroms, giving it the power to make images of objects on the atomic scale. Building the LCLS: Weekly Update by Brad Plummer Construction highlights from the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) this week include: - Electricians are disconnecting lighting in the Beam Transport Hall for a few days while connecting the switchboard in utility Building 2.3, which sits atop the Beam Transport Hall. - Crews inside the Far Experimental Hall are applying the final lining of shotcrete. - The temporary adit that was opened to expedite X-ray tunnel excavation is being backfilled, now that tunneling operations are complete.	Events (see all \| submit) April 26 - 28: Computing Outage April 28: (10:00 a.m.) Performance Evaluation Training Session Access (see all) Alpine Gate & PEP Ring Road closed Gates 17 & 30 open 24-7 Research Yard bisected Announcements (see all \| submit) Lab Announcements Computing Outage - April 26-27 L&D's Spring Quarter Courses Community Bulletin Board Public Lecture - April 29 - "Cosmic Dawn: The First Star in the Universe" (Tom Abel) Stanford Wellness Fair - May 1 Stanford Community Partnership Program 2008 - May 1-2 Jamie Davis Concert - May 3 New Weight Management Program to start at SLAC - STAP News (see all \| submit) The Dynamics of Dark Energy: ZEN Probes the Limits International Science Grid This Week Evolution of Internet Powers Massive Particle Physics Grid Network World
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	Friday - April 25, 2008