Jefferson Lab Weekly Briefs March 7, 2012

Jefferson Lab Weekly Briefs
March 7, 2012

12 GeV Upgrade

The 12 GeV team is working to re-plan FY12 and FY13 installation activities in response to the reduced FY12 funding and subsequent extension of the machine shutdown to a 16-month duration starting in mid-May 2012. Revised schedules and resources are being coordinated with the "Long Shutdown" planning team.

Physics

Hall A was active last week, getting ready for the g2p experiment. The beamline was finished and a first alignment was done for straight-through beam. Beam was delivered to Hall A on Friday, and scientists spent the weekend commissioning various pieces of apparatus, such as beamline instrumentation, spectrometer optics, detectors and polarimeters. It was a very productive weekend, although some problems remain, which staffers are working on this week. The group hopes to move to production data-taking on g2p rather soon.

In Hall C, Q-weak took production data with the liquid hydrogen target and some data with an aluminum target to measure target wall backgrounds. Some extra Moller (polarization) measurements were made to attempt to null out transverse components of the beam polarization.

Users Group Town Hall
All Users are invited to attend the Users Town Meeting on the JLab Long Range Plan on Friday, March 16 in the CEBAF Center auditorium. The program is now final. If you plan to attend, R.S.V.P. to Susan Brown. You can find more information on the CUGA wiki.

Last Chance to Apply for the JSA/JLab Graduate Fellowship Program
JSA, LLC, is now accepting applications for the 2012-2013 JSA/JLab Graduate Fellowship Program. More information and an application can be found on the JSA, LLC website. The application deadline is March 9.

Last Chance to Apply for the JSA/JLab Sabbatical Support Program
JSA is now accepting applications for the 2012-2013 academic year JSA/JLab Sabbatical Support Program. More information and an application can be found on the JSA, LLC website. The application deadline is March 9.

Accelerator

Accelerator operations staffers began the week with Hall B receiving 70 picoamps of beam current and Hall C receiving 180 microamps. Hall A continued setting up for the next experiment. On Tuesday, the accelerator was turned off to allow a full day of maintenance to be performed. Maintenance items addressed include cooling water leaks, the repair of multiple beam position monitors, oxygen sensor head change outs, vacuum ion pump troubleshooting and lots of radiofrequency (RF) systems work. Returning to operation proved a challenge. Initially, a faulty limit switch prevented a vacuum valve from opening to allow beam through, then the Arc 5 dipole power supply would not turn on. This was determined to be from shorted wiring on a thermal protection switch. With that fixed, beam delivery was stalled beyond the South Linac, because the timing of the RF cavities had changed from the work performed during the maintenance day. Beam was back to Hall C just before noon Wednesday. Friday finally saw beam into Hall A; however, that night was plagued with RF separator faults turning off the beam. Electrical Engineering Support worked well into the night to fix it. Sunday night saw the failure of the South Linac local oscillator drive line coupler, which took out the RF for most of Owl shift. Overall, it was a rough week, with multiple down times lasting several hours.

Free-Electron Laser

The FEL team continued efforts to set up high-power electron beam last week and successfully energy-recovered 1.5 milliamps of continuous-wave beam. Staffers also continued installation work on the ultraviolet wiggler chamber, which is required for future optics tests. Re-certification of the optical system is in progress. On Friday night, the team re-established CW lasing in the FEL. This week, the team is hosting the International ICFA Workshop on Future Light Sources for 150 attendees.

Engineering

The g2p/GEp beamline is now installed and prepared for the start of physics. The challenges in developing this beamline were in satisfying the breadth of the four beam energies and the low beam current (50-130 nanoamps). Several new diagnostics and their associated applications software were created to support measuring beam position and beam current at the low current levels. A movable chicane that must be adjusted for the different beam energies added to the complexity of the beamline.

JLab Calendar of Events

March 5-9: International ICFA Workshop on Future Light Sources
March 12: Safety Shoe vendor onsite
March 12-19: Workshop on Confinement Physics

Environment, Safety, Health and Quality

What do pizza makers and JLab staffers have in common? Both have the potential for working in potential oxygen deficient environments. On Dec. 15, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a willful health violation to a pizza manufacturer for exposing workers to an oxygen deficient environment when processing pizzas in the liquid nitrogen cryogenic freezer. The freezer creates the potential for an oxygen deficient atmosphere due to the buildup of nitrogen gas in the production area.
 
Many work areas at JLab store or use compressed gases, liquefied gases and volatile liquids. The uncontrolled release of these gases and liquids could lead to a reduction in the amount of available oxygen in the work area. There are serious health effects associated with exposure to decreased oxygen levels. Blue or yellow Oxygen Deficiency Hazard (ODH) signs at building or room entrances indicate the presence of usage or storage areas for these gases and liquids. JLab provides training and has educational requirements to apprise JLab workers about these materials, places where they can be used and alerting systems in the event of a release.

If you see these signs and don’t know the hazards or how they can impact you, it is extremely important to speak with your supervisor and determine if you need the ODH training (SAF 103).

Announcements

Education Seeks Projects for Summer Honors Interns
JLab's Science Education team is seeking ideas and suggestions for projects, and project and mentor volunteers, for the lab's 2012 High School Summer Honors Program, June 25 to Aug. 3. Students chosen for the program will have a strong academic record and a strong desire to learn about the lab's science and technology. Lab scientists, engineers and other technical managers who are interested in serving as a mentor to these high-achieving high school students and have a project, or number of projects, to be accomplished this summer, are asked to send a description of the work to be assigned to Brita Hampton, x7633, by May 1.

United and Continental Merger and Frequent Flyer Accounts
If you have a frequent flyer account with one of these carriers, a new account number will be sent to you by March 3. To take advantage of the benefits offered under MileagePlus and OnePass programs, update your Rearden profile (online booking system). For more on this topic, visit the Travel News link.

JLab Publications Seminar
If you are an author who needs a refresher course on using JLab Pubs, the next one will take place on April 3, 9-10 a.m. in CEBAF Center room F226. If you plan to attend, R.S.V.P. by Friday, March 30. Topics that will be covered in this brief course iclude: What kinds of publications are submitted; How to submit and resubmit your paper into the signature queue; How to review and approve papers. Come with your questions and become a master of JLab publications. Refreshments will be provided.

Shred-It Truck Stops at JLab on March 16
The Shred-It vendor truck will stop at JLab on Friday, March 16, to collect and shred JLab "business sensitive" documents. The truck will be at the VARC at 8:30 a.m. Small to moderate quantities of JLab business sensitive documentation may be deposited in the four locked containers in Room 71 in the VARC, Bldg. 28. Three-ring binders, metal clips and clasps, and plastic binding and cover materials must be removed from all documents before putting them into the holding containers. Staff from offices or work centers with large volumes of business sensitive documents should contact Mike Lewellen to make special Shred-It truck arrangements.

Annual T-Shirt Contest is Underway!
The Jefferson Activities Group is seeking entries for the annual JLab T-shirt design contest. Entries due by March 12. For design requirements and rules, visit the JAG webpage.

Tracking Thomas at JLab
Little Thomas is visiting all corners of the JLab campus. If you can identify his location this week, email Kandice Carter with your guess. Guesses are accepted through Friday.

Congratulations this week go to Michelle Shinn and Subashini De Silva, who were the first to correctly identify the Feb. 22 location. Honorable mentions go to Ryan Bodenstein, Joshua Magee and Harry Fanning. Check out the Tracking Thomas webpage for a better view of his last location and this week's new mystery photo.