JLab Newsletter: e-OnTarget - October 2006

Check out JLab's main webpage story: JLab can now transfer data 60 times faster than before
Jefferson Lab's onramp to the information superhighway just got a lot wider. The Computer Center recently announced the activation of the Lab's direct link to the Eastern Litewave Internetworking Technology Enterprise (E-LITE), a new fiber-optic ring in Hampton Roads.

Innovative effort by Cryogenics Group saves Jefferson Lab $1,000/day in cooling costs for the Central Helium Liquefier
Staying cool in summer's heat often means soaring electricity bills. Now, thanks to a clever new use of available technology, Jefferson Lab's superconducting components are keeping their cool with a third less electricity.

United Way campaign at JLab runs from Oct. 2-6; includes team participation contest and fundraiser picnic
The United Way annual fundraising appeal runs Oct. 2-6 at Jefferson Lab. The Lab's goal this year is 100 percent participation. "This is a great way to give back to our community," says JLab Director Christoph Leemann, "to help make our community a better place and to say 'thank you' for the support this region has given to the Lab over the years."

Workshop on Short-Range Correlations in Nuclei to memorialize the life and scientific work of Kim Egiyan
Jefferson Lab colleague Kim Egiyan devoted a large fraction of his scientific life to the study of short-range correlations. Kim Egiyan, an internationally respected scientist and humanitarian, passed away in August of this year and Jefferson Lab and the nuclear physics community is devoting this workshop to his memory and his work.

JSA implements new Work Breakdown Structure/Annual Work Plan at JLab; training for management initiative underway
Jefferson Science Associates, LLC (JSA) will be implementing a number of operations and business management initiatives over the next two years. These initiatives were proposed for the new contract -- some at the direct request of DOE and some as best business practices designed to improve or enhance organizational efficiencies.

FEL Research Moment
Rox Anderson, a professor of dermatology at Harvard University who helped pioneer laser tattoo removal at Massachusetts General Hospital, returned to Jefferson Lab on Aug. 25 to conduct his next round of sebaceous-gland tissue research using the Free-Electron Laser.

DOE, Jefferson Lab perform assessment of JLab's Environmental Management System
The Department of Energy and Jefferson Lab recently conducted the first review of Jefferson Lab's Environmental Management System (EMS) since recognizing the Lab's EMS as officially in place in December 2005. The audit was conducted Sept. 19-21. Preliminary results -- from the review closeout held Sept. 21 -- were favorable.

Family of deceased Top Guard Robert Lease sends thanks to JLab community
To Jefferson Lab employees and Top Guard Security employees, the family of Robert K. "Bob" Lease (Aug. 2, 1961-July 27, 2006) acknowledges with deep appreciation your kind expressions of sympathy.

Milestones for September 2006
Milestone entries posted by Human Resources.

Jefferson Lab announces two Fall Science Series lectures; examine evidence of an ancient supernova, the magic of Harry Potter
Remains of a star going supernova and a physics discussion of the magic found in Harry Potter books are the topics of Jefferson Lab's Fall Science Series. The first presentation, "When Stars Attack!" is Tuesday, Oct. 17, and features Brian Fields from the University of Illinois. He will explain how he is using radioactive sea sludge as a telescope to dredge up the evidence of a near-Earth supernova explosion.

College students and area scientists are invited to catch "When Stars Attack!" at Old Dominion University on Oct. 17.
Brian Fields will give a scientific colloquium on "When Stars Attack!" at Old Dominion University in Norfolk beginning at 3 p.m. Oct. 17. The lecture is part of the ODU Physics Department Colloquia and Lecture series.

Physics Nobel Laureate Frank Wilczek speaks at Old Dominion University Nov. 9
The Nobel Laureate Public Lecture Series at Old Dominion University presents "Fantastic Reality" by Frank Wilczek, Nobel Laureate in Physics (2004), in November. The lecture is scheduled for Nov. 9 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon at ODU's Constant Convocation Center, 43rd St. and Hampton Blvd., Norfolk.

Kovar, Dever receive 2005 Presidential Awards for Meritorious Executives
Each year, the President honors an elite group of career members of the Senior Executive Service who are selected for their outstanding leadership accomplishments and service over an extended period of time in some of the nation's most critical positions in the federal government.

Fermilab's CDF scientists make it official: They have discovered the quick-change behavior of the B-sub-s meson, which switches between matter and antimatter 3 trillion times a second
Scientists of the CDF collaboration at the Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) announced Sept. 25, 2006, that they have met the exacting standard to claim discovery of astonishingly rapid transitions between matter and antimatter: 3 trillion oscillations per second.

Department of Energy Awards Contract for Management and Operation of Argonne National Laboratory to the University of Chicago Argonne, LLC
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on July 31, 2006, awarded a new $2.5 billion, five-year contract for management and operation of Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) to the UChicago Argonne, LLC, owned solely by the University of Chicago.

 

Check out JLab's main webpage story: JLab can now transfer data 60 times faster than before (top ^)

Andy Kowalski, deputy Computer Center director, holds up a 10 Gigabit fiber-optic cable before plugging it into the network interface.

Jefferson Lab's onramp to the information superhighway just got a lot wider. The Computer Center recently announced the activation of the Lab's direct link to the Eastern Litewave Internetworking Technology Enterprise (E-LITE), a new fiber-optic ring in Hampton Roads. The new connection allows transfer rates of up to 10 Gigabits per second (Gbps) - a huge increase over the previous peak data transfer rate of 155 Megabits per second (Mbps).

The result is that large files can be transferred up to 60 times faster than before. For instance, transferring one TeraByte of data used to take 15 hours. The new connection can complete the transfer in as little as 15 minutes.

Curtis Meyer, a JLab user and professor of physics at Carnegie Mellon University, says the new network's capabilities don't come a moment too soon. "Even now, the data sets from CLAS [Hall B's CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer] are becoming quite large, with runs producing 10's of Terabytes of raw data now the norm," he notes. "In order to continue to get good physics out of CLAS, we need to learn how to handle such large data sets, and the option needs to be available to go through them several times."

Visit www.jlab.org for the rest of the story.

 

Innovative effort by Cryogenics Group saves Jefferson Lab $1,000/day in cooling costs for the Central Helium Liquefier (top ^)

Jefferson Lab's Cryogenics Group includes: back row (left to right) Scott Thompson, Kelly Dixon, Ernie Ernsting, Brian Murphy, Dan Oprisko, Jon Barbour, Tom Reid, Pat Williams and Garry Justice; middle row (l. to r.) Isaac Snowburg, Bill Hunewill, Mat Wright, Pete Knudsen and Group Leader Dana Arenius; and front row (l. to r.) Tom Slachtouski, Ann Hageman, Buddy Carlton, Mark Stapleton, Rao Ganni, Jonathan Creel and L.T. Yarrington.

Staying cool in summer's heat often means soaring electricity bills. Now, thanks to a clever new use of available technology, Jefferson Lab's superconducting components are keeping their cool with a third less electricity.

The Cryogenics Group in the Accelerator Engineering Department of the Accelerator Division is tasked with providing refrigeration for a variety of Jefferson Lab research activities. Three refrigerators provide -452 and -456 degrees Fahrenheit refrigeration for the operation of the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility and its three experimental halls, the Free-Electron Laser Facility, and the Superconducting Radio Frequency Test Facility.

Jefferson Lab's Deputy Cryogenics Group Leader Venkatarao (Rao) Ganni stands in front of the Central Helium Liquefier's oil removal system

Using their extensive experience in the industrial design of cryogenic systems, group members have designed a new process that revolutionizes the way cryogenic plants work.  Although the benefits of the process are fully realized for new plants, portions of the new process have already been applied to existing plants, resulting in substantial savings in electricity costs at several Department of Energy research facilities. 

Jefferson Lab, Brookhaven National Lab's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Lab have all benefited from the innovation through cooperative collaborations, and now other facilities are expressing interest in implementing the process in their facilities.

To read more about the innovative work done by the Cryogenics Group and the unique processed developed by Deputy Cryo Group Leader Venkatarao (Rao) Ganni, click here https://www.jlab.org/news/releases/innovation-saves-laboratory-1000day-cooling-costs.

 

United Way campaign at JLab runs from Oct. 2-6; includes team participation contest and fundraiser picnic (top ^)

The United Way annual fundraising appeal runs Oct. 2-6 at Jefferson Lab. The Lab's goal this year is 100 percent participation. "This is a great way to give back to our community," says JLab Director Christoph Leemann, "to help make our community a better place and to say 'thank you' for the support this region has given to the Lab over the years."

"Please join me in supporting United Way agencies; be generous in your donation or pledge," he asks. "This is a great opportunity to support those causes or activities that you feel strongly about; steer your pledges or donations toward those programs you support."

The United Way of the Virginia Peninsula partners with local businesses, municipalities, individuals, and other non-profits in a community-wide fundraising campaign that provides necessary resources to programs that address a broad range of community needs. Donations and pledges help fund programs that target everything from basic needs like food and shelter to after-school programs, affordable daycare, transportation for the elderly, job training for the disabled, and much more.

The fundraising effort kicks off at JLab on Monday, Oct. 2 with Lab staff divided into competing teams. Team leaders collect the pledge/donation forms. In a new twist this year, a prize will be given to each team member of every team reaching 100 percent participation.

The campaign will end with a fundraiser picnic and raffle on Friday, Oct. 6. From 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., hot dogs and hamburgers will be sold to raise money for United Way. The food is being donated by Quark Cafe contractor, Eurest. To encourage a large turnout for the picnic, senior Lab leadership will be at the grill - roasting the hot dogs and hamburgers. All money collected during the picnic will be donated to United Way to support community services like after school programs, according to Nina Farrish, Human Resources consultant.

During the picnic, I-Pod raffle tickets will be sold for $1 each. The raffle and team participation winners will be announced Monday.

"I hope to see a large turnout," Lab Director Leemann said. "Come out to enjoy the camaraderie and our pleasant surroundings, and help raise money for the United Way in the process."

Quark Cafe will be open on Oct. 6, selling side dishes and vegetarian fare.

 

Workshop on Short-Range Correlations in Nuclei to memorialize the life and scientific work of Kim Egiyan (top ^)

Dates: 20-21 October 2006
Location: Jefferson Lab, Newport News, Virginia, USA

Kim Egiyan, JLab and Yerevan Physics Institute colleague, devoted much of his scientific life to the study of short-range correlations (SRCs). The internationally respected scientist and humanitarian, who passed away in August, is being remembered by Jefferson Lab and the nuclear physics community with a workshop Oct. 20-21.

Jefferson Lab colleague Kim Egiyan devoted a large fraction of his scientific life to the study of short-range correlations. Kim Egiyan, an internationally respected scientist and humanitarian, passed away in August of this year and Jefferson Lab and the nuclear physics community is devoting the SRC workshop to his memory and his work.

The workshop will focus on the study of dense cold nuclear matter starting from the underlying N-N interaction via short range correlation in nuclei to neutron stars. The main objective of the workshop is to review the current experimental and theoretical status and to discuss future ways to deepen scientific understanding.

The program includes Friday (Oct. 20) morning and afternoon plenary sessions. A social event with family and friends to memorialize him will take place Friday evening. SRC working group meetings are scheduled for Saturday morning.

Confirmed speakers include (as of October 2):
Moskov Amarian (ODU)
Werner Boeglin (FIU)
Claudio Ciofi degli Atti (Perugia)
Donal Day (UVA)
Rolf Ent (JLab)
Shalev Gilad (MIT)
Sabine Jeschonnek (OSU)
Jean-Marc Laget (JLab/Saclay)
Eli Piasetzky (TAU)
Misak Sargsian (FIU)
Rocco Schiavilla (JLab/ODU)
Mark Strikman (PSU)
John Watson (KSU)

The organizing committee hopes you will attend this workshop and participate in the scientific part as well as in the evening event honoring a good friend who had great impact on our field. The committee will publish a more detailed program soon.  If you wish to contribute or have a suggestion, contact one of the organizing committee members.

Organizing Committee:
Volker Burkert (JLab) burkert@jlab.org
Doug Higinbotham (JLab) doug@jlab.org
Eli Piasetzky (TAU)  eip@tauphy.tau.ac.il
Misak Sargsian (FIU)  sargsian@fiu.edu
Stepan Stepanyan (JLab) stepanya@jlab.org

 

JSA implements new Work Breakdown Structure/Annual Work Plan at JLab; training for management initiative underway (top ^)

Jefferson Science Associates, LLC (JSA) will be implementing a number of operations and business management initiatives over the next two years. These initiatives were proposed for the new contract - some at the direct request of DOE and some as best business practices designed to improve or enhance organizational efficiencies. The cornerstone of these initiatives is the integrated performance-based management approach which represents industry's best practices in project management. This approach will be broadly applied to the JLab research environment in order to help realize operational efficiencies and to shift more dollars to science, as driven by the Department of Energy's Office of Science, according to JLab Chief Operating Officer Mike Dallas in a recent All Staff memo announcing the changes.

The approach is supported with systems, tools and processes that will streamline management through a network of integrated projects. The first phase includes development of a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) that contains all JLab work activities and is used to develop an Annual Work Plan (AWP) that facilitates planning and managing of each activity as a project. Shortly after that, an integrated management system (JLab Insight), which tracks and reports project results in near real-time, will be available for use by JSA and the Department of Energy to review performance and facilitate timely operational decisions.

Over the last few months, a number of individuals have been involved with their Division's efforts to develop a project-based WBS. In conjunction with that effort, a planning and execution team has been working diligently to set up the new WBS structure in the Lab's financial system while minimizing impacts to the workforce. These financial systems changes will take place on October 1, 2006 and will required using the new list of Project and Organization Abbreviations.

In order to facilitate a smooth transition to the new project structure, and to provide managers and employees with more information regarding these changes, a series of WBS/AWP Training Sessions are underway. All managers and employees must attend one of the posted training sessions. The new structure will impact everyone at every level of the lab.

 

FEL Research Moment (top ^)

Rox Anderson (left), a professor of dermatology at Harvard University who helped pioneer laser tattoo removal at Massachusetts General Hospital, returned to Jefferson Lab on Aug. 25 to conduct his next round of sebaceous-gland tissue research using the Free-Electron Laser. Pictured here in FEL lab #1 with Bill Farinelli, research associate (center) and Fernanda Sakamoto, M.D., dermatologist, Anderson prepares tissue samples. FEL staff members examine the experiment hutch in the background. Anderson's research is shedding light on photothermolysis, selectively heating tissues with light. His research could eventually be used to develop medical applications including the treatment of adult acne and the stabilization of the plaque found in arteries that leads to heart disease. His previous research led to tattoo removal using laser light and new tattoo inks that can be more easily removed.

 

 

DOE, Jefferson Lab perform assessment of JLab's Environmental Management System (top ^)

The Department of Energy and Jefferson Lab recently conducted the first review of Jefferson Lab's Environmental Management System (EMS) since recognizing the Lab's EMS as officially in place in December 2005. The audit was conducted Sept. 19-21. Preliminary results from the review closeout held Sept. 21 were favorable with only two nonconformance items noted and many opportunities for continual improvement identified, according to Linda Even, JLab Environmental Engineer. A draft assessment/audit report is expected by Oct. 1.

According to Even, the EMS Committee, with line management support, will address the two minor noncompliance items. During the audit closeout, DOE indicated that the committee has also successfully addressed most of the items that the Lab and DOE identified for improvement from the December 2005 assessment of JLab's EMS.

Interviews with JLab employees during this assessment determined that there are individuals from across the campus and accelerator site who would like to become more involved in suggesting or making improvements to Jefferson Lab's environmental program. Linda Even encourages anyone with ideas - employees, users and subcontractors - to contact her via email (lle@jlab.org) with their input. "Tell me where you think we can better protect the environment and make better use of Lab staff or financial resources," she asks.

JLab's EMS was declared to be in place by the DOE Site Office in December 2005 after DOE reviewed the program to ensure that it conformed to the requirements of DOE Order 450.1, Environmental Protection Program. Subsequently, in June 2006, the Environmental Protection Agency gave the Lab's EMS high ratings when it was here for an inspection.

A JLab EMS Implementation Team, headed by Mary Erwin, Chief Financial Officer, worked for 18 months to put the Lab's EMS in place by December 2005. That team has now evolved into the EMS Committee, which is currently working on a range of EMS programmatic activities, concerns and opportunities for improvement. The committee serves under the JLab Director's Safety Council. Craig Ferguson, is the Lab's EMS Management Representative.

The EMS Committee includes Carter Ficklen, ESH&Q Division; Linda Even, ESH&Q; Kelly Dixon, Accelerator Division; Dennis Skopik, Physics Division; Mary Erwin, CFO; Mark Waite, Procurement; John Kelly, ESH&Q; Jim Murphy, ESH&Q; Tom Hassler, Accelerator Division; and Patty Hunt, ESH&Q. The committee meets monthly and can be contacted through any of the members, including Linda Even, ext. 7308 (lle@jlab.org) or Patty Hunt, ext.7039 (hunt@jlab.org).

"Everyone benefits from practicing sound environmental stewardship," Craig Ferguson points out. "The Lab has a proud history of taking good care of the environment and is already benefiting from having an EMS, and we will see even more in the future as we all continue to incorporate environmental protection and pollution prevention into our activities, at the Lab and at home."

 

Family of deceased Top Guard Robert Lease sends thanks to JLab community (top ^)

To Jefferson Lab employees and Top Guard Security employees, the family of Robert K. "Bob" Lease (Aug. 2, 1961-July 27, 2006) acknowledges with deep appreciation your kind expressions of sympathy.

Robert K. "Bob" Lease was a long-time member of the Top Guard Security team at Jefferson Lab. He passed away July 27, 2006.

I want to thank everyone that has kept Bob Lease's family in their prayers. Thank you for the inspirational cards and donations to help us through our hardships. I invite you to go to www.legacy.com and type in Robert's name to share your fond memory of Bob or a funny joke or story that he shared with you in the "guest book". Please share your special memories of Bob with his children, extended family and friends. He was a man of many words, but most of the time his actions spoke louder than words.

He loved being a part of Jefferson Lab. He spoke of how important JLab was for our community. He was proud to be a supervisor security guard and taking care of JLab along with his Top Guard co-workers. He loved working among the JLab employees and he felt that everyone there was important to JLab's mission. He loved being surrounded by people with so many different backgrounds and your many stories.

Many, many thanks for the continued prayers to help us through our hardships, and adjusting to the changes in our lives. Bob is always a part of us and always will be in many ways.

Very Respectfully,
Kimberly Lease and Family
makeheritage4ever@yahoo.com

 

Milestones for September 2006 (top ^)

Hello

Mary Boggs, Radiation Control (RadCon)/Industrial Hygiene (IH) Waste Technician; Environment, Health, Safety & Quality Division
Renee Carter, Procurement Administrator, Administration Division
William Clemens, Machine Shop, Accelerator Division
Doyle Erwin, Shipping Manager, Administration Division
Percy Harrell, Electronics Technician, Accelerator Division
Jared Nance, (casual) RF Structure Analyst, Accelerator Division
Lawrence Sorrillo, Systems Administrator, Physics Division

Goodbye

Darcy Clark, Technical Student Intern, Accelerator Division
David Eardley, Diagnostic Systems Senior Technologist, Accelerator Division
Renato Higa, Theory Center Postdoctoral Fellow, Theory Group
Jim Murphy, Lead QA/QC Assessor/Auditor, EHS&Q Division (Retires Sept. 29)
Steve Singleton, Hazardous Waste Technician/Coordinator, EHS&Q Division
Jim Stroud, Human Resources Director, Administration Division (Departs Oct. 5)
Tim Tran, Detector Group, Physics Division

These Milestone entries, listed alphabetically, are actions posted by Human Resources to take place during September 2006.

 

Jefferson Lab announces two Fall Science Series lectures; examine evidence of an ancient supernova, the magic of Harry Potter (top ^)

Remains of a star going supernova and a physics discussion of the magic found in Harry Potter books are the topics of Jefferson Lab's Fall Science Series. The first presentation, "When Stars Attack!" is Tuesday, Oct. 17, and features Brian Fields from the University of Illinois. He will explain how he is using radioactive sea sludge as a telescope to dredge up the evidence of a near-Earth supernova explosion.

The lives of the most massive stars unfold in a symphony of fundamental forces and culminate in spectacular and violent supernova explosions, according to Fields, an associate professor of astronomy and physics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. While these events are awesome to observe, they can take a more sinister shade when they occur closer to home, because an explosion inside a certain "minimum safe distance" would pose a grave threat to life on Earth. Fields will show how such events can leave fossil traces, in the form of live radioisotopes in geological samples; then he will present recently discovered evidence that a star exploded near the Earth about 3 million years ago. These data, for the first time, allow sea sediments to be used as a telescope, probing the nuclear reactions occurring deep within massive stars.

Then on Tuesday, Oct. 24, George Plitnik, professor of physics at Frostburg State University, Maryland, talks about "The Science of Harry Potter". He will examine the magical events in J.K. Rowling's books and explain the basic principles of physics behind them. Seating is limited; get your seat early. Late comers may have to be turned away to stay within the auditorium's fire code capacity requirements.

The presentations begin at 7 p.m. in Jefferson Lab's CEBAF Center auditorium, located at 12,000 Jefferson Ave., Newport News. The programs are free and open to anyone interested in learning more about science; they last about one hour and include a question and answer period at the end. For security purposes during Science Series events, enter at Jefferson Lab's main entrance (Onnes Dr.). Everyone over 16 is asked to carry a photo ID and security guards may perform ID, bookbag, purse and vehicle checks. For more information, visit: http://education.jlab.org/scienceseries/currentseries.html, or call 269-5102 for more information.

 

College students and area scientists are invited to catch "When Stars Attack!" at Old Dominion University on Oct. 17. (top ^)

Brian Fields will give a scientific colloquium on "When Stars Attack!" at Old Dominion University in Norfolk beginning at 3 p.m. Oct. 17. The lecture is part of the ODU Physics Department Colloquia and Lecture series. The presentation will be in room 200 of the Physics and Oceanography Building. Doors open at 2:30 p.m.

 

Physics Nobel Laureate Frank Wilczek speaks at Old Dominion University Nov. 9 (top ^)

Frank Wilczek Nobel Laureate in Physics (2004) speaks at Old Dominion University on Nov. 9.

The Nobel Laureate Public Lecture Series at Old Dominion University presents "Fantastic Reality" by Frank Wilczek, Nobel Laureate in Physics (2004), in November. The lecture is scheduled for Nov. 9 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon at ODU's Constant Convocation Center, 43rd St. and Hampton Blvd., Norfolk. The lecture is free, open to the public and ODU extends an invitation for all students, faculty and scientists from across the area to attend.

During "Fantastic Reality", Wilczek talks about the fundamental theory of the behavior of matter and how differently that world looks from "everyday" reality. He explains how we've come to understand that the building blocks of matter appear as notes in a "Music of the Void". Wilczek will describe this using a combination of facts, pictures, and jokes. He'll end his discussion with recent discoveries indicating that the world is even stranger than we've understood so far, and how science is rising to the challenge.

Wilczek is currently the Herman Feshbach professor of physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

 

 

Kovar, Dever receive 2005 Presidential Awards for Meritorious Executives (top ^)

From: Orbach, Ray
Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2006
Subject: 2005 Presidential Rank Awards

Dear Colleagues,
I am pleased to inform you that two senior managers of the Office of Science have been honored by President Bush with Presidential Rank Awards for 2005.

Dennis Kovar, Associate Director of the Office of Science for Nuclear Physics, is responsible for DOE's nuclear and high-energy physics research laboratories.

Each year, the President honors an elite group of career members of the Senior Executive Service who are selected for their outstanding leadership accomplishments and service over an extended period of time in some of the nation's most critical positions in the federal government.  Each Presidential Rank Award winner receives a cash bonus and a framed certificate signed by the President. Ms. G. Leah Dever and Dr. Dennis Kovar have won the 2005 Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executives.

 

 

Ms. Dever was recognized "for consistent outstanding performance in improving operational management at the Department of Energy."  Leah served as Associate Director for Laboratory Policy and Infrastructure in the Office of Science until her retirement in June 2006.

Dr. Kovar was recognized "for his consistently outstanding performance and leadership during his more than 14 years of Federal Service."  Dennis has been Associate Director of the Office of Science for Nuclear Physics since 2003.

I congratulate them both for their accomplishments.  Their 2005 Presidential Rank Awards reflect very well on them – and also serve to highlight the wonderfully high caliber employees doing such important work for our nation in the DOE Office of Science. I hope you will join me in congratulating Leah and Dennis for their well deserved 2005 Presidential Rank Awards.

Sincerely,
Raymond L. Orbach
Under Secretary for Science
U.S. Department of Energy

 

Fermilab's CDF scientists make it official: They have discovered the quick-change behavior of the B-sub-s meson, which switches between matter and antimatter 3 trillion times a second (top ^)

BATAVIA, Illinois -  Scientists of the CDF collaboration at the Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) announced Sept. 25, 2006, that they have met the exacting standard to claim discovery of astonishingly rapid transitions between matter and antimatter: 3 trillion oscillations per second.

Dr. Raymond L. Orbach, Undersecretary for Science in the U.S. Department of Energy, congratulated the CDF collaboration on the result. "This remarkable tour de force details with exquisite precision how the antiworld is tied to our everyday realm," Dr. Orbach said. "It is a beautiful example of how, using increasingly sophisticated analysis, one can extract discovery from data from which much less was expected. It is a triumph for Fermilab."

The CDF discovery of the oscillation rate, marking the final chapter in a 20-year search, is immediately significant for two major reasons: reinforcing the validity of the Standard Model, which governs physicists' understanding of the fundamental particles and forces; and narrowing down the possible forms of supersymmetry, a theory proposing that each known particle has its own more massive "super" partner particle.
To read the entire Fermilab news release, visit http://www.fnal.gov/pub/presspass/press_releases/CDF_meson.html.

 

Department of Energy Awards Contract for Management and Operation of Argonne National Laboratory to the University of Chicago Argonne, LLC (top ^)

WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on July 31, 2006, awarded a new $2.5 billion, five-year contract for management and operation of Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) to the UChicago Argonne, LLC, owned solely by the University of Chicago.  The new independent entity was supported in its proposal by the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Northwestern University, participating with the LLC in making significant financial commitments to support scientific activities at the laboratory.

Under the new contract, UChicago Argonne is also joined by industrial partners, Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. and BWXT Services Inc., who will play major management roles in business operations and nuclear operations, respectively.  Under the new contract, these firms have also made commitments to contribute services and other support to the laboratory.

The LLC and its partners have committed to providing $15.5 million over the term of the five-year contract, primarily to support joint appointments and scientific institutes at the laboratory.  The universities will also participate as members of a new Science Policy Council which will advise the laboratory science leadership and report to a Board of Governors reporting to the LLC.  Jacobs and BWXT will also provide representatives to the Board of Governors.

The UChicago Argonne, LLC proposal to DOE contained four major management initiatives intended to retain and build scientific talent at the laboratory, strengthen and improve safety management, upgrade project management systems and capability, and improve information technology to accelerate scientific discovery, reduce business costs and improve internal communications.  The LLC also intends to achieve formal certifications in quality and business management excellence.

"This agreement contains provisions that will enhance the science opportunities at Argonne while providing strong management capability and commitments by the new contractor team," said DOE Under Secretary for Science Raymond L. Orbach. 

The new contract contains a number of provisions intended to provide incentives for superior performance, including award term provisions under which the department may recognize superior performance through phased extensions of the contract for up to a total of 20 years, if the contractor meets specific performance levels established by DOE. 

The initial contract term will be October 1, 2006, to September 2011.  During the initial five-year term of the contract and the first five years of any award term extensions, the LLC could earn an annual fee of up to $5.3 million for superior performance. 

ANL funding for FY 2007, projected to be $508 million, is provided by the Office of Science, other DOE programs, as well as other government agencies and private industry.

 

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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