JLab Weekly - July 22, 2020

MEDCON 5 STATUS AND VA WORKPLACE SAFETY
Last week, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced the official adoption of statewide workplace safety rules to help protect Virginia workers from the spread of COVID-19. The mandated protocols include:

• Providing appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), when necessary.
• Enforcing sanitation regulations and proper social distancing.
• Developing or updating infectious disease preparedness and response plans.
• Creating COVID-19 safety training.
• Communicating with the workforce safety measures and regular updates.

These are all safety measures Jefferson Lab has already put in place.

As we continue down this path, we understand that you may have questions. The COVID-19 information portal is an interactive resource that is updated daily with new details. Read the full memo here.
 

Kπ  SCATTERING AND THE κ AND K* RESONANCES FROM LATTICE QCD
​​The simplest two-meson system with unequal mass and carrying strangeness is the Kπ system, which plays a vital role in modern-day particle and nuclear physics. A new paper presents a lattice QCD calculation of elastic isospin-1/2  S-wave and P-wave Kπ scattering, where the elusive κ(800) resonance (with spin-parity J^P = 0⁺) and the K*(892) resonance (J^P = 1^-) reside. Using the methodology of the Luescher formalism, the paper explores several parametrizations of the K-matrix energy dependence for the S-wave, and investigates the positions of the nearest poles in the scattering amplitude.
 

COMPUTER ACCOUNT USER AUDIT – AUG. 3
On Monday, Aug. 3, the CST Division will begin a computer user account audit. All supervisors and sponsors of staff, Users and contractors with Jefferson Lab computer accounts are required to review and re-authorize accounts. This audit is a critical part of maintaining an appropriate level of cybersecurity at the lab. Once the audit begins, the CST Division will send emails to supervisors and sponsors with instructions on how to complete their audit. The audit must be completed by close of business Monday, Aug 31. For questions, contact the CST Division Help Desk at x7155.
 

A.I. LUNCH SERIES - TOM GIBBS - JULY 29
On Wednesday, July 29 at noon, Tom Gibbs of NVIDIA will present "The Convergence of HPC and A.I.: New Methods for Computer Modeling to Address Grand Challenges in Science" during the virtual A.I. Lunch Series.

Abstract: The talk introduces the challenge with conventional modeling to address Grand Challenge problems as Moore’s Law is coming to an end, and the opportunity that is being demonstrated with early examples using Converged HPC and A.I. Methods. These include methods that dramatically improve the scale, accuracy and time to solution with converged modeling and simulation. 

Examples are given for Grand Challenge problems from multiple domains, including fusion, particle physics, weather and climate, biochemistry, astrophysics and material science.

To learn more about A.I. at the lab, click here.
To join, click the BlueJeans link here. 
 

UNDERGRADUATE POSTER SESSIONS – JULY 30-31
Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI), Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) and Mexican Physical Society (MPS) students will present their research remotely during a poster session on July 30-31, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

For information about the students' presentation schedule, view the poster session program here. A link for viewing the sessions live will be shared in the July 29 edition of the Weekly. For questions, contact Lisa Surles-Law.
 

STOCKROOM CLOSED - JULY 27-31
The stockroom will be closed from Monday, July 27- Friday, July 31, for its annual inventory assessment. The stockroom will reopen Monday, Aug. 3. For questions, contact Donald Brown.
 

SPOTLIGHT ON DIEN NGUYEN
As the Nathan Isgur Postdoctoral Fellow in Nuclear Experiment, Dien Nguyen will probe atomic nuclei to learn more about how the particles inside interact. “It’s an honor for me to receive this fellowship,” Dien said. “Studying a very tiny object on Earth helps us make inference on a giant object in space.” 

To read more about her research, click here.
 

JSA POSTDOC PRIZE WINNER- WENLIANG "BILL" LI
Congratulations to JSA postdoc prize winner, Bill Li! The Jefferson Lab User is pushing backward-physics to the forefront by focusing on experiments that will examine proton structure from a lesser-studied perspective. “We look at the moon all the time, but we only look at the side always facing us,” Bill said. “Looking at the backward angle of the electron-proton interaction is almost like probing the side of the proton that you cannot see from the forward angle.” 

Learn more about his research here.
 

WELCOME TO THE LAB!
June was a busy month for our hiring team! We are happy to welcome the following new employees to the lab. Welcome!

• Alexander Austregesilo - Hall D Staff Scientist I, Exp Nuclear Physics
• Ryan Biraben - Hall A Engineer, Exp Nuclear Physics
• Jacob Blackshaw - Accelerator Operator, Accelerator Ops, R&D
• Daniel Caldwell - Performance Analyst, Chief Operating Officer Office
• Tiffany Ganey - Process Engineer, Accelerator Ops, R&D
• Justin Kent - Staff Engineer I, Accelerator Ops, R&D
• Eric Lechner - Postdoctoral Research Associate, Accelerator Ops, R&D
• Rafayel Paremuzyan - Hall B On-Line/Off-Line DAQ Ex, Exp Nuclear Physics
• Katheryne Price - Accelerator Operator, Accelerator Ops, R&D
• Courtney Range - Electrical Safety Training Specialist, ES&H Division
• Holly Szumila-Vance - Hall A/C Staff Scientist I, Exp Nuclear Physics
• Brittany Tolbert - Procurement Officer, CFO Division Summary