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Author archive: Elizabeth Clements

From symmetry breaking: Particle Physics Photowalk Exhibits Open Around the Globe

| 17 February 2011 Sure, particle physics machines are highly functional beasts, but their visual allure also becomes clear in the photographs from the first Global Particle Physics Photowalk, soon to be on exhibit around the world. Learn more about the photowalk. Category: Feature | Tagged: , ,

From Fermilab Today: ARRA funds SRF technology, U.S. industry to benefit

| 10 September 2009 In August, the Department of Energy announced that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will provide Fermilab with $52.7 million to test and develop superconducting radio frequency cavities, a key technology for next-generation accelerators and the future of particle physics. The funds provide a significant boost to the SRF program at Fermilab, allowing the laboratory to expand its test facilities and strengthen American manufacturing capabilities. Category: Around the World | Tagged: , , , ,

From Symmetry Magazine: Particle physics benefits: Adding it up

| 9 April 2009 As a lead machinist at Argonne National Laboratory, Frank Meyer recognized the need for industry to supply complex equipment for scientific research. So in 1966 he started Meyer Tool & Manufacturing on a part-time basis in his garage. Three years later, he left Argonne to expand his machine shop into a full-time manufacturing facility. Category: Around the World | Tagged: ,

From Fermilab Today: India’s RRCAT director tours U.S. laboratories

| 7 February 2008 Vinod Sahni, the director of India's Raja Ramanna Center for Advanced Technology, spent the greater part of December visiting U.S. laboratories. Tour stops included Brookhaven, SLAC and Fermilab, where he had the opportunity to discuss such activities as superconducting radiofrequency technology and Project X. Category: Around the World | Tagged: , , ,

Value engineering begins

| 13 December 2007 I have three different routes to choose from when I drive to work in the morning. The first one is the interstate. It’s fast theoretically, but traffic and tolls can turn my 15 minute commute into 45 minutes. Back roads are another option, but the constant stop and go from traffic lights drain my gas tank. The scenic route is my third option and usually the one that I choose. This route goes slightly out of the way, but there is no traffic, tolls or stoplights. So I can drive at a relatively constant fast speed, and the rolling hills and farms along the way are relaxing. Every morning when I get into my car (usually 15 minutes later than I would like), I weigh the pros and cons and select one of these routes. Rick Lambert from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will tell you that this is a form of value engineering, and it is one way that the Global Design Effort will find ways to reduce costs for the proposed International Linear Collider. Category: Feature | Tagged:

US-manufactured cavity achieves high gradient

| 6 December 2007 Turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie – all things you might appreciate on Thanksgiving. ILC scientists in the United States had something extra to be thankful for this year. On 21 November, the day before the Thanksgiving holiday in the US, a superconducting cavity manufactured by Advanced Energy Systems in Medford, NY, reached a high gradient of 32.6 megavolts per metre (MV/m) at Jefferson Laboratory. “This is the first US-built ILC nine-cell cavity to reach a gradient close to the ILC specification,” said Rongli Geng, the lead scientist at JLab on the nine-cell high-gradient cavity processing R&D. JLab scientists are hopeful that the cavity, dubbed AES2, will reach an even higher gradient after further processing. Category: Around the World | Tagged: , , ,

ILC communication tools put to use

| 8 November 2007 ILC: Gateway to the Quantum Universe? Got it. The September 2007 issue of NewsLineQ? Got it. General ILC brochure? Got it. A handful of one pagers to explain how the ILC works? Got it; got it; got it; got it. The ILC scientific community now has a number of communication tools at its fingertips. Handing out brochures is only half the job though. The rest is up to you, the ILC community. We can help you get started, perhaps at your local science café. Category: Around the World | Tagged: ,

Passing the torch

| 25 October 2007 The ILC Reference Design Report companion document, Gateway to the Quantum Universe played a symbolic role for CERN’s Jean-Luc Baldy as he passed the torch to John Osborne, also from CERN, during the ALCPG07 workshop at Fermilab this week. For the past two years, Baldy served as one of the Conventional Facilities & Siting group leaders for the Global Design Effort. He retires later this year, and the ALCPG workshop marks the official transition from Baldy to Osborne. “In the time that Jean-Luc was part of the GDE, we completed our baseline design and reference design for the ILC,” said GDE Director Barry Barish. “His contributions to the CFS group helped us reach these two important milestones, and we will miss his wisdom and resourceful problem-solving skills.” Category: Feature | Tagged: ,

Meet John Osborne

| 18 October 2007 International Linear Collider workshops tend to be hectic. Meetings are scheduled back to back and often overlap. The days start early and end late. The coffee breaks are a brief, necessary respite. In a virtual collaboration, the three Conventional Facilities & Siting Group leaders understand that face to face time is precious, making it easy to spot the trio together. A meal together here and a coffee there can add up to a lot, and the CFS group leaders take advantage of every minute. For this next workshop at Fermilab from 22-26 October, however, there will be a new CFS co-leader on the block – John Osborne from CERN. Category: Around the World | Tagged: ,

ILC physicists build their dream house

| 11 October 2007 Be it a house renovation or even a proposed particle accelerator, anyone involved in a construction project can appreciate the 1948 classic film Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, starring Cary Grant and Myrna Loy. In a memorable scene, the married couple meets with their architect, who presents them with the plans for their home. Mr. and Mrs. Blandings proceed to mark up the plans until they are no longer recognisable, turning the mere home into their dream home. Sure, there is the minor detail of the chimney going through the middle of Mrs. Blanding's sewing room, but that is the architect's problem to figure out, right? Category: Feature | Tagged: