Subject: FINAL ANNOUNCEMENT--Sloan Digital Sky Survey Lightning Workshop

From: Bruce Gillespie

Submitted: Wed, 1 Oct 1997 21:19:00 -0600

Message number: 180 (previous: 179, next: 181 up: Index)

   LIGHTNING RISK ABATEMENT AT OBSERVATORIES WORKSHOP -- FINAL ANNOUNCEMENT


The lightning workshop at Apache Point/NSO-Sunspot remains scheduled as
planned for next Monday and part of Tuesday.  We've had a good response to
the original announcement for this workshop, and here we provide additional
instructions for those planning to attend, give a partial listing of the
participants, and post an updated agenda.


LOGISTICS:

Contact us (Bruce or Walter) at APO 505-437-6822 (or Bruce at home,
505-682-2704) for help and clarification at any time.

The workshop will be held at the Sunspot Astronomy Education and Visitor's
Center, meals provided at the Corona Cafe in Sunspot, and overnight housing
at both Sunspot and Apache Point.  If you're planning to attend, you can
find directions on how to get here at the APO website, www.apo.nmsu.edu.
If this is inconvenient, we can fax you maps or give you instructions over
the phone.

We recommend that you consider travelling on Sunday and stay overnight both
Sunday and Monday nights. You should check in at Apache Point when you
arrive on Sunday, and one of us will greet you and help you get settled.
If time allows, we can also give ad hoc tours of the SDSS facilities Sunday
afternoon.  There is no meal provided Sunday night--you should bring your
own food or plan to eat in Cloudcroft.  If you plan to arrive on Monday,
you should go directly to the Sunspot Visitor Center (or to the Corona Cafe
if you arrive early enough for breakfast).

For those of you who want overnight accommodations at our site, there is a
web form on the www.apo.nmsu.edu website to fill out and submit that
reserves a place to sleep.  Do this ASAP or call us.  Accommodations
consist of private bedrooms either in houses at Sunspot or dorm rooms at
Apache Point.  Linens and kitchen facilities are provided (you should buy
food or snacks on your way), and meals will be furnished at the Corona Cafe
at Sunspot on the following schedule:

	o breakfast, Monday 6 October, 7 to 8 am

	o lunch, 12:15 to 1 pm

	o dinner, 6 pm

	o only breakfast and lunch on Tuesday, same schedule

The housing and meals are provided free of charge.  Telephone, fax, e-mail
facilities are also available.  The weather is likely to be cold at night
(around freezing or above), and warming into the 60s during the day.  It
can rain or even snow, but is more likely to be clear.  The elevation at
the site is 9200 feet.  General tours of the observatories will be arranged.



PRESENTATIONS:

The focus of the workshop is to explore current research and experience in
lightning protection systems, particularly as they pertain to hardware and
human risks at observatories and other high-altitude research facilities.
The goal is to find general and specific techniques and systems that can be
applied to the SDSS facility at Apache Point, and also to develop a
consensus "state-of-the-art" which can be more generally useful to the
community.  Participants are invited to make short informal presentations
and/or provide written information.  The usual audiovisual equipment is
available at the Visitor Center.  These presentations, plus a tour of the
SDSS facility, will comprise the Monday agenda.

On Tuesday morning, a subset group will meet in "executive session" to
consolidate and evaluate the information, and then draft a summary
consensus.  Any participants may attend this session to contribute or
simply listen.  In any case, the results of the meetings will be
distributed to the participants.

PARTICIPANTS:

Below is a partial list of participants and affiliations.  Since many of us
are from widely different backgrounds, we ask that you to e-mail or fax
(505-434-5555) us a short (~five lines) vitae so that everyone generally
knows the background of the group's participants.  Several unlisted staff
from both Apache Point and NSO will attend the workshop, and we expect the
group to total about 25 people.

Walter Siegmund, meeting chair, SDSS Project Engineer, 505-437-6822,
siegmund@astro.washington.edu

Bruce Gillespie, meeting logistics, APO Site Operations Manager,
505-437-6822, gillespie@apo.nmsu.edu)

Rex Hunter, NSO/Sunspot Administrator, 505-434-7075, rhunter@sunspot.noao.edu

Jim Gunn, SDSS Project Scientist, PI for the photometric survey camera

Graham Munsell, NMSU Safety Office

Hap Chisholm (plus Kirtland AFB meteorologist), Starfire Optical Range,
previously at Wyoming Infra-red Observatory

William Rison, Langmuir Laboratory, New Mexico Tech at Socorro

Clint Janes, VLA, Socorro NM

Wayne Koski, VLA, Socorro NM

Lew Serna, VLA, Socorro NM

John Scott, KPNO/NOAO, Tucson AZ

Richard Kithil, National Lightning Safety Institute, Denver CO

Tom Droege, Fermi National Accelerator Lab, Batavia IL

Don Coyne, Milagro Telescope, Los Alamos NM, UCSC

Wayne Jones, Nat'l Solar Observatory, Sunspot NM

Mark Klaene, Apache Point Observatory, NM

Lonnie Cole, NOAO, Tucson AZ


AGENDA:


			Lightning Protection Review

			 Monday, 6 October Session

0700 - 0800
     Breakfast at NSO Corona Cafe

0830 Welcome, announcements, logistics - B. Gillespie

0845 Introductions, including short reviewer biographies - W. Siegmund

     Scope & review Agenda, charge to the reviewers - W. Siegmund

0900 Description of APO facilities - Klaene

     Review of lightning experience at APO - M. Klaene

     APO lightning protection system - M. Klaene

1015 SDSS camera protection - J. Gunn

1045 APO lightning safety policies and procedures for personnel - M. Klaene

1115 SDSS facility walkthrough

1215 Lunch at NSO Corona Cafe

1315 VLA presentations and discussion

1345 KPNO/NOAO presentations and discussion

1415 WYRO/Starfire presentations and discussion

1445 Break

1515 NLSI presentations and discussion

1545 NSO presentations and discussion

1615 NMSU Safety Office presentations and discussion

1645 Langmuir/NMTech presentations and discussion

1715 Fermi Lab presentations and discussion

1800 Dinner at NSO Corona Cafe



			Lightning Protection Review

			 Tuesday, 7 October Session

0700 - 0800
     Breakfast at NSO Corona Cafe

0900 Drafting of recommendations:
Executive session: Siegmund plus TBD reviewers.


1215 Adjourn, lunch at NSO Corona Cafe



Charge to reviewers:

	o Is APO more susceptible to lightning damage than other comparable
	  sites?

	o What lightning protection deficiencies exist at APO?

	o How can the APO lightning protection system be improved?

	o Recognizing the uniqueness, importance and cost of the SDSS camera,
	  should any special measures be taken to specifically protect this
	  instrument.

	o Is personnel safety adequately and appropriately addressed by the
	  existing APO lightning protection system? If not, how can it be
	  improved?

	o Are existing personnel safety policies adequate and appropriate?
	  What changes in personnel policies would enhance personnel safety?

	o What are the requirements for routine maintenance of various
	  lightning protection systems?

Notes will be taken covering the presentations on the first day and will be
distributed to the participants. The executive session the second day will
be devoted to drafting the response to the charge to the reviewers. The
draft will be circulated by email shortly after the meeting so that the
reviewers have an opportunity to comment and make corrections prior to
publishing the final resport.

			 **************************

Again, our best regards and apologies if you receive multiple copies of this
announcement.

		Bruce Gillespie, APO Site Operations Manager
		Walter Siegmund, SDSS Project Engineer


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