This month I would like to spotlight a few recent events that gave me, and I hope will give you all, particular satisfaction.

Last week I presented 39 of your fellow co-workers Employee Recognition Awards, affectionately known as ‘Globies’ after the beautiful glass globe that each winner receives. This is one of my favorite events of the year because the winners are chosen by their peers for having demonstrated exceptional citizenship. We all get the chance to nominate those people who always pitch in when needed, or who show special caring and kindness in the workplace, or who volunteer for SLAC activities not directly related to their job, or who show unusual grace under pressure. There are no tougher judges than the people we work with all year round, making a ‘Globie’ a truly meaningful award. It was great to see winners covering the full spectrum of the workplace, with strong representation form all the Laboratory’s divisions. World Class People make a World Class Laboratory!

Another event that showed SLAC staff’s willingness to go beyond what is required in normal daily working life was the lunch to celebrate the first Certificate in Supervision graduating class. Each graduate had completed a suite of nine supervisory-training courses. It is heartening to see the commitment that these Laboratory supervisors are placing on doing a better job of supervising their staff. Finding time for training is always difficult; but I encourage all of you to take advantage of the excellent courses offered by the Training and Development Office.

An important step forward was made in March when the Sub-Picosecond Source started its first experimental run. An innovative change to the linac at sector 10 was made last summer which has allowed us to shorten the length of the electron beam by a factor of 25. This sub-pico second (less than one millionth of one millionth of a second) beam can be used in the Final Focus Test Beam to do electron initiated experiments or the electron beam can be put through an undulator magnet to produce ultra-short, high intensity X-rays. These electron and X-ray bunches are the shortest ever created and establishing such a source is a fine example of how innovation remains a hallmark of SLAC. The short-pulse facility also reminds us of how increasingly we are taking advantage of the synergy that exists at SLAC between high energy physics and X-ray science. In March and April, experiment E164 used the ultra-short electron beam to extend their studies of plasma wakefield experiments. Beginning in May, an international consortium began the first use of the ultra-short X-ray beam, seeing "first light" on Monday, May 19 (http://ssrl.slac.stanford.edu/welcome.html). Congratulations to all who worked so hard to bring into being this new and unique facility.

The B Factory’s physics run is in full swing. Performance is increasing steadily and new records for peak and integrated luminosity continue to be set. The BABAR collaboration is putting the finishing touches on a large number of papers and we can again anticipate that their results will be amongst the highlights of this summer’s conferences.