Be green! That's the message from the Federal Electronics Challenge (FEC), a partnership between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive. The FEC encourages federal facilities like Fermilab to purchase greener electronic products, reduce the impact of their usage, and dispose of them in a manner that is safe for the environment.

A recent executive order by the federal government to establish leadership in environmental, energy, and economic performance has decreed that by the end of FY2010, 95% of desktop and laptop purchases at the lab must be compliant with EPEAT, the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool.

EPEAT is a tool to evaluate and compare electronic products based on their impact on the environment. A product that is EPEAT-registered meets the minimum standards in categories like energy efficiency, reduction of environmentally sensitive materials, and materials selected for use in the product. Products can be further categorized into Gold, Silver, or Bronze levels, depending on their performance across criteria beyond the minimum standards. At this point, EPEAT standards are available only for desktops, monitors, and notebook computers.

“All of the PCs I order have to be gold or silver,” says John Bellendir of the Windows Server Services group in the LSCS quadrant. “Even the A/C adapter you get can make a difference.”

The executive order establishes performance metrics that must be met by Fermilab and other federal facilities. In addition to the purchase of EPEAT-registered products, the order states that by the end of FY2010: our operating electronic equipment must have an average lifespan of at least four years; 100% of our non-reusable electronic equipment must be recycled using environmentally sound management; and 100% of our computers and monitors must have ENERGY STAR® features, which means they use 70% less electricity than computers without these features.

So what happens to our old desktops or laptops? If they're in working order, they may be given to a school as part of the Computers for Learning program. Others, including scraps or viable parts, are sold to local companies that sell or recycle various parts and materials. As with procuring new machines, disposal is a large piece of the pie.

Questions about EPEAT, ENERGYSTAR®, or other environmental matters may be addressed with Amy Pavnica, Division Senior Safety Officer.

~ Marcia Teckenbrock

Change Management: The process for controlling the lifecycle of all changes. Its primary objective is to enable beneficial changes to be made with minimum disruption to IT services.

Change Manager: The person responsible for managing the process of change management and convening the Change Advisory Board meetings.

Change Schedule (Forward Schedule of Change): A document that lists all approved changes and their planned implementation dates. Unless this is a pre-approved (standard) change, This is submitted to the Change Advisory Board (CAB) in advance.

Change Advisory Board (CAB): A group of people that advises the Change Manager in the assessment, prioritization, and scheduling of changes. This board is usually made up of representatives from all areas within the IT service provider.

Supercomputing 2009 is only a couple weeks away, and because this event showcases the work we in the division and at the laboratory are doing, we thought you would like to know more about how our work is being presented.

The focus of this year's booth is establishing and nurturing collaborative relationships that bring value back to our work, such as those relationships with vendors and funding agencies. To this end, the design of the Fermilab SC|09 booth promotes collaboration:

First, the booth will be sectioned into two meeting rooms where people will be encouraged to sit and chat with others. You can schedule a physical or video meeting by contacting Jen Nahn. [See SC|09 Fermilab Meeting Maker calendar for schedule]

Daily Ask A Scientist sessions will provide the opportunity for visitors to our booth to get answers to their burning science questions directly from a physicist at Fermilab.

A mini CMS Remote Operations Center (ROC), a smaller scale version of the ROCs used by Fermilab and other institutions, will allow visitors to see how CMS collaborators monitor CMS operations across great distances (and possibly, to watch as the LHC starts up again).

Large graphic panels describing Fermilab Data Storage, Collaborative Computing, Simulation, Data Analysis, and Networking will border the booth. [View the panels and other booth graphics]

Those who will present the division are:

Keith Chadwick: FermiGrid
Matt Crawford and Phil DeMar: Networking
Anne Heavey and John Urish: Booth management

Gene Oleynik: Mass Storage
Marc Paterno, Jim Kowalkowski: Simulation
Ruth Pordes: Computing Division Outreach
David Ritchie: OSG, CD Communications, and booth management
Jim Simone and Don Holmgren: Lattice QCD
Anthony Tiradani and Patrick Gartung: CMS ROC
Vicky White: Fermilab and the Computing Division

Miriam Boon (US iSGTW editor) will represent iSGTW and OSG, Erik Gottschalk (PPD) and Warren Clarida (University of Iowa) will assist with the mini ROC, and Bob Peterson (Fermilab) and Tom Jordan (University of Florida) will represent Quarknet.

~ Marcia Teckenbrock

Anyone experiencing flu-like symptoms should stay home and notify their supervisor.  They should also notify Fermilab's Medical Department at x3232 if they are experiencing the following:

• Fever greater than 100 degrees F, 37.8 degrees C        
• Cough        
• Sore throat        
• Stuffy nose        
• Chills        
• Headaches and body aches        
• Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea

The Medical Department is asking for your full cooperation in notifying them if you are experiencing these symptoms.  This notification helps Medical track where the “heavy hit” areas are.  Extra precautions for these areas can then be made and implemented.

~ Amy Pavnica