その記事のなかに私がしっている実験物理学社のFermilabのアルビントーレストラップの名前がでていたからだ。
私がfermilabにいたのは１９７８－１９７８で
フェルミラボの超電導マグネットのコライダーのテバトロンの
建設中だった。アルビンはその強い押しから超電導マグネットの
製造チームをひきいたいた（らしい）。
その数年後にはテバトロンは動き出し、陽子と反陽子の衝突器は動き出し、さらに数年後には二つのライバル実験チームのCDFとD0が発見した。
そこまでの道のりはたいへんなものでお互いに秘密を保ちながら競っていたのだが
なにしろどちらも同じ建物のハイライズに同居していたのであった。
問題はCDFのチームの職員にC０の研究者の奥さんがいたことで当然、奥さんがD０の夫に秘密を
漏らさないか心配するむきもあったはずだ。
かのアルビン博士はその女性に面と向かってその疑問をしたのであった。
それでこんなタイトルの記事がいまごろになってScience 2.0にのったのだ。
アルビンは現在９０歳くらいのはずだが
いまだ賞を現役で動いているようなのがすごい。
その頃所長をやっていたレオンレーダーマンもすごい。
かれは９３歳だ。
Universities Research Association Inc. (URA) will make an award for outstanding work conducted by a postdoctoral researcher at Fermilab or in collaboration with Fermilab scientists. Alvin Tollestrup will present the award during the 2016 annual Users' Meeting.
一部転載：
The researchers were careful: it was against their interest to inform the competition on the status of the ongoing analyses. But despite the care, words spread quickly in the lab. Fermilab theorists, who often shared lunch tables with experimentalists from the two collaborations, craved for any hint about how the searches were going. They sometimes ended up acting as messengers between the two otherwise non-interacting groups, as they traded in small bits of information acquired from chats with DZERO when they asked for hints from CDF, and vice versa.
Among those most worried by the possibility of leaks was Alvin Tollestrup, the patriarch of CDF. His office was close to the one of Brenna Flaugher, who was married with Tom Diehl, a DZERO member. Crossing Brenna in the hall every day kept reminding Alvin of the impending danger. One day he could not hide his worries with her.
“Brenna, there’s one thing I would like to ask you – you know, your husband works in DZERO, and I am wondering whether you are paying enough attention to avoid giving out information on the status of our top searches...”
“Oh, we never discuss internal information among us, we have much more fun talking about the people. And besides, you can find out more at lunch tables in the cafeteria than by direct contacts with the other collaboration’s members.”
“Are you sure? I mean, you never let go any secrets about our analyses? I might imagine that during bedtime chats, for instance...”
Brenna was so surprised by Alvin’s insistence that she figured he must be kidding, so she decided to play along, by telling a lie so blatantly false that the argument would be forcefully closed.
“No, not at all. In fact, we started sleeping in different rooms as soon as this top search stuff got so intense.”
“Ah, that’s quite wise! Quite wise! Thanks, that’s reassuring.” Brenna was then not so sure that Alvin was really kidding, but she could not figure out how to explain his behavior. At least this is what she remembers, 20 years later.
記事のタイトルは
Top Secret: On Confidentiality On Scientific Issues, Across The Ring And Across The Bedroom
というもので加速器と寝室での科学の秘密保持
というものであった。
なにごとにも遠慮のないアルビン博士だからこそそんな面白エピソードが紹介されたのだろう。