From the Operations Director: SLAC Subcouncils Team with Operations to Support SLAC Science

by Alexander Merola

It is only fitting that I begin my first Friday column by stating that the principle motivator of the Operations Directorate is to ensure the scientific competitiveness of SLAC in a safe and environmentally sound manner. Thus, it is imperative that priorities of the Operations Directorate be strongly coupled to the scientific priorities of the lab. The SLAC subcouncils are key to this alignment.

There are a number of ways in which Operations ensures a strong coupling to SLAC science. First, we participate in the creation of the SLAC/Department of Energy 10-year business plan. From that, the SLAC agenda is derived, reflecting senior management agreement as to how Operations can best serve SLAC's scientific mission. Where the rubber hits the road, SLAC subcouncils representing each of the directorates interface with Operations to align specific activities with the needs of SLAC scientists.

Subcouncils are a formal part of the SLAC Executive Council and will provide Operations leadership with user input about current and future activities—serving as a key source of user requirements and performance feedback. All major changes in service, infrastructure, policy and user procedures will be made in consultation with the subcouncils. Subcouncil members are expected to provide broad and thorough communication between members of their directorates and Operations. Read more...

Calling All Softball Players

by Kelen Tuttle

The Drell-Richter Trophy.

Last year at the annual SLAC softball game, the Accelerators clobbered the Researchers 38–10. Will they do it again? Come help decide this year's outcome at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 5. Everyone—accelerator physicists, researchers and anyone in between—is invited to play or cheer.

As always, the victorious team will receive the Drell-Richter Trophy, which honors the founding fathers of SLAC softball. Although the trophy has a decidedly particle physics history, everyone at SLAC is invited to battle to call it his or her own—until next year's game, that is.

Both teams welcome new players from all areas of the lab. Anyone interested in participating is encouraged to contact Mike Woods. Warm-ups start at 1:00 p.m. and the game begins at 2:00 p.m. at Roble Field on Stanford's main campus, with refreshments following the game.

More information is available at the SLAC Annual Softball Game Web site.

Word of the Week:
Fermi Surface

by Brad Plummer

The Fermi surface is a theoretical concept used by physicists to predict the magnetic, electrical and optical properties of metals, semiconductors and other materials. It is an abstract concept, not representing a physical "surface." Rather, it is a uniquely shaped plane on a graph corresponding to specific properties of a material's electronic structure, such as the regularity of atomic arrangement and the occupation of energy bands.

The LHC Stars on Sunday's 60 Minutes

Panorama of CERN.
(Image courtesy of CERN.
Click for larger image.)

The 41st season premier of 60 Minutes will feature the Large Hadron Collider this Sunday, September 28, in a segment called "The Collider." The show, with 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft, includes interviews with four U.S. scientists: Bob Stanek from Argonne, Monica Dunford from the University of Chicago, Steven Goldfarb from the University of Michigan and Steve Nahn from MIT, as well as James Gillies and Austin Ball from CERN.

60 Minutes airs on CBS at 7:00 p.m. PDT.

Events (see all | submit)

Sep 30 (12:30 p.m.) Experimental Seminar: Current NuMI/MINOS Oscillation Results or Neutrinos
Oct 1 (1:30 p.m.) AIS: Toshinori Abe presents Hybrid Photon Detectors
Oct 3 (3:00 p.m.) Recent Status and Experience of Demagnetization Experiment at PAL

Access (see all)

Announcements
(see all | submit)

Lab Announcements

Community Bulletin Board

News (submit)

Metal-organic Frameworks Feel the Pressure ANL news release
Viewpoint: Quantum Computing over the Rainbow the APS Physics

<% 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 Operations Director: SLAC Subcouncils Team with Operations to Support SLAC Science by Alexander Merola It is only fitting that I begin my first Friday column by stating that the principle motivator of the Operations Directorate is to ensure the scientific competitiveness of SLAC in a safe and environmentally sound manner. Thus, it is imperative that priorities of the Operations Directorate be strongly coupled to the scientific priorities of the lab. The SLAC subcouncils are key to this alignment. There are a number of ways in which Operations ensures a strong coupling to SLAC science. First, we participate in the creation of the SLAC/Department of Energy 10-year business plan. From that, the SLAC agenda is derived, reflecting senior management agreement as to how Operations can best serve SLAC's scientific mission. Where the rubber hits the road, SLAC subcouncils representing each of the directorates interface with Operations to align specific activities with the needs of SLAC scientists. Subcouncils are a formal part of the SLAC Executive Council and will provide Operations leadership with user input about current and future activities—serving as a key source of user requirements and performance feedback. All major changes in service, infrastructure, policy and user procedures will be made in consultation with the subcouncils. Subcouncil members are expected to provide broad and thorough communication between members of their directorates and Operations. Read more...

Calling All Softball Players by Kelen Tuttle The Drell-Richter Trophy. Last year at the annual SLAC softball game, the Accelerators clobbered the Researchers 38–10. Will they do it again? Come help decide this year's outcome at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 5. Everyone—accelerator physicists, researchers and anyone in between—is invited to play or cheer. As always, the victorious team will receive the Drell-Richter Trophy, which honors the founding fathers of SLAC softball. Although the trophy has a decidedly particle physics history, everyone at SLAC is invited to battle to call it his or her own—until next year's game, that is. Both teams welcome new players from all areas of the lab. Anyone interested in participating is encouraged to contact Mike Woods. Warm-ups start at 1:00 p.m. and the game begins at 2:00 p.m. at Roble Field on Stanford's main campus, with refreshments following the game. More information is available at the SLAC Annual Softball Game Web site.	Word of the Week: Fermi Surface by Brad Plummer The Fermi surface is a theoretical concept used by physicists to predict the magnetic, electrical and optical properties of metals, semiconductors and other materials. It is an abstract concept, not representing a physical "surface." Rather, it is a uniquely shaped plane on a graph corresponding to specific properties of a material's electronic structure, such as the regularity of atomic arrangement and the occupation of energy bands. The LHC Stars on Sunday's 60 Minutes Panorama of CERN. (Image courtesy of CERN. Click for larger image.) The 41st season premier of 60 Minutes will feature the Large Hadron Collider this Sunday, September 28, in a segment called "The Collider." The show, with 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft, includes interviews with four U.S. scientists: Bob Stanek from Argonne, Monica Dunford from the University of Chicago, Steven Goldfarb from the University of Michigan and Steve Nahn from MIT, as well as James Gillies and Austin Ball from CERN. 60 Minutes airs on CBS at 7:00 p.m. PDT.	Events (see all \| submit) Sep 30 (12:30 p.m.) Experimental Seminar: Current NuMI/MINOS Oscillation Results or Neutrinos Oct 1 (1:30 p.m.) AIS: Toshinori Abe presents Hybrid Photon Detectors Oct 3 (3:00 p.m.) Recent Status and Experience of Demagnetization Experiment at PAL Access (see all) Bldg 40 and 84 Parking Lots Closed Sidewalk Project from South Target Road to Bldg 33 PEP Ring Road and Alpine Gate Closed Announcements (see all \| submit) Lab Announcements All Bldg 34 Plumbing Out of Order New ES&H Manual, Ch 11: Excavation Safety Community Bulletin Board SLAC Annual Softball Game Oct 5 Faculty Staff Help Center: September 2008 Workshop News (submit) Metal-organic Frameworks Feel the Pressure ANL news release Viewpoint: Quantum Computing over the Rainbow the APS Physics
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<% 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/.