12 GeV Upgrade

The 12 GeV Upgrade achieved a critical milestone on Nov. 9, when the Department of Energy approved the project’s baseline scope, cost and schedule. The approval, known as Critical Decision 2 or CD-2, Approve Performance Baseline, caps years of planning and preparation by the Jefferson Lab User community and project team. According to DOE, CD-2 authorizes the final design phase to begin and is required prior to requesting a project’s construction funding in a federal budget. The 12 GeV project will provide scientists worldwide with a tool to greatly expand our knowledge of the quark-gluon structure of nucleons, nuclei, and the forces that bind them, and further solidify the Lab’s standing as a preeminent nuclear physics research facility. CD-2 is the third step in a five-step process. The final two steps are CD-3, Approve Start of Construction (scheduled for 2008), and CD-4, Approve Start of Operations (scheduled for 2015). This has been an outstanding year for the 12 GeV Upgrade project, with the highest recommendation in the NSAC Long-Range Planning process, the approval of CD-2, and overall excellent progress in ongoing R&D and design work.

Accelerator

After the End Station Refrigerator was repaired and back online, the experimental halls resumed taking beam. Multiple pass changes were done for the Halls, starting with the first one on day shift Nov. 15. Additional pass changes followed on Nov. 16, 17 and 18. By Monday, Nov. 19, a total of 181 hours of beam had been delivered among the three halls, and no major accelerator problems had been encountered.

Free-Electron Laser (FEL)

A lot was accomplished this week in a number of areas. For the Gun Test Stand, the high-voltage power supply was brought up to 500 kilovolts in preparation for hooking up the gun, which requires delivery of the pressure tank that passed certification once a leaky O-ring was fixed. The cathode scanner was successfully bench tested. For the FEL gun, the cathode was installed and pumped down in preparation for the vacuum bake. In the Terahertz Lab, after cooling the solenoid magnet to 2K, it was run up to 16 Tesla. Finally, the pulsed laser deposition system was delivered for Lab 5.

Announcements

Your chance to be heard & get a $3 coupon
Quark Cafe staff is seeking your input through Monday, Nov. 26, on the full range of its services and food pricing, quality and variety. Pick up a survey at the Quark Cafe checkout during breakfast or lunch, fill it out and return it to the checkout area for a $3 coupon that can be used toward any Quark Cafe breakfast or lunch purchase.

JLab Children's Holiday Party
The JLab Children's Holiday Party is set for Saturday, Dec. 8, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the CEBAF Center lobby. All children of Lab employees, contractors and users are invited. The JAG is planning crafts, snacks and a visit from Santa Claus. Each family is asked to bring a new, unwrapped toy donation for Toys for Tots. All children must be accompanied by an adult.

Toys for Tots Drive Underway
As in years’ past, JLab is participating in the U.S. Marine Corps’ annual Toys for Tots toy drive. Bring in your donation of new, unwrapped toys for children ages 1-12 by 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7. Local marines will pick up the toys during the children's holiday party on Saturday, Dec. 8. Marked drop boxes are located near the main entrances of CEBAF Center, VARC, ARC, Test Lab and the MCC. For information about the Toys for Tots program, visit www.toysfortots.org.

Ready, Set, Decorate!
JAG is also sponsoring a Holiday Office Door/Cubicle Decorating Contest. Prizes will be awarded for the Best Decorated, Most Original Decoration, and the Silliest. All employees, Users and contractors with an office or cubicle may enter the contest. To enter, e-mail JAG Chair Dave Williams at williamd@jlab.org by 5 p.m. Dec. 14. Include your name(s), building number and office/cube location. Judging will take place Dec. 17 and 18 and the winners will be announced on Dec. 20. Decorations may go up as early as Dec. 3 and should be taken down by Jan. 4. Decorating materials should be fire resistant and only UL-approved lighting/electronics may be used. Food may not be used in your decorations.

JLab's Safety Numbers
63 Days since Last Recordable Accident (JLab Record: 319)
382 Days since Last Lost Workday Accident (JLab record: 455)

JLab Calendar of Events

Nov. 22-23: Thanksgiving holidays
Dec. 4: Science Series Lecture: The Laser at 50
Dec. 8: Children's Holiday Party
Dec. 24-Jan. 1: Holidays/Shutdown Days

Environment, Safety, Health & Quality

Building Alarm? Evacuate now. No exceptions!
JLab is responsible for ensuring a safe workplace. This includes taking appropriate measures for fire prevention and protection and timely response to alarms.

Each person onsite -- whether staff, User, contractor or visitor -- also has a responsibility to themselves and others to actively participate in fire safety. This includes the prompt, orderly evacuation of a building when the fire alarm sounds. An alarm may be due to a developing fire or other life-threatening situation; it could be a planned drill; or it might be due to a speck of dirt in a smoke detector. Trained, appropriately-equipped specialists will diagnose the actual cause, but all occupants need to be out of the building, gathered at their designated mustering point. On occasion, JLab conducts evacuation drills, or there are unplanned alarms, and not everyone proceeds directly to the nearest exit. What would cause this potentially risky behavior? Safety experts name several motivations:

• Many building occupants do not start evacuation immediately, partly due to apathy or complacency. “It’s not a real fire. I have time to go back to my office first.”
• Many people will try to determine what is happening before evacuating. “Do I really need to leave? I’m busy right now.”
• Occupants tend to exit a building using the same door they entered, usually the front door. This is rarely the fastest exit, partly because this is the way everyone else is exiting, so the pathway is crowded and movement is slowed.

JLab is required by law to conduct fire drills. Studies show that people who have participated in regular fire drills, and in ideal conditions, will evacuate a non-high-rise building in about two minutes. Evacuation time triples to about six minutes when fire drills are not conducted regularly. Building occupants are expected to respond to fire alarm signals promptly and in accordance with the building’s evacuation plan. These are posted on walls at strategic locations. Every occupant of a building should know her or his primary exit route and at least one alternate route. Visitors in buildings, especially those who are unaccompanied by Lab staff, should be informed about evacuation routes and alarm response. During an evacuation, regular occupants should assist visitors in exiting the building and moving to the nearest muster point (also shown on the evacuation diagrams). Attempting to re-enter a building with the alarm sounding or to travel up stairs or against “traffic flow” is both reckless and unacceptable.

Holiday Food Safety Tips
Special care is needed with a house full of people cooking unfamiliar dishes with unfamiliar utensils. Cook to safe internal temperatures (turkey needs to be 185° F). Keep it hot (140° F) or cold (40° F) during transport and serving. Reheated food should be hot (165° F) and steamy, not just warm. Also, be careful with that carving knife and how you handle glass with wet or greasy hands.

Computing and Networking Infrastructure

'Tis the season for E-Card Scams
The holidays are here again, and with them come the yearly flood of electronic greeting card scams. As popular as eCards are with your brother Phil and your Aunt Lucy, they're even more popular with Internet fraudsters, as several JLab computer account holders have recently learned firsthand. Cybersecurity staff report that several JLab computer users have already fallen victim to fake e-cards containing computer viruses.

Microsoft Office 2007 and Windows Vista
The JLab IT Division will offer classes on Nov. 28 on two new software packages: one on the major differences between Microsoft Office 2003 and Microsoft Office 2007 and another on the major differences between Windows XP and Windows Vista. See the full announcement for details.

Redhat Enterprise Linux 5 Now Available
Redhat Linux 5 is now available for installation. If you would like to install this version of Linux, please stop by the Help Desk (F200) and ask for an installation CD and instructions. There is currently no Geant 4 support for this version, but the Computer Center is working to make this available in the future.

Windows Vista Deployment Information
All new Windows-based system purchases should specify Windows Vista. Systems currently running Windows XP Professional should continue to do so until the hardware is replaced. Users who are interested in upgrading existing systems to Vista should examine Microsoft's hardware requirements carefully before proceeding. Systems currently running Windows 2000 Pro should be scheduled for upgrade to Windows XP, or replaced with new systems running Vista. For more information, see the Computer Center's Windows page.