People:
Kim Cook—SLAC's Own Rocket Man
Cook, right, discussing an issue with George Delli-Santi (center) and Chip Dryden (left), while readying a rocket for launch. (Photo courtesy Kim Cook.)
by Lori Ann White
As a child, SLAC machinist Kim Cook built model rockets from kits. And like many intelligent, curious, technically minded kids, he grew up to study electronics, computer programming and engineering. He left model rockets behind for more than two decades, except for one brief visit during which he once again built model rockets with his intelligent, curious, technically minded daughter.
Cook stayed busy at technically minded places, including a first stint at
SLAC, where he went from working at the machine shop to working on
the Super Conducting Final Focus—the magnets that focused the
electron and positron beams before they entered the
Stanford Large Detector during the 1990s. He also worked at the research and development institute SRI International (where he "did fun stuff for a year and then got laid off "); Lyncean Technologies, a company founded by SLACers to produce compact versions of the Stanford Synchrotron
Radiation Lightsource for industry and small labs (where he had the "dubious distinction of being the only guy on the planet to align both an accelerator and a storage ring"); and finally back to SLAC.
During all the years when Cook thought he had left rockets, rockets never really left Cook. He found that out in 1998, when he saw something that set the stage for his reentry: an article on the front page of the Hollister Free Lance, the local weekly, about a man named Bill Colburn who built rockets in a hanger at Hollister Airport. Cook thought Colburn might offer something he'd always yearned for in his younger days.
"I'd always wanted to build something bigger," he explained. Cook went to Hollister Airport to meet Colburn, thinking Colburn might give him that chance.
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VPN Service Changes
from the Office of the Chief Information Officer
The SLAC VPN (virtual private network) service is a primary means of user remote access, allowing full connection to the SLAC core network. To mitigate a recent cyber security issue associated with an active SLAC VPN connection, the Computing Division must modify our VPN security policy. This new policy is scheduled to be implemented the morning of Tuesday, February 8.
The policy will require two simple changes to the way that we use our core VPN. First, passwords should not be saved within the client connection software (the software you use on your laptop or PC to remotely connect to the SLAC network). The amended policy mandates that your SLAC network login method should always require the manual entry of your password. This includes all SLAC and non-SLAC devices that are configured to connect to the SLAC network. New SLAC VPN client software with this configuration change will be pushed out to SLAC-owned mobile Windows devices next Tuesday. A link to instructions for non-SLAC Windows devices is shown below. The second change requires that our VPN servers be configured for a maximum eight-hour connection time. At the end of eight hours, the VPN connection will be terminated. Connection may be immediately reestablished by the user (by reconnecting) if desired.
The Computing Division has created a new Windows VPN Client. SLAC employees with SLAC-owned Windows computers will automatically have this client uploaded. If you are a non-SLAC employee, or use your personal computer to access the SLAC network by VPN, please click on the appropriate link below to either automatically install the new client or manually configure it on your machine.
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