LHO Overview and Outreach

1
LHO Overview and Outreach

• Fred Raab
• PAC15 Meeting
• December 11, 2003

2
What Is Our Role How We Do It

• Hanford Livingston share these issues but I
  will use Hanford to illustrate issues
• Scope of Observatory Work
• Facilities Operation
• Product Pipeline (Detector ? Data) Operation
• Outreach

3
Facilities InfrastructureThe Easy Part

• LIGO Hanford Observatory facilities comparable to
  a moderately-sized hi-tech college campus
• 10 buildings w/ 100,000 air-conditioned sq ft
• 70,000 sq ft are moderate to high-level clean
  laboratories
• 475,000 sq ft of total enclosed space
• 6 miles of roads, parking spaces for 80 vehicles
• 10,000 cu meters of high to ultra-high vacuum
  systems, 5 miles long, with gt 500 control
  measurement points
• 90,000 gallons of liquid nitrogen for
  cryo-pumping
• Independent potable water waste disposal plants
  with 2.5 miles of pipeline fire suppression
  system (tested!)
• 28 electrical transformers, 2 independent
  electrical distribution systems, 100 miles of
  fiber optic lines

4
Hi-Tech InfrastructureHanfords Product
Pipeline

• Two interferometers (H1, 4 km H2, 2 km), each
  involving 15 suspended optics, 100 control
  systems Physics Environment Monitoring
• produces 5 MB/s data stream
• Wide Area Network (WAN) lines through DOE our
  routers/security/etc. shared between PNNL and
  LIGO facilities
• Three large Local Area Networks (LANs)
• General Computing (GC) principally
  science/engineering analysis on 50 computers
  plus WAN interface, security, web hosting,
  electronic document archiving/reproduction,
  digital A/V systems
• Control Data System (CDS) observatory central
  nervous system and machine diagnostics
• LIGO Data Analysis System (LDAS) production
  real-time data analysis and data shipping of 0.6
  Terabyte/day

5
Product Pipeline Example LDAS at Hanford

• 2 Sun Enterprise servers (Sun-Fire 880 280R) w/
  3 LINUX servers
• 3 onsite user machines for visitors
• 13.5 Terabyte Disk Farm 4 Terabyte IDE RAID
  system
• 140ea, Dual 2.66 GHz Xeon CPU Beowulf Cluster w/
  Megapoint FFT Rating
• 136 TB (uncompressed) L700 StorageTek SUN SAMFS
  Tape Library System (Tape robot 9940B tapes 4
  tapes 24/7 at 30 MB/s)
• Gigabit Ethernet LAN
• R/T data-handling analysis software
• Located in Laboratory building (250 m from corner
  station) to minimize vibration impacts

6
Observatory Staff Responsibilities

• Professional scientific and technical staff
  participate in LIGO Scientific Collaboration
• Scientific staff
• Participate in detailed studies of detector
  performance
• Quality control of interferometer operation and
  data collection
• Operation of on-site Data Analysis System (LDAS)
• Engineering support staff
• Participate in installation and commissioning
• Maintain operation of installed systems
• Provide on-site technical support, in partnership
  with CIT/MIT staff
• Operations Specialists
• Support installation and commissioning activities
• Provide operations support for commissioning,
  science investigations

7
Composition of Present Staff at Hanford

• 9 Scientific staff positions filled,1 postdoc
  open
• 9 Engineering and technical support staff
• Facilities maintenance, vacuum, electrical,
  control and data acquisition software, optics,
  network and computing
• 10 Operations specialists (mixture of technical
  skill backgrounds to support installation,maintena
  nce, and control room operation)
• 1 education/outreach coordinator, position open
• 1 site administrator
• Campus provides engineering and scientific
  support, administrative support for contracts,
  purchasing, travel
• Contract labor utilized to augment staff as
  required while maintaining flexibility
• Total of 31 resident staff

8
Interferometer Staffing During Operation

• 2 operations specialists per hour shift, plus
  scientific staff
• at least one scientist per shift for initial
  operation
• Role of scientist is to be eyes and ears of
  scientific community analyzing data identify
  unique features of interferometer, environment,
  configuration, etc
• 24x7 operation during science runs requires
  minimum 10 operations specialists assuming
  normal operation, no training courses, flu
  epidemics, etc
• Additional staff support of control room needed
  to make operation robust, ability to handle
  exceptional conditions, also maintenance and
  calibration, etc

9
Audiences for LIGO Outreach

• Targeted the observatory communities, represented
  by Local Educator Networks
• Pacific Northwest for Hanford Observatory
• Rural
• Low-income pockets and migrant populations
• Large Hispanic and Native American populations,
  traditionally underserved and underrepresented in
  science
• State of Louisiana for Livingston Observatory
• Rural
• Areas of great poverty with failing schools
• Large black population, traditionally underserved
  and underrepresented in science
• Programs and Products to date
• Site tours and exhibits, internships, public
  lectures, pre-/in-service programs, internet
  resources, media relations

10
Stakeholders for LIGO Outreach

• Local Educator Networks have been formed to
  represent community of stakeholders and to help
  tailor products to customer base
• Stakeholders include
• K-12 teachers and students
• College/University faculty and students
• General public, families, community organizations
• Public institutions, school systems, museums,
  etc.
• Professional scientific and engineering
  organizations
• Business community

11
College/University Programs

• Goals
• Create a vibrant and intellectually stimulating
  research environment in which undergraduate
  students and faculty can participate
• Welcome participation by regional universities in
  LIGO research program
• Accomplishments
• SURF Caltechs REU program - implemented at
  LHO and LLO
• Summer lecture series on LIGO related topics
  established for SURFers
• SURF-a-rama (gt 2 doz. REUs congregate at LHO)
• Partnered with Southeastern Louisiana University
  in Hammond to arrange low cost on-campus dorm
  housing
• In addition to strong participation of LSU,
  Louisiana Tech University, Loyola University of
  New Orleans, Southeastern Louisiana University,
  Southern University have joined and become active
  members of LSC
• Salish-Kootenai College (tribal college in MT)
  active LSC member

12
Serving K 12 Students and Teachers

• Goals
• Become a regional enrichment resource for formal
  science education for K-12 teachers
• Inspire young people to achieve in science and
  engineering
• Accomplishments
• Developed tours, visual displays, science
  lessons, hands on science exhibits, and fun
  activities for students visiting LIGO
• Sponsored activities involving youth groups Boy
  and Girl scouts, science clubs, etc.
• Engaging teachers at regional science teacher
  meetings, making contact with school district
  science curriculum coordinators
• Partnered with already established organizations
  in Louisiana (Audubon Foundation, Stennis Space
  Center, LSU, SLU, etc.) to speak and present at
  regional activities aimed at K-12

13
Serving K 12 Students and Teachers (continued)

• Scientist-Student-Teacher program started in
  1999, involved 120 students on projects related
  to LIGO research in AY2003
• LIGO featured in The Scientific Method on the
  Job video for Middle/High School science NSF
  20-min video in progress
• Distance learning initiative with ESD 123,
  developed interactive science program for WA K-20
  teleconferencing network
• Teacher interns developed exhibit guide, lesson
  plans, K20 scripts and internet resources during
  summers
• District-level workshops for science teachers
• Teacher internships in summer at LHO and LLO
• Web-disseminated classroom resources for science
  teaching, coupled to state standards in
  Louisiana, Oregon and Washington
• Major outreach center at LLO under consideration
  by NSF

14
Scientist, Student, Teacher (SST) At Hanford

• Collaborative research remote monitoring of
  seismic sensors and wave-height sensors to
  determine spectral content of low frequency
  ground motion (microseism)
• Objective address the Essential Academic
  Learning Requirement (EALR) on the nature and
  methods of scientific inquiry by involving
  classes in real scientific research
• With Gladstone High School in Portland, Oregon
  since 1999
• Last year more than 120 students participated in
  grades 9-12 presented work to community on
  annual Science Night

First annual Science Night at Gladstone High
School
15
Research Internships for Teachers

• Teachers participate in summer research with
  interferometer commissioning and development of
  enrichment materials to use in classroom
• Materials are web based so that they can be
  shared over the internet.
• See
• http//www.ligo-la.caltech.edu/teach.htm
• http//www.ligo-wa.caltech.edu/teachers_corner/les
  sons.html
• Use LIGO to reinforce classical concepts wave
  motion, harmonic motion, Galilean relativity,
  properties of light, etc.
• Lesson plans tied mandated education standards
  for local states

16
Informal Education

• Observatory tours draw 1000s of visitors/yr both
  in WA and LA
• Einstein, interferometers, astrophysics and the
  work that we do.
• Audience comes from professional groups, schools,
  teacher associations, boy and girl scouts,
  families, bicycle club, Model T club, etc.
• Recent Mars Madness night drew 20 telescopes
  and 1500 skygazers
• Public talks and LIGO Public Lectures
• Annual public lectures bring breaking science to
  diverse audiences (typical attendance of several
  hundred/lecture)
• Rotary/Kiwanis clubs professional societies
• Adler Planetarium public lecture, as part of
  Cosmic Happenings series
• Cooperative happenings w/ other outreach groups
• Wheeler book signing at CREHST museum, Richland,
  WA
• B-Reactor reunion
• Mars Madness with Tri-City Astronomy Club
• LIGO Video (20 minute) RFP by NSF

17
Targeting Underserved Populations near LHO and LLO

• Hispanics and Native Americans are largest groups
  near LHO that are typically underserved by
  science education and underrepresented in
  technical fields
• Salish-Kootenai College (SKC) - near Flathead
  Lake, Montana member, LIGO Scientific
  Collaboration (LSC) provides detector
  characterization software, establishing Tier-3
  GRID center for LIGO data analysis
• African Americans are largest underserved/underrep
  resented community near LLO, with larger Hispanic
  populations in neighboring states
• Southern University of Baton Rouge is
  historically black college near LLO, member LSC,
  large in-service program in LA
• University of Texas, Brownsville, member LSC,
  large Hispanic student body, involved with LLO

18
Proposed Outreach Center at LLO

• Unique opportunity for outreach to the
  African-American community in Louisiana
• Partnership between LIGO, Southern University
  Baton Rouge, Louisiana Board of Regents and the
  Exploratorium to provide a center for
  exhibit-based teaching targeting LIGO-based
  science
• SUBR will integrate into pre- and in-service
  teaching programs and will tie to community
  groups
• Exploratorium will provide expertise/training in
  exhibits and exhibit-based education
• LA Board of Regents ensures state-wide access
  from school and ensures dissemination through
  LASIP and LA Gear Up programs
• 5M program over 5 yrs includes construction

19
Vision for Inland Northwest Regional Science
Center

• Potential Partners/Resources
• Columbia River Exhibition of History, Science
  Technology
• Access to non-classified Hanford DOE artifacts
• Active K-6, summer latchkey programs in
  science environment
• Museum at gateway to Hanford Works Natl
  Monument
• Alliance for Science Teaching Through Astronomy
• Robot 0.8-m telescope atop Rattlesnake Mt for
  classroom use via internet or beamed into LHO for
  star parties
• B-Reactor Museum Society
• Worlds 1st production nuclear reactor
• Economic, Community and Tourism Development
  Agencies
• Hungry to develop economic independence from
  D.O.E.
• Intend to develop formal proposal over next few
  years