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The Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) has honored Argonne researchers Arun Wagh and Dileep Singh (both ET) for their successful efforts to transfer their invention, Ceramicrete, to the private sector for commercialization.
The 2000 Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer honors federal laboratory employees who have done an outstanding job transferring technology developed in a laboratory to outside partners, primarily in the private sector. This is the 20th FLC Award won by Argonne researchers since the program began in 1984.
The award ceremony will be held Wednesday, May 10, in Charleston, South Carolina, aboard the U.S.S. Yorktown.
Ceramicrete, developed at Argonne to solidify radioactive and hazardous waste for safe disposal, has been licensed to Wangtec, Inc. of Woodridge, Ill. The firm is expected to use the new product overseas to package hazardous waste for disposal.
The technology has also been transferred to Envirocare of Utah, Inc., of Salt Lake City, for treatment of wastes from DOE weapons sites and commercial hazardous and radioactive wastes.
The material has also been licensed to the Bindan Corp. of Oak Brook, Ill. for pothole repair in roadways, and to Eagle Picher Industries, Quapaw, Okla., for hazardous waste disposal and castable shielding for nuclear reactors. Research is underway with industrial partners for additional applications.
Ceramicrete is made by combining metal oxides and soluble phosphate powders, like those used in detergents and fertilizers, with water. These ingredients are abundant in nature and react quickly at room temperature to form a ceramic that is similar in composition to dental cement. Ceramicrete sets harder than concrete and binds quickly to almost anything except plastics. No toxic emissions are generated in the process.
Solid wastes may be mixed with the binder powders and water, while liquid wastes such as sludge may be used to provide the water needed for the reaction. When the reaction occurs, the ingredients form a thick slurry that can be poured into storage drums, where it sets to form a hard, dense and nonleachable ceramic waste form.
Because it is nontoxic and nonflammable, Ceramicrete can replace the expensive and less environmentally friendly organic binders currently in use. It has been used at Argonne to treat "mixed waste" -- waste that is both radioactive and chemically hazardous.
Argonne-West will sponsor "Take A Child To Work Day" Thursday, April 27.
Employees are encouraged to bring their children, boys and girls, to work on this day. Argonne-West's Women in Science and Technology (WIST) group will present tours, workshops and presentations at the all-day event. Participation in WIST-sponsored activities will be limited to the first 100 children, ages 10-16, to be registered.
For more information, or to participate, contact Terry Brooks (RPS) at ext. 3-7144, or Shelly Havlovick (RPS) at ext. 3-7653.
"Understanding the Department of Defense (DOD) Research and Development Process" will be the topic of a seminar Wednesday, April 12, in Argonne-East's Building 203 Auditorium from 9 a.m. to 11 am.
The speaker will be Bill Whalen, manager of the Defense Technical Information Center's Midwest Regional Office. His office is the central depository for DOD scientific and technical information and serves as a clearinghouse for all information generated through DOD's research, development, test and evaluation processes.
Whalen will discuss the DOD research and development planning process and give an overview on how the department awards its research dollars. The DOD research and development budget is expected to be more than $34 billion for fiscal year 2000.
The discussion will cover topics such as where to learn about upcoming technological needs before they are formally announced, retrieving specific information from the DOD Research and Development Descriptive Summaries and how to locate DOD points of contact on the Internet.
About 20 percent of this research will be done in-house at the various DOD laboratories, with the remainder performed by contractors, academia and other government agencies such as the DOE national laboratories.
The seminar, hosted by the Information and Publishing Division, is open to all Argonne and DOE employees. For more information, call Liz Ybarra (IPD-TIS) at ext. 2-4825.
A new location has been chosen for the College Fair scheduled for Wednesday, April 12. It will be held in Argonne-East's Building 212, Room A157.
Representatives of 24 educational institutions will be available from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to answer questions about courses, degrees and class schedules. The college fair is open to all Argonne employees whose work schedules permit.
Information about the Argonne Educational Assistance Program and CLEP (credit for life experiences) will be provided at the fair by the Human Resources Department.
For more information, call Karen Kroczek (PFS) at ext. 2-8764 or Charlyne Robinson (HR) at ext. 2-3410.
In celebration of Earth Day's 30th anniversary, Argonne-East's Pollution Prevention Program will hold its annual Earth Day Forum at the Building 213 Cafeteria Thursday, April 20, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The 5th annual forum will include an exhibit developed by Argonne, Fermilab and DOE's Argonne Group that was displayed at "It's Wild in Chicago 2000," at Chicago's Field Museum in early April. The display highlights ecological restoration activities at Argonne and Fermilab, phytoremediation studies by Argonne researchers and research on carbon sequestration under the CSiTE program.
In addition to the exhibit, the DuPage County Forest Preserve District will be on hand to promote its "Parent-A-Tree" program. The $5 Parent-A-Tree kit provides two oak seedlings; one can be planted at home permanently and the other is to be returned to the forest preserve for replanting after four years. The program's goal is to replenish the oak tree population within DuPage County preserves.
For more information on the Earth Day Forum, call the Pollution Prevention Hotline at ext. 2-6778.
Argonne's Land Management and Habitat Restoration Committee will sponsor a guided tour of Argonne-East habitat restoration projects on Wednesday, April 26.
The one-hour bus tour will provide a close-up look at the wetlands, prairies and wooded areas that have been, or are being, restored to a more natural state.
Participants will meet at the Building 201 main entrance at noon. Wear casual clothing and bring a lunch if desired. To reserve a place on the tour, call the Pollution Prevention Hotline at ext. 2-6778.
Argonne-West Information Services now offers video teleconferencing.
Video teleconferencing can reduce costs by substituting for traveling to meetings. Employees can also use the system to take video university courses.
For more information on video teleconferencing educational opportunities, call Hope Forsmann (NT) at ext. 3-7944, or Jennifer Turnage (NT) at ext. 3-7716.
For more information on scheduling video teleconferences, call Kris Statham (RPS) at ext. 3-7449, or Jeff Staffon (RPS) at ext. 3-7037.
A representative from Fidelity Investments, Inc. will visit Argonne-West in coming weeks for individual consultations on asset allocations, retirement planning and transfers of assets.
Dates will be:
Monday,
April 24, and Tuesday, April 25.
Thursday, May 11, and Friday, May 12.
Tuesday,
May 30, and Wednesday, May 31
Wednesday, June 21.
For an individual consultation, call 1-800-642-7131, and identify yourself as an Argonne employee in Idaho.
Nominations are being sought for the 2000 University of Chicago Board of Governors for Argonne Outstanding Service Awards.
The awards recognize employees in support positions whose exemplary service over an extended period has significantly contributed toward helping the laboratory fulfill its various missions and attain its overall goals.
A full-time employee may be nominated for a consistent history of innovative ideas, suggestions, or inventions; for sustained leadership, reliability, and dependability, or for other particularly valuable on-going contributions to the work of the laboratory.
Awardees will be selected by a committee named by the University of Chicago.
The deadline for nominations is Friday, April 28. Nominations take the form of a one-page statement -- about 250 words -- describing the nominee's achievements and specific reasons for nomination. Nominations should be sent in a sealed envelope marked "confidential" to Leslie Osborne (HR) in Building 201.
For more information, call the Human Resources Department at ext. 2-2939.
Seminars on European travel and financial services are planned at Argonne-East by the Argonne Credit Union. The seminars are open to both members and non-members.
Global
Holidays: London and The South of France -- Tuesday, April
18, noon, Building 208, Room 138A. The seminar will include
video presentations on these week-long trips, which include
air fare, hotels, experienced escort guides and more.
For additional information and a color brochure, visit the Argonne Credit Union or call Global Holidays at 1-800-842-9023.
Plan
America, Members Financial Services Seminar on Long-Term
Health Care Planning -- Tuesday, May 16, at noon in the
Building 213 Cafeteria, Dining Room B.
Two Argonne golf leagues need players to round out teams as the 2000 season begins.
The
Reactor Golf League, Argonne's oldest golf league, is
seeking players to fill roster openings on teams.
The league, now in its 42nd year, plays at Gleneagles Golf Club in Lemont Thursday afternoons, with tee times from 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. For more information, call one of the league officers: Chris Johnson (CMT), ext. 2-4787 or johnsoncs@cmt. anl.gov; Jeff Binder (RE), ext. 2-7265 or jlbinder@ anl.gov; Ray Monroe (XFD), ext. 2-0100 or monroe@aps.anl.gov; Deon Ettinger (DEP), ext. 2-4272 or ettinger@dep.anl.gov.
The Des
Plaines Valley golf league is looking for players.
The mixed league plays Tuesday evenings at Old Oaks Country Club, 143rd Ave. and Parker St. in Lemont. First tee-off is at 4:45 p.m.
For more information, call Glenn Kailus (PFS) at ext. 2-7610.
