US LUAMarch 2011 Archive
3/31/11
Joe Incandela of UC Santa Barbara elected CMS Spokesperson
3/30/11
AAAS Policy Alert
Negotiations on the FY 2011 budget will continue this week – with the fiscal year already half over – as Congress returns from last week’s district work period. Reports on progress during last week’s budget negotiations are mixed.
Visit the AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program Website to stay up-to-date on the latest action on the FY 2011 and FY 2012 budgets, and to register for the annual AAAS Forum on Science and Technology Policy, to be held May 5-6 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC.
3/30/11
The status of J-PARC is being updated online:
http://kds.kek.jp/materialDisplay.py?materialId=0&confId=6810
(username and password are written in the upper lines of the box)
3/26/11
Apr 5 Presentation by Fermilab Visa Office – will be webcast:
Self-Sponsored Petitions for U.S. Permanent Residence, Tuesday, April 5th, at 12:30 pm CDT, Wilson Hall 1-West
The UEC, in collaboration with Fermilab¹s Visa Office, is hosting an immigration presentation on Tuesday, April 5, 2011, at 12:30 pm in Wilson Hall 1-West. Two downtown Chicago attorneys will discuss, in detail, the two types of permanent residence petitions that a foreign national can self-file without the involvement of a U.S. employer: National Interest Waivers, and Extraordinary Ability petitions. There also will be an explanation of the Adjustment of State process. At the end, there will be a Question-and-Answer period. For further information, please contact visaoffice@fnal.gov.
3/25/11
Buzz Aldrin visits the LHC – symmetry breaking
3/25/11
Notes from 9 March ACCU meeting
3/24/11
High-Energy Physics Experiments in Japan Weather the Crises – ScienceInsider
http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2011/03/high-energy-physics-experiments.html
3/24/11
Fukushima’s Impact on Nuclear Power – IEEE Spectrum
3/23/11
US physics feels the squeeze : Nature News
http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110315/full/471278a.html
3/22/11
Fukushima Update: Short-term Success, Long-Term Challenges – Ecocentric – TIME.com
3/21/11
AIP FYI #36
DOE Undersecretary for Science Steve Koonin refers to “tough choices” in the FY2012
budget, in areas including high energy physics (up 0.8%) and fusion energy (down 4.5%), during recent
testimony before Congress.
http://www.aip.org/fyi/2011/020.html
3/14/11
Announcement from KEK director general:
– all the staff, researchers in KEK were safe.
– there was some damages in facilities.
– In J-PARC, there was no damage from tsunami, but seems to have
significant damages in facilities. Now, it is not permitted to enter.
– KEK is now trying to fix the facilities related to lifeline (electricity, water) with highest priority.
– KEK staffs are asked to stay at home at least for three days (Mon-Wed).
– electricity and water is available in limited places; some areas may not be accessed.
3/12/11
Some news on JPARC:
First, all T2K people are accounted for with no injuries reported.
The tsunami did not reach J-PARC itself. J-PARC is protected against 10m high tsunamis, and the local effect was only ~5m. It was much worse in the region north of the lab, however.
Have not seen any serious structural damage to buildings at J-PARC or in the surrounding towns. A few buildings have mostly cosmetic damage—damage to siding and such.
Electricity and cell phone coverage is back in Naka, where many T2K people stay, but no running water yet. The local roads are passable, but the highways are still closed.
We have not had any opportunity to assess the state of the beamline or detectors yet. Both accelerator people and detector people say that their respective systems shut down “normally” when the earthquake hit, so we don’t know of any obvious disasters yet. Certainly there will be a very careful and cautious process of first safety inspections, and then checks of all of the components.
3/11/11
A new 3-week Continuing Resolution reduces or terminates 25 programs (not HEP).
3/11/11
New CERN Service Desk is there to help (CERN Bulletin)
Making one’s way through the Laboratory’s many services can be a real challenge, especially for users and new arrivals. The Service Desk is now there to help !
http://cdsweb.cern.ch/journal/CERNBulletin/2011/11/News%20Articles/1335093?ln=en
3/8/11
Congratulations Fabiola Gianotti – The Guardian’s Top 100 Women in Science and Medicine
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/mar/08/fabiola-gianotti-100-women
Symmetry, February 2011
Global from the Get-go?
http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/cms/?pid=1000864
3/8/11
AAAS Policy Alert
After passing a two-week continuing resolution (CR) last week that extends funding at FY 2010 levels through March 18 for most of the federal government, Congress begins negotiations on funding for the remainder of FY 2011. The Senate released its proposal on March 4 as an alternative to the far more stringent House-passed CR proposal, H.R.1.
3/2/11
AAAS Policy Alert re: short-term Continuing Resolution
http://www.aaas.org/spp/policyalert/
3/2/11
AAPT’s (American Association of Physics Teachers) Executive Officer, along with many other members of the science community, has written a letter regarding budget cuts.
http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml