From the Director: Efforts for FY08 Supplemental Funding

by Persis Drell

In response to the wide-spread damage to science that resulted from the FY08 appropriations bill in December, many constituencies in recent months have been advocating consideration of supplemental funding in FY08 that would include increases to science. As the time now approaches when supplemental funding must be appropriated by the Senate and House to support the war effort in Iraq, we will soon learn if those efforts will be successful.

There is currently a supplemental appropriations bill for FY08 under consideration by both House and Senate. The House approved a bill last week that did not include any spending for science. An initial Senate Appropriations Committee markup last week included $1.2 billion for science, of which $100 million is targeted for the Office of Science. A less-costly version of the Senate bill was passed yesterday and it still contains $100 million for the Office of Science. The language of the current Senate bill indicates that $55 million is for Fusion research and $45 million is targeted at High Energy Physics.

We are still a long way from closure on this issue. The House and Senate versions of the supplemental funding bill must be reconciled before submission to the President. The President is threatening to veto the bills in their present form. We anticipate that the dust will settle by mid June but it is extremely difficult to predict the outcome of the current process.

The impacts to SLAC for any supplemental science funding are not known at this time. However we are fighting hard to support this effort. Any supplemental funding in FY08 that would include increases to science would be a critical factor in sending a positive signal that the promise of the America Competes Authorization Bill is becoming a reality. Even more importantly, supplemental science funding in FY08 could help build momentum for FY09, a critical year for America Competes to take hold.

SLAC Flavors
Scientific Society

by Matt Cunningham

Aina Cohen at SSRL.
(Click on image for larger version.)

Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (SSRL) Staff Scientist Aina Cohen recently accepted the role of president-elect for the Pittsburgh Diffraction Society (PDS). Her first task in this role will be organizing the 66th annual Pittsburgh Diffraction Conference (PDC), which will take place October 30 – November 1, 2008. The conference will be preceded by a workshop sponsored by the Hauptman Woodward Institute (HWI), the University of Pittsburgh and SSRL.

The workshop, titled Crystallography Made Easy through Automation, will demonstrate how crystallographic techniques may be simplified by using automated facilities at SSRL and HWI. The conference itself will cover topics relevant to researchers in chemistry, physics and structural biology including diffraction phasing, protein structure refinement, synchrotron data collection and combined methods for structural biology and chemistry research.

"It's definitely an honor to be presiding over such a great conference," Cohen said. "The conference will expose people to the nuts and bolts of crystallography, so they have the opportunity to learn about their own field, but also to explore other fascinating areas of X-ray diffraction."

Raymond Orbach to Address Lab Wednesday

by Kelen Tuttle

Dr. Raymond L. Orbach, Under Secretary for the Department of Energy Office of Science, will speak at a laboratory-wide meeting at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 28. All are invited and encouraged to attend this special event, which will take place on the main SLAC lawn (located between the A&E Building and the Linear Café). Refreshments will be served.

Word of the Week:
Diamondoid

by Brad Plummer

In chemistry, a diamondoid is a molecular fragment of diamond, consisting of just a few units of the diamond crystal lattice bonded together, and is made up of carbon atoms arranged in a cage-like structure. Diamondoids of different sizes occur naturally in petroleum and gas deposits and are of great interest to materials scientists because of their unique mechanical and electrical properties.

Building the LCLS: Weekly Update

by Brad Plummer

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

- Grading the section of PEP Ring Road above the Beam Dump.

- Installing cable trays and electrical switchgear in the Front End Enclosure.

- Pouring the roof deck and painting the floors of the sub-basement in the Near Experimental Hall.

Events

May 27: (12:30 p.m.) Experimental Seminar: Measurement of CP violation in B-meson decays at DO

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New Executive Director for Canadian Light Source Lightsources.org
Scientists See Supernova in Action NY Times
Argonne Scientists Develop Way to Predict Properties of Light Nuclei NY Times

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From the Director: Efforts for FY08 Supplemental Funding by Persis Drell In response to the wide-spread damage to science that resulted from the FY08 appropriations bill in December, many constituencies in recent months have been advocating consideration of supplemental funding in FY08 that would include increases to science. As the time now approaches when supplemental funding must be appropriated by the Senate and House to support the war effort in Iraq, we will soon learn if those efforts will be successful. There is currently a supplemental appropriations bill for FY08 under consideration by both House and Senate. The House approved a bill last week that did not include any spending for science. An initial Senate Appropriations Committee markup last week included $1.2 billion for science, of which $100 million is targeted for the Office of Science. A less-costly version of the Senate bill was passed yesterday and it still contains $100 million for the Office of Science. The language of the current Senate bill indicates that $55 million is for Fusion research and $45 million is targeted at High Energy Physics. We are still a long way from closure on this issue. The House and Senate versions of the supplemental funding bill must be reconciled before submission to the President. The President is threatening to veto the bills in their present form. We anticipate that the dust will settle by mid June but it is extremely difficult to predict the outcome of the current process. The impacts to SLAC for any supplemental science funding are not known at this time. However we are fighting hard to support this effort. Any supplemental funding in FY08 that would include increases to science would be a critical factor in sending a positive signal that the promise of the America Competes Authorization Bill is becoming a reality. Even more importantly, supplemental science funding in FY08 could help build momentum for FY09, a critical year for America Competes to take hold.

SLAC Flavors Scientific Society by Matt Cunningham Aina Cohen at SSRL. (Click on image for larger version.) Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (SSRL) Staff Scientist Aina Cohen recently accepted the role of president-elect for the Pittsburgh Diffraction Society (PDS). Her first task in this role will be organizing the 66th annual Pittsburgh Diffraction Conference (PDC), which will take place October 30 – November 1, 2008. The conference will be preceded by a workshop sponsored by the Hauptman Woodward Institute (HWI), the University of Pittsburgh and SSRL. The workshop, titled Crystallography Made Easy through Automation, will demonstrate how crystallographic techniques may be simplified by using automated facilities at SSRL and HWI. The conference itself will cover topics relevant to researchers in chemistry, physics and structural biology including diffraction phasing, protein structure refinement, synchrotron data collection and combined methods for structural biology and chemistry research. "It's definitely an honor to be presiding over such a great conference," Cohen said. "The conference will expose people to the nuts and bolts of crystallography, so they have the opportunity to learn about their own field, but also to explore other fascinating areas of X-ray diffraction." Read more...	Raymond Orbach to Address Lab Wednesday by Kelen Tuttle Dr. Raymond L. Orbach, Under Secretary for the Department of Energy Office of Science, will speak at a laboratory-wide meeting at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 28. All are invited and encouraged to attend this special event, which will take place on the main SLAC lawn (located between the A&E Building and the Linear Café). Refreshments will be served. Word of the Week: Diamondoid by Brad Plummer In chemistry, a diamondoid is a molecular fragment of diamond, consisting of just a few units of the diamond crystal lattice bonded together, and is made up of carbon atoms arranged in a cage-like structure. Diamondoids of different sizes occur naturally in petroleum and gas deposits and are of great interest to materials scientists because of their unique mechanical and electrical properties. Building the LCLS: Weekly Update by Brad Plummer Construction highlights from the Linac Coherent Light Source this week include: - Grading the section of PEP Ring Road above the Beam Dump. - Installing cable trays and electrical switchgear in the Front End Enclosure. - Pouring the roof deck and painting the floors of the sub-basement in the Near Experimental Hall.	Events May 27: (12:30 p.m.) Experimental Seminar: Measurement of CP violation in B-meson decays at DO Access (see all) Partial close of south side of Loop Road between South Target Road to B 033 Building 84 Power Outage Loop Road traffic restrictions and partial closure Alpine Gate & PEP Ring Road closed Gates 17 & 30 open 24-7 Research Yard bisected Announcements (see all \| submit) Lab Announcements Smoke in the air from Santa Cruz County fire Let's Celebrate Jonathan Juneteenth 2008 2008 Employee Recognition Awards Community Bulletin Board Arla LeCount is retiring A celebration of the science of Edward Teller - May 28 (LLNL) News (see all \| submit) New Executive Director for Canadian Light Source Lightsources.org Scientists See Supernova in Action NY Times Argonne Scientists Develop Way to Predict Properties of Light Nuclei NY Times
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	Friday - May 23, 2008