On Target (February 1998)

Hall B Overview

FEL Nearing Completion

Getting Re-Acquainted with Familiar Surroundings

Down to the Wire: Telecommunication and Network Staff Work to Connect ARC

Former JLab Student Named as Rhodes Scholar

Service, Commitment, and Dedication

Just for Fun!

A New Year's Resolution

End of Run Celebration Surprises

Food Service Company Brings New Flavors to JLab

Why Physicists Don't Act Normal

Happy Birthday Electron!

Small Disadvantaged Business Award


Hall B Overview

Ten different experiments scheduled for December herald the beginning of regular physics experiments in Hall B. The first run continued until Christmas, and will recommence on February 1 concluding March 9. Data collected during the investigations could appear in published form as early as January 1999. "This is the start of physics, of real experiments in the third hall," says Larry Cardman, associate director for physics. "This is a serious, major milestone. Hall B completes our initial complement of science."

Forty-four experiments have been approved for Hall B. Participating in the investigations are researchers from more than 32 universities and institutions in the United States, Armenia, France, Italy, Russia and South Korea.

A key component in Hall B's operation is a unique particle detector, one of the most complex pieces of equipment ever designed and built at Jefferson Lab. The CLAS, or CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer, was constructed over seven years and cost $40 million. CLAS has an enormous capacity to monitor particle interactions: 1,500 per second on 40,000 channels. A week's worth of CLAS data will produce as many bytes of information as there are individual letters and numbers in all the books now in the Library of Congress.

Thus far, CLAS appears to be meeting initial design expectations.

"There are always things to be done," says Bernhard Mecking, head of the Hall B group and senior scientist in the physics division. "But during the last year we've demonstrated that the detector is behaving pretty close to what we predicted 10 years ago. All our assumptions turned out to be correct. That makes us happy."

Capacity, however, comes with a cost: a vast flood of information that must be screened and analyzed. Although universities will be responsible for final physics perusal, Jefferson's responsibility is for the initial canvass, which includes identifying specific reactions and particle types. Managers admit that sifting through gigabyte upon gigabyte of data will prove a formidable task.

"The challenge is to get the physics understanding out of all that raw information," Cardman says. "It's going to take a lot of people a long time. I'm confident we'll be able to do it."

The task will be made easier as Lab specialists put the finishing touches on a dedicated "computer farm," a linked network of workstations that will handle the digitized results of Hall B studies. Incoming data will at first be stored in a "silo" area, on magnetic tape, and eventually transferred to multi-gigabyte disks. Working with those disks, Lab researchers will begin their preliminary examination before forwarding the disks to participating universities and institutions.

Hall B experiments will focus on three of the six known "flavors" of quarks: the up, down and strange. Scientists are attempting to better comprehend the interactions between those quarks and other particles, known as gluons, that hold quarks together in the form of protons and neutrons.

"We are trying to understand the basic properties of matter," explains Volker Burkert, Hall B group leader and a senior staff scientist in the physics division. "Our real focus remains on understanding the fundamental forces that hold together regular matter - in a sense, why we and the universe exist in the way we do.

"This is really basic research; there is never a direct application one can point to. But on the other hand, perhaps there is an energy hidden in the binding force between these quarks that we may be able to use one day. When things are discovered it's often very difficult to predict what will happen."

One prediction that can be made with relative certainty is that Jefferson Lab's budget, while not drastically reduced in the current fiscal year, will remain tight. The FY 1998 Laboratory appropriation is $68.6 million, compared to $68.4 million in FY 97. Not included is the cost of inflation, which amounts to roughly $2 million. To make up the difference, Lab senior managers have decreased available travel moneys, delayed equipment purchasing and upgrades and postponed non-critical maintenance.

The budgetary decrease is not projected to have any significant effect upon Hall B operations. But there is little money available for unforeseen difficulties.

"We do not have adequate equipment funding to move forward on upgrades and improvements that we think are desirable at this point," Larry Cardman says. "And we don't have any cushion should any serious problem arise. We're skating on the edge."

Cardman and others on the Director's Council expect the situation to brighten by FY 1999. The Dept. Of Energy has assured Lab director Hermann Grunder that the '99 appropriation will include retroactive inflation adjustments. Beyond then, no guarantees have been made.

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FEL Update

On the brink of unraveling the science that holds our world together, scientist here at Jefferson Lab are once again hard at work in order to bring forth another significant scientific and technical event. As we all know, the Jefferson Lab Free Electron Laser (FEL) project has been the topic of discussion in many forums on physical science. Now the time has come to bring speculation to light. The Jefferson Lab Free Electron Laser is upon completion and prepared to deliver what the science community wants: a fundamentally unique, high power laser.

page2_1.jpg One major step in the process of achieving these goals was achieved Sunday, December 21, 1997 when the FEL succeeding in getting tune-up beam-38 MeV, which is slightly weaker than beam current needed to conduct experiments, to the straight-ahead beam dump. Scientist involve d with FEL development agree concurrently that the laser in on schedule for its January 26 planned full-lazing.

As of this very moment, the FEL project has 95% of it's components in place and is just about ready to assume it's role as an intricate part of the success of Jefferson Lab experiments. Lab employees critical to the success of the project are currently in the process of commissioning these components with hopes of having beam at the straight-ahead dump at 38 MeV by Christmas. FEL developers hope to have full beam participation by the start of February when the Central Helium Liquifier is on-line. The FEL driver accelerator has already received beam from it's injector and is on schedule to condition the laser with it's trial run in conjunction with the nuclear physics program. This experiment requires the driver accelerator to irradiate deuterated ammonia targets to be used in the series of parity experiments in Halls B and C. This exercise only uses the driver accelerator of the FEL and is probably something users will use in the future according to Mikell Seely, lab user. This test of FEL capabilities has direct returns for the nuclear physics community according to Jim Boyce, a physicist in the office of Technology Transfer. "It will present the first opportunity to have a polarized target at Jefferson Lab.", says Boyce. This development proves extremely beneficial to studies dealing with the nuclear spin characteristics. This polarized target effort is a clear demonstration of synergy between research and applied science here at the lab is showing immediate benefits for the nuclear physics program here according to Boyce.

page2_2.jpg The first official experiment to be conducted by the FEL is one in conjunction with DuPont. The experiment involves the roughening of polymers. In the experiment the laser will be used to modify the surface of polymers, by using the unique short pulse feature that the FEL showcases. If successful, a commercial market for the activity already exists, and would prove to be more cost effective for companies in this industry.

Those interested in learning more about the progress of the FEL project are welcome to join the team of FEL developers at the next FEL workshop which is to be held January 14th and 15th. The workshop will discuss current proposed experiments for the FEL and review the potential new proposals to both basic and applied science.


Getting Re-acquainted with Familiar Surroundings

page4.jpg When beginning anew in any environment there derives a great deal of uncertainty, a certain degree of skepticism that inhabits one's duties and everyday actions. This, of course, is the case with most employees who find themselves in new situations. There is a grace period for adjustment and coordinating major duties. Although this is considered the norm amongst modern professionals this doesn't prove true for Dr. Bob Welsh, the new addition to Jefferson Lab's Director's Office staff.

Bob Welsh, a physics professor at William & Mary University, came to this new position with a great deal of enthusiasm. Being a new user of lab experimental facilities, it didn't take Bob long to get acquainted with his new situation. As a professor at William & Mary, Welsh conducted numerous experiments at other laboratories and is familiar with many of the technical aspects of Jefferson Lab. Now serving as Executive Director of the Student Affairs Office and Coordinator of the Virginia Physics Consortium, Dr. Welsh has also had to immerse himself in the administrative element. According to Welsh, "Students are a vital part of exceptional physics experiments going on here [at the lab]." He enjoys people and physics the most, so it is only natural that he take on a position where he encounters both with regularity.

Those who encounter Dr. Welsh routinely compliment his personable traits, most constantly his sense of humor. "He's down-to-earth and easy to talk to.", according to Lynn Chamberlin, University Relations. One way Dr. Welsh displays his traits as a 'people person' is through expressing the genuine interest of the graduate students on-site. According to graduate student Joe Grames, " The role Bob Welsh has undertaken as liaison to the graduate students at the lab is, in my opinion, strongly fueled by his motivation to be a facilitator for improving the quality of graduate life at the lab." One such project was the Graduate Student Luncheon on Wednesday, January 21. During this luncheon, Welsh allowed students to brainstorm ideas about how to organize the Graduate Students Association in a more formal manner, organize a Graduate Student seminar , and discussed future social gatherings for graduate students.

Dr. Welsh enjoys playing tennis in his spare time and he and his wife, Karen Rose, have recently been blessed by a new addition to his family when they adopted a one year old girl from China.


Down to the Wire: Telecommunications and Network Staff Work to Connect ARC

As the Lab approaches a new era in user-lab relations with the development of the Applied Research Center (ARC), there lies a great deal of preparation amongst the lab's administrative services. Issues dealing with logistics, space and overall maintenance services all pervade the minds of lab administration, but the current communications situation on-site has clearly established itself as a formidable challenge concerning the March scheduled ARC Move.page5_1.jpg

According to telecommunications specialist Lois Lucas, the ARC move requires a great deal of groundwork, involving a full upgrade of the lab's telephone switch and voice mail systems. The lab is enhancing it's current telephone system to the largest and most efficient model available. Part of this system will be housed in the ARC building and is scheduled to be installed February 1998. According to Lucas, this proves to be the most beneficial to the lab because the upgrade allows those on-site to reach employees and users at the ARC building via extension dialing as compared to a city-funded upgrade which would have required off-site dialing. The voice mail upgrade also benefits the entire lab. Everyone on site will enjoy new and improved voice mail features as well as many more options with general phone conversation. The phone explosion is about to begin - "I have ordered 140 phones for the Accelerator division alone.", according to Lucas. She also insists that this number will only rise once the move takes place, since the ARC building could have 100 to 150 phones per floor.page4.jpg

The hard work and dedication of this communications upgrade project has fallen solely on the shoulders of those in the telecommunications division comprised of Lois Lucas, Steve Wells, and students Misty Fisher and Steve Singleton. The group also is appreciative of the efforts of Dick Hines, Lucent Technologies and Dick Lusk, procurement, who have assisted in the upgrade. Of course with a complete telecommunications overhaul comes the task of installing new data networks in the ARC. The responsibility of this assignment belongs to Keith Jonak of the Network group of the Computer Center. His duties involve making sure everyone has full-working network capabilities involving the purchase about $80,000 in equipment and contracting the wiring of the ARC with high speed wiring that supports 100 megabit Ethernet.

Overall, the development of the ARC has undergone a smooth process thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Jefferson Lab Telecommunications and Network staff which has put forth a solid effort to get the ARC building completely operational.


    Former JLab Student Named as Rhodes Scholar

    Micah Schwartzman, a former computer center intern, is a 1998 Rhodes Scholar. Schwartzman, a junior at the University of Virginia, helped restructure U. Va.'s honor system, which won him the honor of being a Rhodes Scholar. Schwartzman began in the high school program when JLab was still known as CEBAF. According to Schwartzman, his time at CEBAF stood out to the Rhodes Scholar interviewers. Schwartzman credited CEBAF (JLab) with his knowledge on the beginning of information technology. According to Rita Chambers of the Computer Center, "knowing Micah, I know this is well deserved." The winners won a scholarship to study at Oxford University in England next fall. Schwartzman plans to study political theory.


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    Service, Commitment, and Dedication

    Service. Commitment. Dedication. The State of the Lab Address and the Service Awards held on December 4 commended employees who have contributed to the successes enjoyed by Jefferson Lab thus far.

    According to Lab Director Hermann Grunder "the State of the Lab could best be summed up by stating Jefferson Lab is now an operating laboratory. The experiments are running, giving the lab more exposure. This year the Lab's construction and planning phases are over, and the scientific programs at the lab are rated as outstanding by our peers."

    Lab employees received a wallet-sized card showing the lab's performance goals and a summary of the Institutional Plan. The Institutional Plan aims for outstanding research on quark structure of matter, advancing and applying core competencies synergistically for customers. It also encourages building partnerships with universities, industry, local community, and effective and efficient business practices. Grunder urged Lab employees to internalize the objectives to build upon the successes of the Lab.

    Grunder praised the dedication, commitment and loyal service of Service Award recipients and other lab employees who made 1997 "an extraordinary year" for Jefferson Lab.

    This year 134 Jefferson Lab employees were recognized as five or ten year award recipients, almost twice as many recipients as 1996, and more than 1994 and 1995 recipients combined! Seventy-one 10 year recipients and 63 five year recipients were honored.

    page6_2.gifBesides 1997 being a record year for the number of employees recognized for their outstanding service to Jefferson Lab, this was the first year recipients were able to select their own gift from an Awards Catalog. The ten year recipients choices included a clock and pen set, a brass pencil cup, pen and pencil set, or solid brass bookends. Five year recipients had a choice of a pewter key ring, a lapel pin, glass paperweight, or a pewter letter opener. All gifts were inscribed with the Jefferson Lab logo.

    Ten year recipient Ron Lauze of the Accelerator Division and Lab Director Hermann Grunder

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    Just For Fun!

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    Adult Holiday Party

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    A New Year's Resolution

    Practically everyone has made a New Year's resolution or two. Practically everyone will keep to that resolution for a few weeks then move back into the most familiar of areas - the comfort zone.

    As an organization, there is one New Year's resolution that we need to make and keep: we must improve communication within the Lab. The preliminary results of the recently conducted communications survey show that most of you still find communication to be a problem area.

    Where do we lay the blame? One thing everyone does well and consistently is to lay that blame on somebody else's shoulders. In general, the people who completed the survey had few specific suggestions for how to improve communication. We all know that it is a problem, but what to do? We have an Internal Communications Team (ICT) to study the issue... they'll fix it, right? Wrong. They are only 10 people and this is a 500-person issue. They need your help.

    It has been said that if you get hired at Jefferson Lab it's because "you walk on water." If that is the case, why don't all of us "walk on water" people offer suggestions to improve communications here at the Lab? Why does the responsibility for resolving a communication issue always lay with someone else?

    The truth is that when it comes to communicating, few of us are experts. Frequently, it is more challenging and more comfortable to tackle a complex technical problem than it is to effectively communicate even a simple message.

    Communication is hard work and takes a lot of effort on everyone's part, from the top of the organization down to the bottom. Once you receive an important bit of information, don't just store it away and assume everyone else already knows it. Use it! Pass it along to those who will benefit from knowing what you already know. Whether it be within your group or to other groups, it shouldn't matter. We all have a common goal.

    Everyone here is busy. But if you have the time to notice there's a problem or you have the time to moan about it on the loading dock, in the smoking sheds, or at the water coolers, you ought to have the time to ask each other what can be done about it. And, no, saying "nothing can be done" is not a valid position. If you give apathy, you're going to get apathy in return.

    If you want to improve communications then you have to take on that responsibility. And if we all take on the responsibility, perhaps we can stop walking on water and start "parting the sea."

    - Karen Hokansson, ICT Chair


    End of Run Celebration Surprises

    page9.jpg 1997 was a momentous year for JLab. The accelerator reached its nominal beam specifications (4 Ge, 200 uA); up to 750 kW were delivered; the beam ran successfully in all three halls individually, in pairs, and simultaneously; experiments continued in Hall C; the physics program began in Halls A and B; polarized beam experiments; we successfully tested the ability of polarized beam to perform parity experiments, and the accelerator operated at 4.4 GeV for experiments.

    The FEL also experienced some great moments in 1997. Most of the construction and installation was completed, the first beam was taken to straight-ahead dump, and it's poised to commission first light.

    All of these achievements were recognized at the End of Run Celebration held, mid-January, in the newly completed FEL Facility. Staff members came to celebrate a great year and to learn the "1997 Dubious Achievements" of their colleagues. Some of the more "noteworthy" awards were...The Busy Fingers Award went to Dave Meekins for killing power to every experimental hall by "just" recycling a breaker. Bernard Mecking won the "Dilbert" Award for Continuous Improvement by blocking the Hall B beam pipe with a laser alignment fixture, continuing the Accelerator Division flashlight tradition. The Titanic Award was thrown to Bill Rust for facing the indomitable water leaks in the beam dump cooling systems. To check out other winners of Dubious Achievements check out the JLab web page www.jlab.org/news.


    Food Service Company Brings New Flavors to JLab

    page10_1.jpg When CRH's food service contract expired last spring the bids came in to determine who would be the new food service company to get Lab employees through the day with breakfast, lunch, and snacks. CRH, Marriott, and Eurest food service companies vied for the contract. After six months of evaluation and research Marty Hightower, staff services manager offered the contract to Eurest.

    "I chose the company that gave high quality service at an affordable price," said Hightower.

    page10_2.jpg The cafeteria offers a large selection of food--everyday a grill item, entree, side items, dessert, and soup is offered to suit almost anyone's taste. If you're feeling extra hungry one day go for a combo meal. An entree combo includes two sides and a 16 oz. drink, grill combos include french fries and a 16 oz. drink. The cafeteria also has a fruit, salad and sandwich bar. To see what's for lunch weekly menus are printed and posted around the Lab or you can go to the JLab web page and check out intralab "On The Menu."

    "I think the food is pretty good," said Sheila Norman, Administrative Assistant to the Director's Office.

    The cafeteria, in conjunction with their food vendors, sponsored a "Food Fair" in the CEBAF Center Atrium on November 13. Lab employees were able to taste foods and products that are offered in the cafeteria for free. Drinks, ice cream, and other delicious foods were available from vendors. There were many new faces at the cafeteria that day!

    page10_3.jpg Cafeteria hours are 7:30 a.m.- 3 p.m. daily. A breakfast buffet is served from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m., lunch 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m., snacks and beverages are served until 3 p.m.

    The staff consist of Martin Turner, chef and manager, Mary Haga, cashier, Christy McKee, deli and salad bar, and Mat Bittenbender, grill.

    The price range in the cafeteria is .39 cents and up. Compass, the company which manages Eurest also supplies the vending machine services located in buildings on-site.

    Come try the cafeteria and see for yourself.


    Why Physicists Don't Act Normal

    The CEBAF page11_1.jpgCenter Auditorium was filled with Jefferson Lab employees who were eager to learn "Why Physicist Don't Act Normal." Nathan Isgur, Chief Scientist , head of the Theory Group and the University Relations office summed it up in a phrase "physicist lack common sense."

    Isgur explained that in order to understand the way the world works physicists have to walk an intellectual tightrope, juggling between the "real" world and the world of a physics.

    Being in two places at once is how the world works--the audience chuckled wondering how they could be in two places at once. To explain the concept Isgur compared a BB gun experiment to an electron gun experiment. If there are two holes on a piece of paper, a BB will only go through one hole at a time, while an electron will go through both holes because electrons wiggle-meaning electrons can be two places at once.

    The talk was one of a series to acquaint non-technical employees of the lab with technical aspects of working at the Lab.


    Happy Birthday Electron!

    page11_2.jpgJefferson Lab celebrated the 100th birthday of the electron discovered by J.J. Thomson with a special talk by Dr. Fred Dylla, Program Manager of the FEL Project and Head of the Technology Transfer Program on December 18.

    Dylla, a scientific historian hobbyist, spoke about why the Lab is celebrating the discovery of the electron and Thomson the scientist, his vacuum work, competition, and the role of the electron in the 20th century.

    Thomson's innumerable contributions to the world of science include solving the controversy of the nature of cathode rays, the link between conductivity in gases and electrolytes, proving cathodes are wave-like, and most importantly the first subatomic particle-the electron.

    "If it were not for Thomson's discovery of the electron there would be no CEBAF", according to Lab Director Hermann Grunder.


    Small Disadvantaged Business Award

    page12.jpgJordan Systems, Inc. received the Southeastern Universities Research Association Small Disadvantaged Business Award for Fiscal year 1997. This award was established in 1991 to recognize the exceptional performance by small disadvantaged businesses to excel at Jefferson Lab. Jordan Systems, Inc., a computer solution company, has provided Jefferson Lab with computing and data storage equipment since the fall of 1995. Jordan Systems, Inc. was founded on the principles of excellence, customer service, and integrity. According to Rita Chambers of the Jefferson Lab Computer Center, Jordan Systems, Inc. has lived up to these principles by providing superior performance of all aspects of their computer hardware contracts with the laboratory.

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    Jefferson Science Associates, LLC, manages and operates the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, or Jefferson Lab, for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. JSA is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Southeastern Universities Research Association, Inc. (SURA).

    DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://energy.gov/science