With hurricanes ravaging the US Gulf Coast states of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, we are all relieved to hear that our colleague Lorraine Marceau-Day, the new president of the Accelerator Section, has weathered the storms and is safe. Lorraine reports from her hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as our correspondent from Louisiana State University’s Center for Advanced Microsystems.
While natural disasters are devastating, they also bring out the best in those wanting to help. Across the US, research facilities have offered their resources to alleviate the hurricanes’ impact on Gulf Coast scientists. Here at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, the Advanced Light Source (ALS) has opened its doors to a physics professor from Tulane University in New Orleans, and the lab has established a website for other scientists seeking temporary research facilities or support. Nationwide, the US Department of Energy (DOE) has initiated a program to match affected students and scientists in the Gulf States with DOE-funded scientists across the country.
Many of you have provided support in other ways, including contributions to charitable disaster relief funds. Here’s hoping that by the next time this newsletter goes to press, scientific research programs in the Gulf States will be back to business as usual, although surely neither this disaster nor the support provided by the national and international scientific community will be soon forgotten.