LHC Powers Up

LHC First Beam Day at the CERN Control Center. (Photo courtesy of CERN. Click for larger image.)

by Kelen Tuttle

Very early this morning PDT, researchers at the Large Hadron Collider circulated a proton beam around the machine's 27-kilometer ring for the first time. Congratulations to everyone involved in this success!

"It's a fantastic moment," said LHC project leader Lyn Evans. "We can now look forward to a new era of understanding about the origins and evolution of the universe."

The low energy beam circulated had an injection energy of 0.45 TeV—much less than the machine's eventual design goal of 7 TeV. Over the coming weeks, the LHC accelerator team will work to establish stable circulating beams and bring these beams into collision. The team will then focus on the LHC’s acceleration system to boost the beam energy to 5 TeV by the end of the year and 7 TeV by next spring.

The LHC is the world's most powerful particle accelerator, producing beams seven times more energetic and about 30 times more intense than any previous machine when it reaches design performance. Experiments at the LHC seek to explain the mechanism that generates mass, probe the mysterious dark matter of the universe, investigate the reason for nature's preference for matter over antimatter, and observe matter as it existed at the very beginning of time.

See the full CERN press release for more detail. Photos of the first beam circulation events are available on the CERN LHC Web site.

Mike Bogan

by Calla Cofield

A physicist, a chemist and a microbiologist walk into a bar… or better yet, a conference on X-ray imaging. It's not the set-up for a joke, but a good opportunity for Mike Bogan to interface with potential users of the Linac Coherent Light Source. While he develops instruments to analyze a wide range of materials in the LCLS X-ray beam, Bogan is actively spreading the word about the light source's capabilities and its benefits for scientists in different disciplines.

"We want to take advantage of LCLS and get the best and brightest people to use it," Bogan says.

Straightforward and easy to talk to, Bogan dives into a description of his work as a staff scientist with the Photon Ultrafast Laser Science and Engineering center, or PULSE. Along with performing his own biophysics research, he develops instruments that will allow all samples, including cells, viruses, nanoparticles, nanocrystals and single biomolecules, to be analyzed with high efficiency by LCLS.

Bogan's own background is also an interface between different branches of science. He earned his PhD in chemistry at Simon Fraser University, where he worked on a collaborative project on membrane protein structure. He completed his postdoctoral work at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and worked there as a biophysicist doing research with Matthias Frank on single particle aerosol mass spectrometry of polymers and biological materials. While working at LLNL he was also part of the team, lead by Henry Chapman and Janos Hajdu, that performed the first successful single pulse X-ray diffractive imaging experiments using the free electron laser in Hamburg (called FLASH). The group used the laser to demonstrate that nanoscale structures can be imaged before they are destroyed by the ultrafast and ultrabright X-ray pulses. The LCLS will be the next step in free electron lasers, eventually providing higher resolution images than are possible with FLASH. Read more...

2008 Linear Collider Workshop and Meeting

The 2008 Linear Collider Workshop and International Linear Collider meeting will convene in Chicago, November 16–20. For details and registration, see the event Web site.

SLAC Shines at 2008 DOE Golf Challenge

by Phil Cutino

Tanya Boysen, Phil Cutino, Mike Racine, Bob Strohecker and Jess Albino were among 12 SLAC golfers at the 2008 DOE Golf Challenge.

SLAC golfers took on a challenging course to win six team and three individual prizes at the 21st Annual Department of Energy Golf Challenge Monday at Callippe Preserve in Pleasanton. The tournament pairs a two-person team from each of the five participating laboratories with a two-person team from another lab. The players compete in four events: individual low net score, two-person best ball, four-person best ball and closest to the pin on par three holes. Read more...

Conservation Tip of the Week: LEEDership

by John Steward

Executive Order 13423 mandates that 15% of existing federal buildings incorporate certain guiding principals for sustainability. To meet its requirements, the Department of Energy adopted the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Gold certification standard.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and provides a system of measures by which buildings are rated, graded and certified. To achieve LEED Gold certification in 15% of SLAC buildings by 2015, efforts will have to begin now. Going forward, plans for modifications and materials purchases in specified buildings must consider conformance with the LEED rating system. Before making a purchase, please contact one of these LEEDer’s:

• John Steward, Facilities (x2897)

• Micki Decamera, ES&H (x2348)

• Pamela Wright-Brunache, Purchasing (x2440)

Information on the U.S. Green Building Council and LEED certification can be found on the USGBC Web site.

Events (see all | submit)

Today (12:30 p.m.) SASS: Martin Nagel presents "Accelerator Basics"
Today (2:30 p.m.) RPG Seminar: "Dose Rate Characterization for Extremity Exposure Investigation"
Sep 15 (01:30 p.m.) Accelerator Seminar: Kwang-Je Kim (ANL), "An X-Ray FEL Oscillator"

Access (see all)

Loop Road and B040 Parking Lot Closures
PEP Ring Road and Alpine Gate Closed

Announcements
(see all | submit)

Lab Announcements

FY08 Travel Reimbursement Deadline: Sep 12, 12:00 p.m.

Community Bulletin Board

Retiring with a Combined Time of 70 Years!

News (submit)

Physicists in Geneva Turn on Their New 'Why Machine' International Herald Tribune
Scientists' Joy after World's Greatest Atom-Smasher Starts Operations AFP
Into the Wild Blue Yonder: The Large Hadron Collider Starts Up, More or Less The Economist

<% 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/.

LHC Powers Up LHC First Beam Day at the CERN Control Center. (Photo courtesy of CERN. Click for larger image.) by Kelen Tuttle Very early this morning PDT, researchers at the Large Hadron Collider circulated a proton beam around the machine's 27-kilometer ring for the first time. Congratulations to everyone involved in this success! "It's a fantastic moment," said LHC project leader Lyn Evans. "We can now look forward to a new era of understanding about the origins and evolution of the universe." The low energy beam circulated had an injection energy of 0.45 TeV—much less than the machine's eventual design goal of 7 TeV. Over the coming weeks, the LHC accelerator team will work to establish stable circulating beams and bring these beams into collision. The team will then focus on the LHC’s acceleration system to boost the beam energy to 5 TeV by the end of the year and 7 TeV by next spring. The LHC is the world's most powerful particle accelerator, producing beams seven times more energetic and about 30 times more intense than any previous machine when it reaches design performance. Experiments at the LHC seek to explain the mechanism that generates mass, probe the mysterious dark matter of the universe, investigate the reason for nature's preference for matter over antimatter, and observe matter as it existed at the very beginning of time. See the full CERN press release for more detail. Photos of the first beam circulation events are available on the CERN LHC Web site.

Mike Bogan by Calla Cofield A physicist, a chemist and a microbiologist walk into a bar… or better yet, a conference on X-ray imaging. It's not the set-up for a joke, but a good opportunity for Mike Bogan to interface with potential users of the Linac Coherent Light Source. While he develops instruments to analyze a wide range of materials in the LCLS X-ray beam, Bogan is actively spreading the word about the light source's capabilities and its benefits for scientists in different disciplines. "We want to take advantage of LCLS and get the best and brightest people to use it," Bogan says. Straightforward and easy to talk to, Bogan dives into a description of his work as a staff scientist with the Photon Ultrafast Laser Science and Engineering center, or PULSE. Along with performing his own biophysics research, he develops instruments that will allow all samples, including cells, viruses, nanoparticles, nanocrystals and single biomolecules, to be analyzed with high efficiency by LCLS. Bogan's own background is also an interface between different branches of science. He earned his PhD in chemistry at Simon Fraser University, where he worked on a collaborative project on membrane protein structure. He completed his postdoctoral work at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and worked there as a biophysicist doing research with Matthias Frank on single particle aerosol mass spectrometry of polymers and biological materials. While working at LLNL he was also part of the team, lead by Henry Chapman and Janos Hajdu, that performed the first successful single pulse X-ray diffractive imaging experiments using the free electron laser in Hamburg (called FLASH). The group used the laser to demonstrate that nanoscale structures can be imaged before they are destroyed by the ultrafast and ultrabright X-ray pulses. The LCLS will be the next step in free electron lasers, eventually providing higher resolution images than are possible with FLASH. Read more...	2008 Linear Collider Workshop and Meeting The 2008 Linear Collider Workshop and International Linear Collider meeting will convene in Chicago, November 16–20. For details and registration, see the event Web site. SLAC Shines at 2008 DOE Golf Challenge by Phil Cutino Tanya Boysen, Phil Cutino, Mike Racine, Bob Strohecker and Jess Albino were among 12 SLAC golfers at the 2008 DOE Golf Challenge. SLAC golfers took on a challenging course to win six team and three individual prizes at the 21st Annual Department of Energy Golf Challenge Monday at Callippe Preserve in Pleasanton. The tournament pairs a two-person team from each of the five participating laboratories with a two-person team from another lab. The players compete in four events: individual low net score, two-person best ball, four-person best ball and closest to the pin on par three holes. Read more... Conservation Tip of the Week: LEEDership by John Steward Executive Order 13423 mandates that 15% of existing federal buildings incorporate certain guiding principals for sustainability. To meet its requirements, the Department of Energy adopted the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Gold certification standard. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and provides a system of measures by which buildings are rated, graded and certified. To achieve LEED Gold certification in 15% of SLAC buildings by 2015, efforts will have to begin now. Going forward, plans for modifications and materials purchases in specified buildings must consider conformance with the LEED rating system. Before making a purchase, please contact one of these LEEDer’s: • John Steward, Facilities (x2897) • Micki Decamera, ES&H (x2348) • Pamela Wright-Brunache, Purchasing (x2440) Information on the U.S. Green Building Council and LEED certification can be found on the USGBC Web site.	Events (see all \| submit) Today (12:30 p.m.) SASS: Martin Nagel presents "Accelerator Basics" Today (2:30 p.m.) RPG Seminar: "Dose Rate Characterization for Extremity Exposure Investigation" Sep 15 (01:30 p.m.) Accelerator Seminar: Kwang-Je Kim (ANL), "An X-Ray FEL Oscillator" Access (see all) Loop Road and B040 Parking Lot Closures PEP Ring Road and Alpine Gate Closed Announcements (see all \| submit) Lab Announcements FY08 Travel Reimbursement Deadline: Sep 12, 12:00 p.m. Community Bulletin Board Retiring with a Combined Time of 70 Years! News (submit) Physicists in Geneva Turn on Their New 'Why Machine' International Herald Tribune Scientists' Joy after World's Greatest Atom-Smasher Starts Operations AFP Into the Wild Blue Yonder: The Large Hadron Collider Starts Up, More or Less The Economist
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	Wednesday - September 10, 2008