12 GeV Upgrade

A series of wire-plane winding tests were carried out at the Indiana University Cyclotron Facility in preparation for a full-scale prototype of a Hall D Forward Drift Chamber plane. These wire packages, circular in shape and nearly one meter in diameter, are made from a light-weight fiberglass/foam composite and support the tension of nearly 200 wires. Located on either side of these wire planes are very thin cathode strip planes that image the charge seen on the wires during an electron avalanche caused by a passing charged particle. Minimizing the material in the active portion of the detector has been the main goal, to minimize the photon conversion and reduce the uncertainty of the momentum reconstruction.

Accelerator

As the scheduled accelerator down period is approaching, the accelerator is operating at a high rate of efficiency. The three experimental halls divided 370 hours of beam delivery. Among the week's highlights were periods of 100 microamp beam to Hall C and more than eight hours of Accelerator Operations beam test plans successfully accomplished. The only significant problem encountered was a glycol chiller system malfunction, which was fixed promptly by staff members.

Free-Electron Laser (FEL)

The FEL received funding from the Office of Naval Research to cover work for the rest of the fiscal year. The FEL team is grateful to all who provide support for its continuing efforts. On the technical side, the first sextupole was installed in the beamline, and FEL staff members verified proper operation of the gun test stand sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) safety valve. In addition, several team members participated in the FEL Technology Area Working Group at Argonne National Lab. Staff members worked on committees looking at the technology status of optics, injectors and beam transport.

Engineering

The Personnel Safety System group and Instrumentation and Controls group participated in a Design and Status Review for the 12 GEV project. Also, the 12 GeV klystron specification has been passed on to Project Management for final signatures. 

Announcements

E-Waste Recycling Event at ODU on June 7
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation invites the general public to drop off old electronics at Old Dominion University in Norfolk for safe and environmentally sound disposal and recycling. The event will be held 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 7. There is no residency requirement, and no pre-registration is required. For more information, visit JLab's We Hear That page or the E-Waste Recycle Days website.

JLab's Safety Numbers

259 Days since Last Recordable Accident (JLab record: 319)
578 Days since Last Lost Workday Accident (JLab record: 578)

JLab Calendar of Events

June 2-13: DOE ES&H Inspection - Onsite Inspection Visit
June 16-19: Users Group Workshop and Annual Meeting
June 30-July 2: Science & Technology Review
July 4: Independence Day Holiday (JLab closed)
July 8-10: DOE ES&H Inspection - Report Validation and Closeout
July 14-19: Lattice 2008
July 22-24: DOE Office of Science OPA Independent Project Review of the 12 GeV CEBAF Upgrade Project
July 22-25: Thin Film - Superconducting Radiofrequency Technology Workshop

JLab Education Calendar
May 27-Aug. 1: Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships
June 2-20: Hampton University Graduate Studies program
June 16-Aug. 1: JLab High School Summer Honors Program
July 7-Aug. 1: Academies Creating Teacher Scientists
July 14-18: Christopher Newport University LifeLong Learning Society at JLab
Aug. 1: Summer Science Education Poster Session, CEBAF Center lobby

Environment, Safety, Health & Quality

With temperatures already rising into the 90s, it's a good time to emphasize some basic information about "beating the heat" both at JLab and at home. Remember that heat sensitivity is affected by age, weight, fitness condition and other medical conditions. Follow these tips to stay cool:

• Drink plenty of fluid, about one cup every 15 minutes, even if you do not feel thirsty
• Take rest breaks as needed
• Schedule heaviest work for the coolest part of the day 
• Wear lightweight, loose-fitting light-colored clothing plus a hat if in the sun (don't forget the sunscreen)
   

For additional information, see this tip sheet from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. JLab-specific information can be found in the JLab ES&H Manual Chapter 6670, Thermal Stress.

Computing and Networking Infrastructure

JLab Auger/PBS Fedora 8 Compute Farm in Production
JLab's experimental physics compute farm is now in production service with Fedora 8 running PBS/Maui scheduling and resource management. More information is available in the Scientific Computing Wiki.

Adobe Flash Player Plugin Upgrade
A new version of the Adobe Flash Player plugin has been released that fixes a major security hole in all previous versions. This new version will be pushed out to all Computer Center managed Windows and Linux systems during the maintenance period on June 10. However, you will need to upgrade this yourself if your system is not managed by the Computer Center, you are using a Mac, or you are using Internet Explorer for your web browsing. In each of those cases, you will need to go to the Adobe website for an upgrade of the Flashplayer plugin. Please do this as soon as possible, as the security hole is being actively exploited. If you have any questions, contact the HelpDesk at x7155, or send an e-mail to helpdesk@jlab.org.

Scheduled Maintenance Period, Tuesday, June 10, 5-10 p.m.
During maintenance, expect periods where central computing systems will be unavailable. The following outages/upgrades are currently scheduled:

• The central file server will be rebooted. This will cause all central file services to be unavailable. Expect outages in e-mail, CUE home, group, site, and apps, and MIS applications, such as Insight, reqs, JList, etc.
• A new version of the Adobe Flash Player plugin for Firefox will be delivered to all Computer Center managed Linux and Windows systems
• Mathematica 6.0.1 and Maple 11 will become the default versions on Computer Center managed Unix and Linux systems. 
• The JTalk server, which is used for Instant Messaging among staff, will be unavailable as it is reconfigured.
• The Computer Center will send out patches to all Computer Cetner managed Linux and Windows systems. These systems will need to be rebooted following the maintenance period to complete the installation.
• The DHCP server will be reconfigured, but this should cause few, if any, interruptions in service.
   

For a complete list of items that will be affected during this maintenance period, visit the Computer Center Maintenance Schedules page.