12 GeV Upgrade

Civil construction continues to make progress during the Six Month Shutdown. At the South Access building, the upgrades to the low-conductivity water systems are near completion. The pumps for the east arc are circulating water and the pumps for the South Linac are scheduled to be started this week. For the new tunnel penetrations at the beam switchyard, the holes have been augured to the tunnel roof and sleeved. The initial core into the tunnel roof and grouting is complete for one of the penetrations. After the grout is set and the sleeve is determined to be watertight, a second core will be done to penetrate completely through the tunnel roof, anticipated to be next week. At Hall D, the walls for the tunnel extension to the existing northeast tunnel stub are complete. The watertight partition inside the existing northeast tunnel stub will be completed this week. Upon completion of the watertight partition, the subcontractor will start saw-cutting the existing tunnel roof and east wall for connection of the new tunnel extension to Hall D.

Physics

In Hall A, the g2p installation is continuing. There was a problem with the target platform delivered from the vendor; some parts were made with a too-thin material. A new platform is being fabricated on a rush basis. Apart from that, the installation is on schedule.

Dance Your Ph.D. Contest Call for Entries
Put on your dancing shoes and pull out your video camera for the Dance Your Ph.D. contest 2011. In this international competition, scientists explain their graduate work through an interpretive dance. Video entries are due Oct. 10.  Finalists in each of four categories—physics, chemistry, biology and social sciences—win $500, and the grand-prize winner will receive an additional $500 plus travel and accommodation to TEDxBrussels, one of the largest gatherings of artists and scientists in the world, in Belgium on Nov. 22.

Accelerator

In the injector, the annihilation counter source measurement was completed for the Polarized Electrons for Polarizerd Positrons, and the 45 MeV spectrometer is back in place awaiting alignment and multiple hookups. In the arcs, the final four-meter dipole was installed. In the east arc, dipole hookups and magnet torque checkouts have been found to be okay. The South Linac tunnel is being locked up early in the mornings for 2L24 superconducting radiofrequency testing during the day and into the night. Equipment installation and testing continues in  the other zones, 2L22-2L26. Installations that have been completed include 2L23 LCW hoses, field control chassis, AC Distribution, low-level RF PZT amp and the stepper motor control chassis. Hurricane preparations were completed by the end of the week, with a lot of equipment powered down and secured. Power was lost Saturday, and recovery of the cryogenics and systems began Sunday morning. Equipment and procedures put in place after Hurricane Isabel greatly reduced the impact of the outage.

Free-Electron Laser

It has been an exciting week dealing with natural disasters. The drive laser and Central Helium Liquefier continued running through the 5.8 earthquake; the beam was not running at the time, but FEL staffers expect that would also have been okay. The team spent the latter part of the week preparing for Hurricane Irene; all team members made it through okay, with no major damage. The FEL team continues to try to resolve a stubborn field emission site in the FEL gun.

Center for Theoretical and Computational Physics

A comprehensive analysis of target mass corrections (TMCs) to structure functions has been performed by a collaboration of theorists from JLab, Hampton University and students from the DOE Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship and NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates summer internship programs. Several different prescriptions for TMCs were considered, along with their impact on various observables, such as the neutron to proton structure function ratio and parity-violating electron scattering asymmetries for protons and deuterons, which are sensitive to γZ interference effects. Understanding these corrections, which play an increasingly important role at large quark momentum fractions x and low momentum transfers squared Q², will be vital for the interpretation of future inclusive electron-scattering experiments at 12 GeV.
 

Environment, Safety, Health and Quality

Slips, Trips and Falls in the Office
Many people do not think of offices as having many hazards, but according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2008, more than 25,500 office workers suffered a disabling fall in an office setting. Preventing falls starts with keeping your work area clutter free, using the correct ladder when accomplishing a task that is not easily accessed from the floor, and maintaining a clear line of vision of your walking path through the workplace.

Computing and Networking Infrastructure

Announcing the PC Purchase Program
The CNI group has joined with the Stockroom to form the JLab PC Purchase Program. This program makes the purchasing of desktops, laptops and monitors easier and faster. The equipment is suitable for our environment and is ADP pre-approved. Visit the JLab PC Purchase Program webpage for more details.

CNI Maintenance Period Planned
The CNI group is planning a maintenance period on Tuesday, Sept 6, 5-10 p.m. During this time, the Windows J:, K:, L: and M: drives will be unavailable while windows domain configuration is updated. In addition, the JLab Terminal Servers (jlabts) will be unavailable while the virtual machine infrastructure is updated. The print server, jlabprt, will also be down for about 30 minutes while the server is upgraded. For further information, contact the IT Division Helpdesk, x7155.

Announcements

Provide Feedback on JLab's Hurricane Irene Response
JLab is conducting an online survey about preparations and communications related to Hurricane Irene. The survey period will end Friday, Sept. 2. This is an anonymous survey. Your name and other personal details are not collected. The survey is hosted by SurveyMonkey.

Onsite TIAA-CREF Counseling Offered
TIAA-CREF will offer individual counseling sessions onsite on Oct. 7, Nov. 4, Nov. 17 and Dec. 8. In these sessions, employees can discuss their personal financial situation with a TIAA-CREF consultant on a confidential basis. To discuss your plan and options for managing your retirement savings or to schedule an appointment with a TIAA-CREF individual consultant, call TIAA-CREF at (800) 732-8353, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.

Tracking Thomas at JLab
Little Thomas is visiting all corners of the JLab campus. If you can identify his location this week, email Kandice Carter with your guess. Guesses are accepted through Fridays.

Congratulations to Jason Willoughby, Kim Kindrew, Lori Zukerman, Narciso Gomez, DeAnn Maddox, Stephanie Vermeire and Kent Stephenson, who were the first to correctly identify the Aug. 24 location. Honorable mentions go to Dana Cochran, Michael Haddox-Schatz, Susan Brown, Tanya-Gaye N. Stewart, Michelle Shinn, Jodi Patient, Dick Owen, Samika Hawkins, Lamont Williams, Mike Koch, Ron Bartek, Casey Heck, Doug Higinbotham and Cindy Eller. Check out the Tracking Thomas webpage for a better view of his last location and this week's new mystery photo.

JLab Calendar of Events

Sept. 5: Labor Day holiday; JLab closed
Sept. 12: Safety Shoe vendor onsite
Sept. 26: Safety Shoe Vendor onsite