12 GeV Upgrade

Progress continues on various detector-related R&D projects, mainly in Halls B and D, and on engineering and design work in all halls. In Hall C, the next phase of a contract to complete the reference design of the Super High Momentum Spectrometer (SHMS) support structure and shield house has started. A design and safety review of the Hall D Barrel Calorimeter and Forward Calorimeter took place at JLab on Feb. 19-20. The review included presentations by several JLab users on their detector and electronics work and excellent discussions of the technical aspects of the design. The committee report is expected within the next few weeks. A recent Hall B collaboration meeting included a strong emphasis on both 12 GeV engineering work and science capabilities. Hall D hosted a workshop last week to discuss additional ideas for science with the GlueX detector, with more than 60 attendees.

Physics

All three Experimental Halls are in an installation phase.

Accelerator

The scheduled Accelerator Down (SAD) activities continued at an industrious but safe pace.

• Injector: Load Lock Gun 2 studies continued, and the photocathode was sucessfully activated and loaded into the high-voltage chamber. All lasers are aligned, sized and optimized for beam delivery.
• RF: recovered cavities and pushed drive high limits. SRF (superconducting radiofrequency) commissioning continued.
• Vacuum: Completed installation of ion pump auto reset programmable logic controller (PLC) and other necessary modifications.
• Low-conductivity water leak at NL18 was temporarily fixed. Permanent fix to be scheduled for summer down.

Free-Electron Laser (FEL)

FEL staff made the first cathode in the Gun Test Stand and got the first electrons off, measuring excellent quantum efficiency (QE). FEL staff members plan to carefully begin a measurement program next week on this important milestone. The FEL gun also is proceeding with high-voltage conditioning, the new trim card channels tests continue, and the injector cavity windows were radiofrequency processed in anticipation of high-current operation.  

Theory Center

To study the anomalous photon-photon form factor of the neutral pion, an extended holographic dual model of Qunatum Chromodynamics (QCD) was developed (arXiv:0803.1143 [hep-ph]) that includes the so-called Chern Simons term, which is needed to correctly reproduce the chiral structure of QCD. The form factor was calculated for the case of one real and one slightly virtual photon, and its slope was found to be close to the experimental value. For large virtualities, the predictions of the holographic model were found to analytically coincide with those of perturbative QCD, provided that one uses the asymptotic form for the pion distribution amplitude.

JLab's Safety Numbers

175 Days since Last Recordable Accident (JLab record: 319)
494 Days since Last Lost Workday Accident (JLab record: 494)

JLab Calendar of Events

March 10-14: APS March Meeting, New Orleans
March 18: Tornado Preparedness Day (JLab Tornado Drill)
March 19: JLab Physics Colloquium: Ganapati Myneni, JLab
March 25: Science Series Lecture: The Civil War Unplugged
April 4-5: USQCD All Hands Meeting
April 8-11: 2008 International Technical Safety Forum
April 12-15: APS April Meeting, St. Louis

Environment, Safety, Health & Quality

Prevent Blindness America (PBA), an eye health and safety organization based in Chicago, has named March Workplace Eye Health and Safety Awareness Month. The organization says that 90 percent of the more than 800,000 annual reported workplace eye injuries could be prevented by use of proper eye protection. PBA offers the following tips to help keep eyes safe on the job:

• Safety glasses, goggles and faceshields marked "ANSI Z87" shall be worn at all times when eye hazards are present.
• Workers in areas with eye hazards should know the location of the nearest eyewash station and be trained in its use.
• Workers and visitors must comply with all Lab work area signs stating eye protection requirements.
• JLab workers who wear prescription glasses should ask their supervisors about Lab-provided prescription safety glasses. The Lab provides financial support of prescription eyewear if needed. More information on avoiding eye injuries at home or while participating in sports can be found online.

Following Procedures Could Have Prevented Air Force "Near Miss"
Most of us have heard about the U. S. Air Force (USAF) aircraft where strategic munitions were mistakenly flown along with six unarmed devices. This error went undetected for 36 hours and resulted in major changes to the way flight crews now prepare for mission activities.

This event demonstrates what happens when organizations and their people, regardless of the activity, do not follow procedures in their daily work. This is important to remember as we go about our daily business at Jefferson Lab, where we strive to take a quality-driven, consistent approach to what we do.

DOE's Integrated Safety Management System's (ISMS's) five Core Functions provide us with a safety framework. With regard to following procedures, Core Function 4, Perform Work Within Controls, is the one that applies.

The other ISMS Core Functions are: Core Function 1, Define the Scope of the Work; Core Function 2, Analyze the Hazards; Core Function 3, Develop and Implement Hazard Controls and Core Function 5, Provide Feedback and Continuous Improvement.

For additional JLab applicable ISM information, see the Lab's ISM website.

Computing and Networking Infrastructure

Instant Messaging at JLab
The CNI Group is pleased to announce the deployment of an instant messaging solution for the JLab on-site community. The jabber server is currently available to all JLab users and uses a standard instant messaging client. You can find out more information on how to install and/or configure your client on this Computer Center webpage.

Microsoft Office 2007/2008 Compatibility Information
Windows and Linux users: for helpful information on using the new software, visit the Computer Center webpages. Mac OS X users can download Microsoft Office 2008 by following the instructions located here.

Announcements

ISM Progress Tallied Online
The Lab is preparing to receive a visit from DOE’s Office of Health, Safety and Security (HSS) in June. The ISM website features updates on the Lab's progress. Check out the updates each week in the tan column on the left side of the ISM homepage.

Tornado Preparedness Day (JLab Tornado Drill)
On Tuesday, March 18, Jefferson Lab will join with schools and business across Virginia in Tornado Preparedness Day. At 9:45 a.m., all National Weather Service offices serving Virginia will issue a tornado drill warning. At the lab, we also will deploy our sitewide alert system to indicate the start of the drill. Through this system, a message will be delivered to pagers and e-mail. JLab staffers should make their way to the designated safe areas at their work location. To determine your safe area or for more information, see the full announcement.

JLab Colloquium and Public Lecture
Ganapati Myneni, Jefferson Lab, will present “SRF - Past, Present and Future Options” in the CEBAF Center auditorium at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 19.

Radworker General Access RWP
If you are a radiation worker, you should have read and signed the 2008 General Access RWP; the deadline to update this training was January 31. To complete the training, cick the link, read the General Access RWP, and hit "Click here when you have read and understand this document." It will take you to another page where you will input your first and last name and the last 4 digits of your social security number or passport number. This will give you credit for completing this training. If you have any questions regarding this training, e-mail Becky Mosbrucker at becky@jlab.org or call x7236.