Jefferson Lab Weekly Briefs
September 2, 2009

12 GeV Upgrade

Theory Center

Accelerator

On Aug. 25, the accelerator energy was increased by about 0.35 percent and the optics was optimized. Hall A went from pass 1 to pass 3 on Aug. 26.

On Monday, the Central Helium Liquefier (CHL) tripped and was recovered several hours later. Also on Monday, a spin dance was performed and the Wien angle was set to 14 degrees to give the highest beam polarization to Hall A.

Free-Electron Laser

Pavel Evtushenko, FEL staff scientist, was awarded the FEL Young Scientist Prize for 2009 at the 2009 FEL Conference in Liverpool. This is a significant honor that draws competition from many young scientists at large international labs and universities. Evtushenko was cited for his promise in diagnostic work and for the developments he did on the ELBE injector, the JLab FEL and CEBAF.

FEL staff spent the week fixing the FEL gun that developed a field point leading to a leak in the ceramic. The group fixed the leak and is planning to operate at reduced voltage if the gun behaves stably this week.

JLab's Safety Numbers

JLab Calendar of Events

Environment, Safety, Health & Quality

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has estimated that there are 630,000 Lane Change/Merge crashes with 225 fatalities annually. The agency also found that about 60 percent of drivers involved in LCM crashes did not see the other vehicle, and about 30 percent of drivers misjudged the position or speed of the other vehicle. Although every LCM crash cannot be blamed on blind zones, blind zones are involved in every lane change/merge maneuver.

A vehicle is in your blind zone when you cannot see it with your inside mirror or peripheral vision. In order for you to safely change lanes, you must turn and look into the blind zones. You can also turn the two outside mirrors outward to look into the sides of your vehicle. This would create four smaller blind zones that would not be large enough to hide a vehicle.

Changing the mirror setting has five major advantages:

• Turning to look into the blind zones is no longer necessary.
• Only a brief glance in the mirror is required to view a blind zone, as opposed to the longer time required when turning your head. At highway speeds, turning takes your eyes off the road for about 100 feet.
• Glancing at the mirror leaves the forward scene in your peripheral view, while turning your head completely eliminates the forward view.
• The blind zones can be easily included in your visual scanning.
• At night, glare from the outside mirrors is virtually eliminated. The reason for this is that a following car's headlamps are not visible until a car moves into the blind zone, and at that point, the high intensity portion of the headlamp's beam does not hit the mirror.

When the mirrors are used in this manner, it is referred to as the "Blindzone/Glare Elimination Setting" or "BGE Setting." This new setting does take time to get used to, but it enhances driving safety and comfort.

Announcements

United Way School Tools Drive Ends Friday, Sept. 4
The Annual United Way School Tools drive is underway at JLab. Disadvantaged youth in Hampton Roads public school systems need your help as they prepare to head back to school. Collection boxes for donations of new school supplies are in the VARC, CEBAF Center, MCC and ARC lobbies. School supplies for students of any grade level may be placed in the boxes no later than 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4. Appropriate items include: pens, pencils, student scissors, crayons, spiral notebooks, 3-ring binders, binder paper, pocket folders, rulers, protractors, compass sets, etc. The United Way will collect and disburse the materials to area schools. For more information, call Joshua Cameron, Human Resources, ext. 7628

Flu Vaccines Available Early This Year
Seasonal flu vaccine is being provided earlier this year than in the past in order to allow better coordination with H1N1 vaccine, which will probably be available in October. Vaccinations are provided to JLab employees only. If you would like to receive seasonal flu vaccine, please contact Occupational Medicine at ext. 7539 to schedule an appointment. Keep in mind that for 15 minutes after vaccination you should remain at JLab in the presence of other people and avoid safety-sensitive activities, including driving.

JLab Adopt-A-Spot Litter Pickup Set For Sept. 18
The next JLab Adopt-A-Spot Litter Pick up will be Friday, Sept. 18. Everyone at JLab is invited to take part in this community service project. Sign up on the webpage in advance so adequate supplies can be provided. Litter pick up will cover the sidewalk and grass areas paralleling Jefferson Avenue, from the JLab property line just south of Onnes Drive to Oyster Point Road. Meet in the CEBAF Center lobby at 11:15 a.m. for a short safety briefing, trash bags and to get area assignments. Wear comfortable clothes; long-sleeved shirt, long pants and sturdy shoes and gloves are best. More information and an electronic volunteer signup sheet is available online. If you have questions, contact Deb Magaldi, x5102.

Special Colloquium on Sept. 9
High-Field Losses in SRF Cavities will be presented by Gianluigi Ciovati, Accelerator Division SRF Institute and recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers on Wednesday, Sept. 9 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the CEBAF Center auditorium. Refreshments will be available before the colloquium starting at 3 p.m. on the at a glance calendar at  http://www1.jlab.org/ul/calendar/calendar_date.cfm?date=9&month=9&year=2009