2. STAR Project Summary
Due to the Holiday break at LBNL, the editor was not able to obtain the STAR monthly report for November, out of which this Project summary is excerpted.STAR Offline Software Tutorial, January 9th - 12th, LBNL. For further information please contact Lanny Ray, U.T. Austin.
RHIC Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) Review of STAR January 22-24, 1998, at BNL. For further information please contact Tom Ludlam, BNL.
Greetings from Long Island. The weather here in December was fairly normal. While the temperature range can fluctuate quite widely over the course of a few days, we're averaging highs in the low 40s F and lows in the low 30s F. Typically Long Island gets about 5 to 6 inches of accumulated snowfall in December. While the snow has swirled down a few times in the last week or so, we really haven't had any accumulation so far this year.
Even with the December holidays here at BNL, a lot of progress has been made out at the STAR site. The North electronics platform, which was assembled on the concrete apron outside the Assembly building (AB) is almost complete. It has been rolled into the AB where it will be attached to the magnet in January. If one looks at the AB picture on the STAR WWW site one can see how tall the platforms are. The South electronics platform, also about 90% complete, had cable tray installed on it in December. In January the South platform will be rolled into the AB for a test fit to the magnet, and then rolled back into the Wide Angle Hall (WAH) for a few months.
Also in December the "Duct Bank", which carries the 13.8 kV power feed from the Ring road to the STAR AB was put in, and the concrete transformer yard was poured by the North East side of the AB. The main 13.8 kV switch gear cabinet was installed in the second floor utility area of the AB. In this same utility area cable tray was installed this past month in preparation for the arrival of the rectifiers for the magnet.
Work on the water system continued throughout the month of December. The 1st floor utility area of the AB now has the magnet system heat exchanger installed, the modified chilled water (electronics cooling) heat exchanger installed, various huge pumps installed, a maze of pipes connecting all of the pieces, and the Motor control cabinets installed. The cooling tower that sits outside off of the South East corner of the AB was for the most part completed this past month. Work continued through December on the installation of the pipe runs out to the detector position in both the WAH and the AB, as well as the pipe runs into the rack room. The pipe runs are just about complete and will finish up in January.
Work this past month associated directly with the TPC has included the transfer of the TPC from its shipping support structure to its testing and installation fixture, as well as the assembly of the clean area tent frames (see AB picture on the Web) on either end of the TPC. The gas storage area pad and shelter were completed in December, the gas mixing room was modified, the racks holding the gas system were placed in the gas mixing room, power has been installed into the gas mixing room, and the components are in the process of being wired up for power.
The main hydraulic system for the magnet, which consists of the large rams used to move the magnet and the control system, arrived this past month and will be installed in January. Also arriving this past month were the rails that the magnet poletips will roll on when thay are installed or removed from the end of the magnet.
A few highlights to look forward to in January include the delivery of the rectifiers (5 of them) for the magnet, the delivery of the transformers for the magnet (3 of them), the attachment of the North platform to the magnet, the arrival of one of the pole tip supports and the start of its assembly, the delivery and installation of the Fiber guides for the EMC, the delivery and perhaps the start of installation of the EMC rails, the start of the installation of cable tray on the face of the magnet, and perhaps towards the end of January the start of the installation of the water cooled bus for the magnet power.
1997 has been a tremendous year for STAR. At the beginning of the year the assembled portion of the magnet consisted of the two main supports and the lower nine backleg bars, and the last of the main magnet coils had just arrived on site. With the exception of all of the various pieces of the magnet, the AB and WAH were essentially empty shells. As the year draws to a close the main part of the magnet is complete, the platforms are about complete, and the installation of all of the utilities is well along. The TPC is complete, has been tested, has seen cosmic ray tracks which were readout using production front end electronics, and is on site! I look forward to all of the progress that awaits us in 1998.
My best wishes to all for a happy and productive new year.
The position is open until filled; the original date by which applications were to be received by U.C. Davis (December 15th) has been extended. To initiate the application process, request an application package by writing an e-mail message to forms@physics.ucdavis.edu. Those who do not have access to e-mail should send curriculum vitae, publication list, research statement, and the names (including address, e-mail, FAX, and phone number) of three or more references to:
The University of California, Davis, is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer with a strong institutional commitment to the achievement of diversity among its faculty and staff.
The duration of the appointment is two years with possibility of renewel for a third year. Applications should be sent to:
3. Notice of Meetings:
STAR Collaboration Meeting, January 5th-10th, 1998. Location LBNL. For further information, please contact John Harris at Yale.
4. Christies Corner
5. Comings and goings at STAR
6. Employment opportunities
Creighton University
One-year Position
Creighton is a Jesuit comprehensive university committed to excellence in the liberal arts tradition. We invite applications for a one-year position at the rank of Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics beginning in August, 1998. We encourage applications from qualified individuals of all backgrounds who believe they can contribute to the distinctive educational traditions of the university. Candidates must have a strong commitment to teaching, effective communications skills, and the ability to carry on independent research in which undergraduates as well as Master's degree students can participate. A Ph.D. is required. Our department has active research in the areas of atomic and molecular physics, nuclear physics, laser physics, solid state physics, and history and philosophy of physics. Applicants must submit a current curriculum vitae, transcripts including all college-level work, evidence of successful teaching (if available), a brief description of research interests, and arrange to have three letters of reference sent to: Dr. R. E. Kennedy, Chair, Department of Physics, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska 68178, rekrek@creighton.edu. Review of applications will begin Feb. 15, 1998, and continue until the position is filled. Creighton is an EO/AA employer and seeks a wide range of applicants for this position so that one of our core values - ethnic and cultural diversity - may be realized.
Creighton University
Tenure-Track Position
Creighton is a Jesuit comprehensive university committed to excellence in the liberal arts tradition. We invite applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics beginning in August, 1998. We encourage applications from qualified individuals of all backgrounds who believe they can contribute to the distinctive educational traditions of the university. Candidates must have a strong commitment to teaching, effective communications skills, and the ability to carry on independent research in which undergraduates as well as Master's degree students can participate. A Ph.D. is required. Preference will be given to an experimentalist who has expertise in quantum optics/condensed matter physics and/or can contribute to our health sciences program for physics majors. Applicants must submit a current curriculum vitae, transcripts including all college-level work, evidence of successful teaching (if available), a brief description of research interests, and arrange to have three letters of reference sent to: Dr. R. E. Kennedy, Chair, Department of Physics, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska 68178, rekrek@creighton.edu. Review of applications will begin Feb. 15, 1998, and continue until the position is filled. Creighton is an EO/AA employer and seeks a wide range of applicants for this position so that one of our core values-- ethnic and cultural diversity-- may be realized.
Faculty Position
Experimental Relativistic Heavy-ion Physics
Department of Physics
University of California, Davis
The Department of Physics at the University of California at Davis invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position in experimental relativistic heavy-ion physics which will be available no later than July 1, 1999, contingent upon final administrative approval. We seek a candidate who will strengthen our existing program in relativistic heavy-ion physics which is currently centered on analysis of data from the E895(AGS) and NA49(SPS) experiments; and on design, software developement, and fabrication of the FTPC subsystem of STAR(RHIC). We expect to hire the candidate who will provide leadership in the ongoing STAR effort and also in future efforts at the LHC. The successful candidate will have a doctoral degree and an excellent record of accomplishments in relativistic heavy-ion physics. Dedication to high quality undergraduate and graduate teaching and supervision of graduate students is essential. The appointment will be at the Assistant or Associate Professor level as determined by qualifications and experience.
The University of Washington Nuclear Physics Laboratory will consider applicants for a postdoctoral position in ultrarelativistic heavy ion physics. This person would participate in research at CERN with the NA49 collaboration and at RHIC ith the STAR collaboration. The UW research program emphasizes a variety of approaches to multiparticle correlation analysis and e vent-by-event physics leading to discovery and study of the quark-gluon plasma. The UW is also a leader in TPC tracking software. This research program relies on very powerful local and regional computation facilities.
7. New STAR NOTES since the last Newsletter