Scientists honored for mentoring students

By Margret Chang

Maryka Bhattacharyya and Fred Stevens (both BIO) along with Gregor von Laszewski (MCS) have all been student mentors for as long as they can remember. The three Argonne scientists were recognized with national U.S. Department of Energy Outstanding Mentor Awards for ensuring that student interns have a high-quality research experience.

To qualify as a potential award recipient, mentors must provide well-defined research projects that match the student's interests, support student involvement in other research projects and demonstrate practices that go beyond the normal responsibilities of a mentor.

Among the DOE-affiliated laboratories, Argonne claimed three of the five Outstanding Mentor Awards given out in 2003.

"Good science requires good mentors," said Harold Myron, director of the Division of Educational Programs (DEP). "Argonne has been a life-changing experience for many students, mainly because their research mentors were willing to devote so much time and energy to help them become better scientists."

According to Myron, initial nominations for the annual Outstanding Mentor Award are determined by student feedback surveys conducted at the end of each internship period. These nominations are later sent out to be evaluated at the national level, where they are compared with profiles of mentors from other DOE-affiliated laboratories.

While Bhattacharyya, Stevens and von Laszewski come from different scientific backgrounds, they share the belief that the roles of mentor and researcher are intertwined.

"I see my role as mentor and researcher as one and the same," said Bhattacharyya, who always makes an effort to bring students into her lab when projects are going strong. "The students we get from DEP are very intelligent and are ready to work hard and enjoy science. As a result, they've really augmented what I've been able to do as a scientist."

Stevens and von Laszewski both voiced similar opinions. Stevens, who realizes that his research path has "taken its own turns," still acknowledged the influence of past mentors on his current work with protein folding. In addition, von Laszewski recalled the successful story of one particularly motivated student, who, under his tutelage, was able to become one of the lead developers for the Globus Toolkit — a widely-used networking technology developed by Argonne and the University of Southern California.

All three scientists, who have been mentors since the start of their research positions at Argonne, plan to work with students for as long as they can. Yet, despite receiving a national award for their efforts, their dedication to helping students is self-sustaining and completely independent of the desire for recognition.

"I am frequently contacted by former students who let me know that the things they did with me had meaning," explained von Laszewski. "This, to me, is the most gratifying award of all."

The Outstanding Mentor Award, established in 2001, is sponsored by the Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists Program in DOE's Office of Basic Energy Sciences.

BIO's Salvi to speak at Friday Forum

Jyoti Dalvi (BIO) will present "Tailoring Polymers for Sensing Purposes" at the Friday, Jan. 16, meeting of the First Friday Forum.

Dalvi's talk will begin at 12:15 p.m. in Argonne-East's Building 201, Room 190A.

Dalvi's research centers on the design of biosensors based on fluorescent polymers, which show great potential for a variety of applications ranging from separations to biosensors.

Ask The Directorate

Q: At each of the Argonne-East entrances there are signs posted stating "Warning: motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians prohibited." These signs are evidently out-of-date and should be removed or updated.

A: The five-inch-by-five-inch warning signs on the gate arms at the entrances are a standard part of the original gate assembly, which was installed at Argonne in the early 1990s. It was intended as a warning to pedestrians and riders of bicycles or other light vehicles that, where the arm was used with a "trip wire" or other weight-sensing automatic opening mechanism triggered by traffic, the mechanism might not detect their presence or movement, would fail to open and they could be hurt if they weren't observant and cautious. Since Argonne-East's gates are now operated manually, the hazard warning no longer applies and has now been painted over.

Q: Is there something that can be done to pressure the Argonne-East service station to clean up its facility? Gasoline pumps with their panels removed and the general rusting nature of the place do not further the image that the lab wants to project to people, including visiting Energy Department sponsors, passing by on their way to the Guest House and the APS Auditorium.

A: We certainly agree that the image of the site is important. Coincidentally, when we received your inquiry, the Plant Facilities and Services Division was in the midst of improvements at the service station. These included replacement of a rusted and deteriorating pump cabinet with stainless steel panels, painting of the concrete fuel islands around the gas pumps, replacement of deteriorated wooden fascia above the front door and painting of the entire fascia, removal of the compromised brick wall enclosing a storage area behind the station, and repair of the leaky roof and re-routing of the down spouts. Funding has been requested to replace all the pumps in FY2004. These improvements have greatly enhanced the appearance of the station and, as funding becomes available, you can expect more improvements.

201 Espresso Bar now offers salads,cookies

Argonne-East's Building 201 Espresso Bar is now serving a full line of cold beverages, "grab and go" sandwiches, salads and fresh baked cookies, in addition to hot drinks.

Social Security rep set to visit Argonne-East

A representative of the Social Security Administration will visit Argonne-East's Human Resources office Wednesday, Jan. 21, from 8 a.m. to noon.

The representative can:

Enroll employees in Social Security.

Take applications for new Social Security cards, including original cards for newborns, corrected cards due to marriage, or replacement cards.

Help with earnings posting problems.

Answer general questions about the social security program.

To schedule a meeting with the Social Security representative, call ext. 2-2989.

Payroll News

'04 tax updates

Tax and retirement election forms are available in the Payroll Department or on the Internal Revenue Service Web site.

Federal Income Tax

n The annual withholding exemption for 2004 is $3,100 per exemption, the same as in 2003.

n Employees who are eligible for the advanced earned income credit must complete the W-5 tax form for the 2004 tax year.

n Employees who are eligible to claim "exempt" from federal income tax withholding must complete a new W-4 tax form for the 2004 tax year.

n The federal supplemental tax rate remains the same as 2003 at 25 percent for 2004.

For more information, call the Payroll Department at ext. 2-6918.

Social Security and Medicare

n The 2004 Social Security wage limit has increased to $87,900 from $87,000 in 2003. The rate remains the same as 2003 at 6.2 percent. The maximum deduction is $5,449.80.

n All wages are subject to Medicare taxes (no limit). The rate remains at 1.45 percent for 2004.

403B (Tax-Deferred Savings)

n The 403B maximum contribution for employees under 50 years old is $13,000 for 2004. Employees who are age 50 or over can elect an additional $3,000 or a total of $16,000 in 2004. Employees turning 50 in 2004 are eligible to elect the catch-up contribution at any time after Jan. 1. Employees with 15 or more years of service may be eligible for up to $3,000 additional deferral.

Supplemental life insurance rates decrease

Due to favorable supplemental life insurance plan experience, Argonne's supplemental life insurance rates will decrease. The chart at right shows the new rates for each $1,000 of coverage effective Jan. 1, 2004.

For more information on the Supplemental life insurance Plan, Argonne-East employees can call Fran Perri (HR) at ext. 2-2989. At Argonne-West, call Gaye Grant at ext. 3-7361.

Club hosts `Klondike Run'

The Argonne Running Club will host the "Klondike Run," a New Year's run and walk, Thursday, Jan. 15.

The three-mile run and two-mile walk will start at the Building 360 lobby at noon. Complimentary soup and other refreshments will be served following the run. Employees of all ability levels are invited to participate.

HR Classes

To enroll, contact a Training Management System Representative. For more information, call Betty Iwan (HR) at ext. 2-3410. All classes will be held at Argonne-East. Complete course descriptions

are online.

January Classes:

"Brown Bag Lunch: Developing Positive Assertiveness" (HR278) — Thursday, Jan. 15, 11:30 a.m. - 1 pm., Building 201, Conference Room 190.

"Time Management" (HR486) — Thursday, Jan. 22, 9 a.m. - noon, Building 201, Conference Room 190.

"Mastering Change in the Workplace" (HR297) — Tuesday, Jan. 27, 1 - 4 p.m., Building 201, Conference Room 190.

"Technical Writing Skills for English as a Second Language" (HR300) — Wednesday, Jan. 28, 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., Building 201, Conference Room 167C.

"The Deadly Office Sins" (HR282) — Wednesday, Feb. 4, 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m., Building 201, Conference Room 190. Register by Wednesday, Jan. 21.

Central Shops' new `Alpha' punch press is faster

Argonne Central Shops has a new computer-controlled punch press that can reduce the time required to program and fabricate metal parts.

The new Strippit Alpha 1012 CNC (computer numerical controlled) punch press provides a punching force of 30 tons and can punch materials up to .312" thick. The machine handles sheets up to 40" x 98.2" with one repositioning, and can handle large or oversized work pieces.

The CNC controlled programmable indexing mechanism allows tooling to be positioned at any angle in 0.01º increments of rotation with a positioning accuracy of .004" and repeatability accuracy of .002".

The Alpha is equipped with three- and eight-station indexable multi-tool turrets. The indexable multi-tool maximizes flexibility and reduces tooling requirements. Machine capacity is increased and tool changes are kept to a minimum.

With the new machine, the time required to program and fabricate a typical electrical front panel board is one-third less than with the previous machine.

The Alpha is located in the main shop in Argonne-East's Building 363. For more information, call Don Sandberg (PFS-CS) at ext. 2-1776.

Engineering meeting is rescheduled

An organizational meeting for "Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day," originally scheduled for Jan. 15, has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 20, from noon to 1 p.m. in Argonne-East's Building 362, Room B324.

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day (IGED) will be held Thursday, Feb. 26. The event is designed to reach out to grade school girls with positive messages about math and science education and engineering careers. This nationwide event is part of the National Engineering Week 2004 activities, Feb 22-28.

In support of IGED, Argonne will hold its third annual job-shadowing event for junior high school girls. The idea is to allow students to "shadow" a woman engineer during the day to give the students insight into a career in engineering.

University of Chicago center seeks postdocs

The University of Chicago Center for Integrating Statistical and Environmental Science has several positions starting in Fall 2004 for research associates interested in air pollution modeling, estimating health effects of pollution, integrating physical and statistical models or statistical ecology.

A Ph.D. in statistics, or in another field relevant to the center's interests (for example, ecology or atmospheric sciences) plus a strong interest in statistics, is required. The center is a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional research organization funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. More information about the center is online.

Interested candidates should submit vita, graduate transcript and three letters of reference to: CISES Search, 5734 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago IL 60637. Applications will be accepted until the positions are filled. The University of Chicago is an equal-opportunity employer.

Retirement vendors to visit ANL-East

The laboratory's retirement vendors will send representatives to Argonne-East during January to meet individually with employees. The representatives can answer questions about retirement plans and retirement plan assets.

To schedule an appointment, call the number listed.

Fidelity — Tuesday, Jan. 20, and Tuesday, Jan. 27. Call the appointment desk at (800) 642-7131.

TIAA-CREF — Thursday, Jan. 22, and Friday, Jan. 23. Call the appointment desk at (800)842-2005.

Prudential — Wednesday, Jan. 7, and Wednesday, Jan. 21. Call Cheryl at (847) 619-3519.

MetLife rep to visit ANL-E

A representative from MetLife Auto and Home will visit Argonne-East Tuesday, Jan. 13, and Tuesday, Jan. 27, to meet with individual employees for insurance comparisons and quotes for the "METPAY" group automobile and homeowners insurance program.

To schedule an appointment, call Craig Riddick at (630) 810-0346, ext. 143. Employees can also receive a quote by phone; call 1-800-438-6388.

Exceed V9.0.0 now available

Hummingbird Exceed V9.0.0 software is now available online for new installations or upgrades for registered Exceed users. Among its other capabilities, Exceed provides XWindows functionality for Windows computers.

Exceed costs $200 for the first year, and $50 per year thereafter. To purchase the software, contact Mike Thommes (CIS) at mthommes@anl.gov or ext. 2-5461.

Retirement Interest Rates

Staff and non-staff retirement plan interest rates for the first quarter of 2004 are:

Vendor	Rate	Contributions From	Earned Through
TIAA Traditional	4.75%	01/01/04 - 02/29/04	02/29/04
TIAA Supplemental	3.25%	01/01/04 - 02/29/04	02/29/04
Prudential Guaranteed (Plans 5017 & 4245)	5.37%	07/01/03 - 06/30/04	06/30/04
Prudential Guaranteed (Plan 7680)	3.50%	01/01/04 - 03/31/04	12/31/05
Prudential Guaranteed (Plan 4643)	3.00%	01/01/04 - 03/31/04	12/31/05
Lincoln National (Old Account)*	3.50%	N/A	03/31/04
Lincoln National (No Load)*	4.00%	N/A	03/31/04
(* No longer accepting contributions)

Service Awards

Service Awards for December include:

35 Years

Joseph E. Kulaga (CMT), Robert J. Laird (ASD) and Carol L. Reynolds (DEP).

30 Years

Larry D. Jensen (FAC) and Brent D. Wartchow (ENT).

25 Years

Donna M. Clyde (IPD) and John W. Marr (OCF).

20 Years

James D. Hiaring (FAC), George R. Imel (NT), Donna B. Nelson (PHY), Phillip A. Pfeiffer (NE) and Yukiko M. Phelps (FAC).

15 Years

David E. Kuzma (PFS), Guy Pandola (DIS) and Arthur Richardson, Jr. (PFS).

10 Years

Lahsen Assoufid (XFD), Kyung (Paul) Choi (ASD), Hector DeLeon (ASD), Michael Henry (ES), Lynn A. Labno (OSS), Jamie L. Mitchell (FAC) and Michael A. Vollmer (ENT).

5 Years

Brian Mark Golchert (ES), Daniel G. Hecker (PFS), Kirsten Laurin-Kovitz (NE), Valentin A. Martinez (ET), Evgeni Selkov (MCS), Bruce L. Shirley (NPS) and Robert D. Sutton (CMT).