sPHENIX is a new detector at RHIC.

[David Morrison <morrison AT bnl.gov>]

    Dear sPHENIX collaborators,
    
    It's possible that you receive broadcast emails from BNL already,
    but in case you don't, we're forwarding an email that was sent by
    BNL management this afternoon.   A question was raised at today's
    general meeting about the RHIC run.  The Lab-wide email below says:
> - The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and
>       STAR experiment, Tandem, Accelerator Test Facility, and Center for
>       Functional Nanomaterials will all be shut down. 
    and in a separate email to the Nuclear and Particle Physics
    Directorate, ALD Berndt Mueller said further:
> Following a Lab-level decision, RHIC
>       operations were halted at 3 pm today. RHIC staff is initiating
>       shut-down and warm-up procedures. STAR operations were halted at
>       the same time, and the detector will be brought into a safe state.
    Also, read below that

To help reduce the spread of the virus, the Laboratory will be going into a minimal operating mode - or "Min-Safe" - starting Monday, March 23, at 1 p.m. Minimal Laboratory operations will continue, but only those employees who are "essential to operations," consistent with our emergency planning guidelines, will be permitted on site.

and

With these operating changes, we anticipate reducing on-site staff to approximately 250 individuals by Monday.

Regards,
Dave and Gunther

-------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: Brookhaven Lab to Significantly Reduce On-site Operations Starting Monday, March 23 Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2020 16:11:14 -0400 From: BNL Media & Communications Office <pubaf AT bnl.gov> To: broadcast-l AT lists.bnl.gov

NOTE: The following message is being sent to the Lab community on behalf of Laboratory Director Doon Gibbs. Note to supervisors: Please post or share a copy of this email for staff who do not have access to email.

* * *

Brookhaven Lab to Significantly Reduce On-site Operations Starting Monday, March 23

The last few weeks have been extremely challenging as we've continued to cope with the uncertainty and impacts of the COVID-19 virus on our personal and professional lives. Thank you for your flexibility and for your dedication to the Lab's mission even as we continue to navigate the disruption caused by COVID-19. One thing that is clear is that by acting together and practicing social distancing we can help slow the advance of COVID-19 and flatten the curve of infection for Long Island, New York, and the nation.

To help reduce the spread of the virus, the Laboratory will be going into a minimal operating mode - or "Min-Safe" - starting Monday, March 23, at 1 p.m. Minimal Laboratory operations will continue, but only those employees who are "essential to operations," consistent with our emergency planning guidelines, will be permitted on site. Our expectation is that all non-essential employees who can work remotely and have the permission of their supervisor to do so, will. This modified operational status is expected to stay in place until April 14, 2020, with further adjustments as needed.
Guidance for how to record time, including for those employees whose job roles cannot be performed remotely, will be shared via a separate broadcast email shortly.

The kinds of activities on the Lab site considered essential include minimum functions necessary to:
- maintain the Laboratory in a safe and secure mode
- maintain mission-essential functions - maintain IT capability to support safety/security operations and expanded telework
Most staff in science and operations directorates will be able to continue working remotely, significantly reducing the density of people on site and helping with social distancing. Essential Facilities & Operations Directorate staff will continue to maintain and operate the Laboratory to ensure our facilities are prepared to resume normal operations when it is possible.
We will be shutting down most of our user facility operations with few exceptions:
- The National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) will stop nearly all experiments, with the exception of support for potential COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment research. Beamline staff and the majority of the rest of staff—with the exception of needed technicians and engineers - will work from home.

- The status of the NASA Space Radiation Lab facility is still being determined in ongoing discussions with sponsors, with additional information to follow.

- The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and STAR experiment, Tandem, Accelerator Test Facility, and Center for Functional Nanomaterials will all be shut down.
- Similarly, all non-user-facility science also will be significantly scaled back with few exceptions.

With these operating changes, we anticipate reducing on-site staff to approximately 250 individuals by Monday. Only those employees who have been notified by their supervisors that they are essential are authorized to be on site beginning Monday morning. Please direct any site access questions to your supervisor.

It's important to ensure an orderly and safe transition into this Min-Safe operating mode. We recognize that some staff already working off site will need to come back on site to retrieve computers and other work products that will help them be more productive at home or at another location. If you don't have to come back on site, please stay home. If you must come on site, we ask that exempt staff retrieve these items this weekend, and non-exempt staff come in on Monday morning - that will help us spread out the number of people coming on site at any one time.

Employees should continue to consult with their supervisors on remote work arrangements. Please refer to the "Remote Work Resources" page (https://www.bnl.gov/COVID19/remote-work.php) on the Lab's COVID-19 website for details.
As a reminder, any employee experiencing symptoms consistent with the COVID-19 virus (fever, cough, difficulty breathing) must follow all the guidance described on the Lab's "Presumptive/Sick Checklists" web page at https://www.bnl.gov/COVID19/checklists.php.

All staff members remaining on site are encouraged to follow the usual precautions for preventing the transmission of disease, such as frequent handwashing and covering coughs and sneezes with a handkerchief, tissue, or the elbow of your sleeve.

These are extremely challenging times for the Lab, its employees, our families, and the extended community as we adjust to significant changes in our work and personal lives. Individual circumstances are important and should be discussed with your supervisor. It's also important that we continue to act together constructively and safely - as a Lab and as members of the Long Island community - to get through this extraordinary time. I believe that we can and that we will.
We will share more information as it becomes available.
- Doon Gibbs
Laboratory Director

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Brookhaven National Laboratory www.bnl.gov
Media & Communications Office Phone: (631)344-3174
Bldg. 400 - P.O. Box 5000 Fax: (631)344-3368
Upton, NY 11973
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-- 
David Morrison  Brookhaven National Laboratory  phone: 631-344-5840
                Physics Department, Bldg 510 C    fax: 631-344-3253
                          Upton, NY 11973-5000  email: dave AT bnl.gov