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the Vol. 61B - No. 17 ulletin May 18, 2007 Distinguished Scientist Emeritus Ernest Courant All Are Welcome to Attend Honored by University of Rochester CFN Ribbon Cutting Ceremony he University of Rochester, where BNL’s Dis- 5/21, 11 a.m. Ttinguished Scientist Emeritus Ernest Courant earned his Ph.D. in 1943, will honor him with the Rochester Distinguished Scholar Medal at this year’s A Highlight of the 2007 Joint NSLS/CFN commencement ceremony, to be held tomorrow, May Users’ Meeting, 5/21-23 19. The University issued the following press release citing Courant and his work: All scientists who work in particle physics today owe a debt to Ernest Courant. His groundbreaking D0180602 scholarship has changed the way we think about and understand the structure of the universe. One of the trio of researchers who originated D0230500 the idea of “strong focusing” accelerators, Pro- fessor Courant is one of the founding fathers of modern high-energy particle physics. Thanks to Professor Courant’s breakthrough in developing Roger Stoutenburgh the first high-energy, strong focusing accelera- he 2007 Joint National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) tor—and the particle accelerators that have fol- and Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) Users’ Roger Stoutenburgh T lowed since—physicists have been able to peek Meeting will be held at Berkner Hall from Monday, May 21 inside individual atoms to understand the funda- At BNL, Courant joined the Proton Synchrotron Di- through Wednesday, May 23. The meeting is a forum for re- mental structure of matter, the forces holding it vision as an associate scientist in June 1948. By 1955 porting new research results and advances in experimental together, and the origins of the universe. he was a physicist with tenure, and in 1960, a senior capabilities that utilize synchrotron radiation and highlight Professor Courant’s many honors include the scientist in the Physics Department. During his years nanoscience. The event is hosted and sponsored by the NSLS Enrico Fermi Award from the Department of En- at BNL, he also held many professorship positions at Users’ Association, the CFN Users’ Association, and external ergy, the Robert R. Wilson Prize of the American Stony Brook University. His seminal contributions con- organizations representing the users of the NSLS and the CFN. Physical Society, and the Boris Pregel Prize of the tinued to support and enliven BNL’s accelerator physics The BNL community is invited to attend the free plenary New York Academy of Sciences. A member of efforts even after his retirement in December 1989, session on Monday morning, May 21, 8:30-10:40 a.m., as well the National Academy of Sciences, he continues when he was named Distinguished Scientist Emeritus as the CFN Ribbon Cutting Ceremony immediately following, to consult at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and retained as a consultant to the present. Not least at 11 a.m. Speakers include DOE’s Associate Director of Science where he holds the position of distinguished appreciated among his contributions was the now well- for Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Pat Dehmer, BNL Director Sam scientist emeritus. known name he gave to a complicated new accelerator Aronson, BNL’s Associate Lab Director for Light Sources Steve An innovative scholar and researcher, Ernest device. To maintain a quality of the beam called polar- Dierker, and NSLS Department Chair Chi-Chang Kao. Updates Courant has an exemplary record of scientific explo- ization, a specialized string of magnets was invented by will be given on BNL, BES, NSLS, NSLS-II, and the CFN. While ration and discovery. For his many contributions to scientists at Novosibirsk, Russia — it was Courant who the plenary session is free, the planning committee requests physics and for his dedication to the ideals of schol- dubbed the string a “Siberian Snake.” — Liz Seubert that anyone planning to attend should register at www.nsls. arship and teaching, we are proud to present to him Note: See related inside story “Then & Now: Focus on bnl.gov/users/meeting/2007/registration/registration.asp. Rochester’s Distinguished Scholar Medal. Strong Focusing.” Lawrence M. Krauss to Give BSA Distinguished Lecture, 5/30 ‘Einstein’s Biggest Blunder: A Cosmic Mystery Story’ awrence M. Krauss, Ambrose Relativity, the groundbreaking Lawrence Krauss is an inter- D2790307 LSwasey Professor of Physics theory that laid the foundation nationally known theoretical and Astronomy at Case West- for understanding the motion physicist whose studies include ern University, will give a BSA of objects in the universe as well the early universe, the nature Distinguished Lecture titled as the motion of the universe of dark matter, general relativity “Einstein’s Biggest Blunder: itself. In 1916, Einstein added and neutrino astrophysics. Born Joseph Rubino A Cosmic Mystery Story,” on an additional piece to his equa- in New York City, Krauss grew Wednesday, May 30, at 7 p.m. tions, called the cosmological up in Toronto, Canada, and he NSLS User Group Finding: in Berkner Hall. BSA Distin- constant, to account for what received undergraduate degrees guished Lectures are sponsored he thought was a static universe. in both mathematics and phys- Zinc May Play Role in Eye Disease by Brookhaven Science Associ- About a decade later, however, ics at Carleton University in t the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS), a team of re- ates, the company that manages after it was discovered that the Canada. He earned a Ph.D. in Asearchers has discovered that the mineral zinc may play a role BNL, to bring topics of general universe was expanding, Ein- physics from the Massachusetts in the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), interest to the Lab community stein called this addition to his Institute of Technology in 1982, which affects the eye’s retina and causes loss of central vision. and the public. The lecture is theory his “biggest blunder.” then joined the Harvard Society AMD is the leading cause of blindness among elderly people in the free and open to the public. Visi- Since the 1990s, new obser- of Fellows. He became a profes- developed world. tors to the Lab age 16 and over vations have led to a revolution sor in physics and astronomy at Led by Imre Lengyel, of University College of London, the must bring a photo ID. in cosmology. The standard Yale University in 1985, and he research team included Jane Flinn, David Linkous, and Katherine In 1915, Albert Einstein com- model of cosmology built moved to Case Western Universi- Cano, all of George Mason University; Tunde Peto from Moorfields pleted the General Theory of up over 20 years is no lon- ty in 1993, where he was named Eye Hospital, London; Alan Bird, University College of London; ger accepted as the Ambrose Swasey Professor of Antonio Lanzirotti, University of Chicago; Christopher Freder- accurate. New Physics, Professor of Astronomy, ickson, NeuroBioTex, Inc.; and Frederik van Kuijk, University of data suggest that and Chair of the Department of Texas Medical Branch. Their research was supported by DOE, the most of the en- Physics. In 2002, he became Case Hungarian National Science Fund (OTKA), Moorfields Eye Hospi- ergy density of Western’s Director of the Center tal Special Trustees, Fight for Sight, and Wilkins AMD fund. the universe may for Education and Research in One of the hallmarks of AMD is the accumulation of protein and be contained in Cosmology and Astrophysics. lipid-rich deposits in a part of the eye called Bruch’s membrane. The empty space. The author of over 200 sci- underlying mechanisms of this deposit formation are not clear, but Remarkably, this entific publications as well as because zinc is known to contribute to deposit formation in neu- is exactly what numerous popular articles on rodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, the researchers would be expect- physics and astronomy, Krauss decided to explore the role zinc might play in AMD. ed if Einstein’s has also written six popular Using a technique called x-ray fluorescence mapping, at NSLS beam- cosmological books, including the interna- lines X26A and X27A, the group measured the concentration of zinc constant really tional best seller, The Physics in nine post-mortem human eyes with AMD. The results, published in exists. If it does, of Star Trek and the award-win- the April 2007 edition of Experimental Eye Research, show unexpectedly its origin is the ning Atom: A Single Oxygen high levels of zinc in the deposits, indicating that the mineral might biggest mystery Atom’s Odyssey from the Big Bang indeed contribute to the development and progression of AMD. in physics and to Life on Earth…and Beyond. To read the BBC News article about the research, go to http:// presents huge He also writes frequently for news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6457427.stm . — Kendra Snyder challenges for The New York Times and ap- See Stories Inside the fundamen- pears regularly on radio and tal theories of television. Krauss has received elementary par- numerous prestigious awards ticles and fields. for his research, writing and CFN Facts & Floor Plan Krauss will ex- lecturing. He is a Fellow of the plain Einstein’s American Physical Society and Nanoscience 101: Q&As concept and de- the American Association for Then & Now: Strong Focusing scribe its possible the Advancement of Science. implications. — Diane Greenberg The Bulletin May 18, 2007 Nanoscience 101 his Monday, May 21, the TBNL community will cel- ebrate the dedication of its new Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN). Sci- ence and technology based on nanoscience is expected to be revolutionary, and could lead to groundbreak- ing advances in the design and fabrication of a wide range of products - from au- tomobile tires, to vaccines, to computer chips, to objects not yet even imagined.