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An Argonne-led research center to improve the speed and efficiency of determining protein structure will receive approximately $4 million each year for five years from the National Institutes of Health.
The Midwest Center for Structural Genomics (MCSG) is part of a seven-center initiative to determine the structures of thousands of proteins over the next decade.
Structural genomics is a new field dedicated to a broad understanding of protein structures and functions in relation to gene sequences. It grew out of the Genome Project, the effort that sequenced the human and dozens of other genomes. Researchers now want to use that one-dimensional information to help them determine the structure and function of every single human protein.
The center will be directed by Andrzej Joachimiak, who is also director of Argonne's Structural Biology Center.
The National Institute for General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health is funding the Midwest center to cut the average cost for determining the three-dimensional structures of proteins from $100,000 to $20,000, and the time needed to analyze a protein from months and years to days and hours. The group will also select protein targets from all three kingdoms of life -- eukarya, archaea and bacteria -- with an emphasis on new protein folds and proteins from disease-causing organisms.
The Midwest Center for Structural Genomics combines the talents of researchers at Argonne, Northwestern University, University of Toronto, University of Virginia, University College of London, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
The six other projects are based at Rutgers University, Rockefeller University, University of Georgia, Scripps Research Institute and Lawrence Berkeley and Los Alamos national laboratories.
An in-depth look at Argonne's structural genomics research will appear in an upcoming issue of Argonne News.
-- Evelyn Brown
Several hundred Argonne-East employees attended a reception Sept. 22 to welcome the laboratory's newly appointed director, Hermann Grunder.
Grunder, who will take the helm of the laboratory Nov. 1, spent about two hours meeting and talking with employees.
"Have you ever tried to drink out of a fire hose?" Grunder asked the crowd after being introduced by University of Chicago President Don Randel. "Try it. That's how I feel at this moment," he said.
Grunder discussed the importance of the relationship between Argonne and the university, calling it "a combination that's unbeatable."
He also addressed Argonne's future as a premier science and technology laboratory. "Where is the intellectual frontier? Where is the technological frontier?" Grunder said. "That is where we want to be. It is our raison d'etre."
"I'm very happy to be part of you. I'm very happy to learn, even from a fire hose, about all of Argonne's great accomplishments."
Nancy Hopkins, a molecular biologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will present "MIT's Report on Women Faculty in Science Leads to New Initiatives for Faculty Diversity" at a director's special colloquium Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 3 p.m. in Argonne-East's Building 362 Auditorium
In 1995, Hopkins chaired MIT's Committee on Women Faculty in the School of Science, which found that tenured women faculty members in the university's School of Science were subject to a subtle form of gender bias. The committee's report, and the subsequent effort by the committee and MIT to improve the situation, received wide attention.
Hopkins, the author of that report, will discuss how MIT improved gender inequity, and how the experience at that university could help address similar problems elsewhere. This year, MIT appointed Hopkins co-chair of the first Council on Faculty Diversity at MIT. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
The Argonne Combined Appeal campaign begins this week with a food drive to benefit FISH, Inc., a food pantry in Downers Grove. During the week of Oct. 2-6, non-perishable food and other items will be accepted in collection bins in many buildings at Argonne-East.
Suggestions for donations include: cereal, canned meat (hash, beef stew), peanut butter, rice, cookies, tea bags, canned fruit, toilet paper, toothpaste and toothbrushes, bars of soap, shampoo and baby diapers.
Collection bins will be located in Buildings 200, 201, 202, 203, 205, 212, 214, 221, 223, 314, 331, 350, 360, 362, 401 and 900.
Serving the communities of Downers Grove, Westmont, Lisle, Darien and Woodridge, FISH, Inc., is a charitable organization that provides a variety of emergency social and financial services to those in need. Their services include a food pantry, a clothing center and transportation to health care facilities. For more information on the food drive, contact Judy Stickels (MCS) at ext. 2-3369.
The Argonne Combined Appeal provides employees with a way to contribute to the Metropolitan Chicago United Way/Crusade of Mercy, United Way of Will county, and 18 other charities. Pledge cards received by employees should be returned to Payroll before noon on each Friday in October.
For more information, contact an ACA representative or visit the ACA Web site.
For its 13th season, Arts at Argonne's Chamber Music Series will feature five concerts that mix music by classical composers with some more contemporary pieces. Scheduled to perform are:
Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet with John Nakamatsu, piano,
Saturday, Oct.14
Leipzig String Quartet, Saturday, Nov. 4.
Vienna Piano Trio, Saturday, Feb. 24.
Manuel Barrueco, classical guitar, Sunday, March 11.
"InVenTions -- Music for the Ears and Eyes,"
Sunday, April 1.
Saturday performances begin at 8 p.m., and Sunday performances begin at 3 p.m. All concerts will be held in the Advanced Photon Source Conference Center, Building 402. All events are open to the public.
Tickets for individual performances are $20. A subscription to all five concerts costs $80. To order tickets, checks payable to Argonne National Laboratory should be sent to Arts at Argonne, Bldg. 221, Room B111, 9700 S. Cass Ave., Argonne, IL 60439.
Arts at Argonne is the laboratory's cultural arts program. For more information, and to order tickets, call Arts at Argonne at ext. 2-3751 or visit the Arts at Argonne Web site.
Argonne's Foreign Visits and Assignments, Foreign Travel and Export Control functions will move to Argonne-East's Building 302 by Monday, Oct. 2.
All communications on these and related matters should to be sent to that building.
The fax number has changed to ext. 2-6111, but all of these departments' other telephone numbers will remain the same.
Faxes sent to the old number may result in request processing delays.
Applications are now being accepted for the University of Chicago/Argonne Scholarship Plan.
The program gives the sons and daughters of full-time laboratory employees a chance to compete for full-tuition scholarships to the university.
Children of regular, full-time Argonne employees are eligible. Applicants must be accepted for freshman-level admission to the University of Chicago and must be among the most qualified applicants from Argonne families, as judged by the university.
Information booklets and applications for the scholarship are available from the Division of Educational Programs (DEP) in Argonne-East's Building 223, Room M125 or by calling Carol Reynolds (DEP) at ext. 2-4114.
The scholarship applications must by validated by DEP to be accepted by the university and should be received no later than Dec. 1.
The University of Chicago/Argonne Scholarship Program does not replace the tuition remission program. For information on the tuition-remission program, call Human Resources at ext. 2-3410.
For information on University of Chicago admissions, call (773) 702-8661.
Classes in various software programs for Windows will be offered this fall by Electronics and Computing Technologies at Argonne-East.
For more information about enrollment procedures, call Diane Cavazos (ECT) at ext. 2-7153, or dkcavazos@anl.gov. Full class descriptions and schedules are available online. Class sizes are limited, usually to eight or 10 students, and are held in Building 221, Room A142. Students should have some prior knowledge of the Windows operating system.
Introduction to Access 2000 (ECT371) --
Wednesday, Oct. 18, 8:30 a.m. _ 4:30 p.m. Cost: $195.
Introduction to Word 2000 (ECT369) -- Monday, Oct. 16, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30
p.m. Cost: $195.
Introduction to Excel 2000 (ECT370) --
Tuesday, Oct. 17, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Cost: $195.
Introduction to PowerPoint 2000 (ECT372) --
Thursday, Oct. 19, 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Cost: $135.
Front Page 2000 (ECT383) -- This class runs one full day plus another
half day. Thursday, Nov. 9, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. and
Friday, Nov. 10, 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Cost: $330.
Human Resources has scheduled a variety of classes in October at Argonne-East.
To enroll, contact a Training Management System representative. Call Betty Iwan (HR) at ext. 2-3410 for more information or visit the HR Web site or under "Education and Training" on the Argonnet.
"Russian Language" (HR164) -- Classes are
held Tuesdays and Thursdays, beginning Oct. 3 in
Building 208, Room A262. The beginning class starts at 10
a.m., and the intermediate class starts at 11 a.m.
"Sharpening Your Business Writing Skills"
(HR325) -- Wednesdays, Oct. 4 through Nov. 22, from
11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Building 201, Room 238.
"CPS Review: Financial Principles" (HR554) --
Tuesday, Oct. 17, through Thursday, Nov. 16, from 11:30
a.m. to 1 p.m. in Building 201, Room 238.
"Performance Management" (HR561) --
Tuesday, Oct. 17, from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Building 201,
Room 190.
"Win The Paper Chase" (HR400) -- Thursday, Oct.
19, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Building 201, Room 190.
"Desk for Success" (HR401) -- Thursday, Oct.
26, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Building 201, Room 190.
All active employees at Argonne-East who have not yet completed the questionnaire must do so by Friday, Sept. 29. ESH has set up a special Web site to help employees understand all the questions; visit the ESH home page and the Argonnet home page.
"Program Development," a two-day seminar designed for federally funded research and development centers seeking to expand their sponsor bases in a world of reduced government spending, will be offered at Argonne-East Nov. 14-15.
"Program Development" provides methods, skills, tools and techniques needed to establish new business alliances and better manage sponsor relationships.
"Program Development" is designed for program directors and managers, engineers and scientists, legal and technical support and technology transfer employees.
The cost is $795. Registration deadline is Thursday, Oct. 12. To register, contact a Training Management System representative. Call ext. 2-3410 for more information.
A series of diabetes and cardiovascular disease education seminars will take place at Argonne-East the week of Oct. 2-6.
The free seminars are all scheduled for 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Building 200 Auditorium.
Monday, Oct. 2 -- Exercise physiologist Kathy
Freeman will discuss reducing diabetes risk factors.
Tuesday, Oct. 3 -- Kathy Freeman will present "Exercise Your Heart."
Wednesday, Oct. 4 -- Registered dietician Meredith Conn will
present "Low-Fat, Low-Sugar, High-Fiber Nutrition."
Thursday, Oct. 5 -- Argonne Psychologist
Michael Atella will present "Health Under Stress:
Health-Enhancing Attitudes And Relationships."
Friday, Oct. 6 -- Ann Munson will discuss the importance of early
detection programs in controlling diabetes and
cardiovascular disease.
For more information, call ext. 2-2813.
