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Argonne-West employee Maureen Finnerty (NT) was named "2002 Woman of the Year" at this year's Women's History Month celebration March 14. The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) award recognizes Finnerty's history of leadership at work and in her community.
Others nominated for the award were Nancy Stewart (FAC) and JoAnn Barney (RPS). Stewart supervises and manages Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) treatment, storage and disposal facilities at Argonne-West. Barney, who graduated top of her class, supervises the computer services department.
Lead environmental engineer at Argonne-West, Finnerty has worked in environmental engineering for six years. In that short time she has made significant contributions and has demonstrated great technical knowledge, leadership and communication, said John I. Sackett, deputy associate laboratory director for Argonne-West.
As a board member of the State of Idaho Board of Environmental Quality, Finnerty represents INEEL and Eastern Idaho interests during the promulgation of all State of Idaho air, water and waste environmental regulations.
She also hears all contested cases related to those regulations. She established a reputation among fellow board members as well as local and state wide business and legislative leaders as being both technically competent on environmental law and proficient in her ability to bring together groups with diverse and often competing interests.
"The rapport and reputation she has established while on the board serve as a strong foundation for positive relations that Argonne-West and the INEEL have with other businesses as well as governmental agencies in the state," said Sackett.
Finnerty also serves as the eastern Idaho representative on the Idaho Environmental Forum (IEF) and is establishing an eastern Idaho arm of the IEF. She plans to call this group the East Idaho Environmental Issues Forum.
Her technical communication and organizational skills have served her well in her various assignments. She is a role model and mentor for her peers and has provided employment opportunities when appropriate.
A mini-symposium highlighting recent laboratory-directed research and development (LDRD) projects will be held Tuesday, May 14, from 2-4 p.m. in Argonne-East's Building 362, Conference Room F108.
Principal investigators from each LDRD project will summarize their research and results, and give audience members a chance to ask questions.
All employees whose schedules permit are invited to attend.
Presentations will include:
2:15 p.m. --
"Mapping Inter-Molecular Interaction with Phage Display," by Lee Makowski,
director, BIO.
2:30 p.m. --
Protein Conformation Related to Disease," by Rosemarie Raffen, BIO.
2:45 p.m. --
"Nano-Titans: Biological Applications of TiO2-Bound
Oligonucleotides," by Gayle Woloschak, BIO.
3:00 p.m. --
"Technology Development for Higher Throughput Functional and Structural Studies
of Membrane Proteins," by Deborah Hanson, BIO.
3:15 p.m. --
Break.
3:30 p.m. --
"Surface Spin Polarization for Spintronics," by John Mitchell, MSD.
3:45 p.m. --
"Imaging of Vortex States in Mesoscopic Superconductors" by Maria Iavarone,
MSD.
4 p.m. --
"Photoprocesses in Hybrid Nanostructures," by Gary Wiederrecht, CHM.
Employees have been asked to submit comments on Argonne's current performance evaluation process. Two documents are available online to help explain the current process:
"Performance
Management: A Supervisor's Guide" is located on the Human Resources Web
site under Performance Development.
"The Dollars and Sense of
Compensation" is a booklet designed to explain Argonne's compensation
system to employees. It can be found on the Human Resources Web site under
Compensation.
John (Jack) H. Gibbons spoke about the responsibility of science and society to protect the environment for future generations at a recent Special Director's Colloquium in memory of Joseph Asbury, former deputy to the Argonne director. Gibbons was a personal friend of Asbury.
"What kind of ultimate goals do we need for humanity?" Gibbons asked. He explained that environmental pollution is a function of technological advancement, energy demand and usage, and population pressures. He reported his concern for the uncontrolled growth of global CO2 and increasing global temperature, citing data that humans produce 6 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide a year.
Gibbons said the responsibility of science was "to bridge the knowledge that exists with the knowledge that is needed but not accessible." He encouraged scientists to develop technologies to improve fuel combustion and more energy efficient materials designed for recycling, reuse and preventing waste. For example, diesel is the most energy efficient fuel but the technology has not yet been developed for it to burn cleanly.
Gibbons said that Americans are not willing to control their demand for energy and that there was too much emphasis on the "supply side of energy" -- providing as much energy as consumers demand.
He expressed disappointment in America's increasing demand for petroleum by heavy and, especially, light trucks and SUVs, the fastest growing category of vehicles. The demand for energy coupled with increasing population pressures required "an awareness of the environmental impacts," said Gibbons.
Gibbons served Presidents Reagan and Bush as director of the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment and assistant to the President for Science and Technology, and President Clinton as director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Gibbons said he started his career in physics because he liked to "reduce issues to their essential nature." He spent 15 years as a researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he pioneered studies on energy demand and conservation and environmental impacts of resource use.
-- Quyhn Tran
Beihai Ma (ET) has received a newly established award for his work in high-temperature superconductivity.
Ma won a Research and Development Award from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office of Power Technologies. He was one of five young investigators to be so honored.
Ma's work involves developing yttrium-based second-generation coated conductors by inclined substrate deposition (ISD). ISD produces textured thin films, which can be used to produce high critical current density YBCO superconducting wires. The ISD process he is developing is very fast, which could make it attractive for commercial production of high-temperature superconducting wires.
Argonne-East recently completed tornado drills and reminded employees to review tornado shelter locations at work and at home. In the past, Argonne-East has been hit twice by tornados -- luckily, very weak ones -- and menaced several times by funnel clouds.
Gary Winner, Emergency Management Officer at Argonne, reminds employees to follow these procedures when severe weather is a possibility:
Know the
difference between a watch and a warning (see below).
Know where to
seek shelter and how to get to it quickly.
Monitor
weather conditions by paying attention to public announcements or listening to
a specialized weather radio.
Be mindful and
responsible to visitors on site. Guide them to shelter areas.
All buildings have an emergency plan that outlines the locations of tornado shelters. Employees should know the safest place and the best route. General guidelines include avoiding windows, heading for a basement or interior hallway, and staying low, preferably under a stairwell, heavy table or workbench.
While outside or driving
Do not try to outrun a tornado or remain in an automobile in the path of a tornado. Immediately seek shelter in the closest permanent building. Look for shelter signs for the safest locations. If caught outside or in a vehicle, try to drive at a right angle away from the tornado. If you cannot drive away, get out of the vehicle, find a ditch or the lowest ground surface to lie down in, and cover your head. Highway overpasses do not provide shelter from tornadic winds. Be aware of flying debris. Flying debris from tornadoes causes most fatalities and injuries. After the tornado passes, employees caught outside should let others know of their whereabouts and if they need medical attention. This could be done via 911.
Cafeteria shelters
If a tornado warning is sounded during meal service hours, all occupants of Argonne-East's Building 213 Cafeteria will be directed to one of the building's shelter areas. The basement locker rooms, dock area stairwell, kitchen area, supply and storage rooms on the southeast corner of the building, and the bathrooms near the entrance are all tornado shelter areas.
Watches vs. Warnings
A watch
means conditions are right for a tornado to develop. Watch announcements will
be made on the site-wide public address system. Hazardous materials may have to
be secured, and classified documents have to be ready to be locked up. Workers
in trailers may have to move to a permanent building.
A
warning means a tornado has been sighted in the area or detected by
radar. Outdoor sirens will sound and an announcement will be made to direct
employees to head to designated tornado shelters immediately and remain there
until the all-clear announcement. Watch for and assist others needing help
getting to shelter. Follow directions of emergency personnel. Try to remain
quiet in the shelter area to better hear any announcements.
NEW ARRIVALS
Twins, Cassidy Alyse and Braydon Kyle, born July 29 to Rick and Dawn Fringley (ANL-W); a boy, Manuel, born March 2 to Stephen and Brigitte Rosenkranz (MSD); a girl, Juliana Grace, born February 23 to Erin and John Nelson (ET); a son, Ryan Patrick, born December 29 to first-time parents Kelly and Patrick Beallis (PFS-WMO); a boy Brandon Scott, born Nov. 2 to Steve and Colleen Tobolic (PHY) and grandparents Steve and Sandra Tobolic (OCF); a boy, Aaron William, born March 23 to Branton and Ruth Campbell (MSD).
Proud grandparents: a grandson, Benjamin Paul Francisco, born Feb. 14 to Karen Neumann (PFS-WMO); a granddaughter, Rebecca Ann, born March 18 to Ed and Lee Harris (MSD); a granddaughter, Erin Elizabeth McKay, born April 11 to Diane and Robert Gebhardt (OCF-PRO).
WEDDING/ENGAGEMENTS
Congratulations to Michelle Rush (DIS) on her engagement to Frank Lawlor. Mary Ongenae (DIS) and Timothy Klett (EAD) on their engagement. Jack Sepich (PFS-WMO) and Laura Schmidt (PFS-WMO) on their March wedding.
WELCOME
ASD welcomes Byron Jordan. PFS-CU welcomes William Bedford and Dennis Rogers.
WELCOME BACK
Welcome back to Shahida Razvi (PFS-WMO).
GET WELL
Get well to Katrina Thomas (EAD/DC Office), Lori Greenwood (EAD), and Robert Birtcher (MSD).
FAREWELLS
Good luck to Annie Oh (EAD), Joy Frances (EAD), Gonca Long (PFS-WMO), Steve Helleman (PFS-WMO) who have all left the laboratory.
CONDOLENCES
Our condolences to Chuck Cilek (DIS) on the death of his mother; Dan Milinko (EQO) on the death of his grandfather; Magda Bodnar (EQO) on the death of her grandfather; Joyce Leggett (EQO) on the death of her sister-in-law; Lou Sytsma (ES) on the death of his wife; Scott Bresnahan (PFS-CU) on the death of his grandmother.
CONTRIBUTORS
Thanks to this issue's contributors: Bonnie Baudino (ET), Cathy Derry (OSS-SMP), Gaylene Flores (ANL-W), Diana Grygiel (EQO), Sheila Jungman (MSD), Karen Kroczek (PFS), Pat McUmber (ASD), Jo Ann Parnell (ES), Sally Peters (OCF-PRO), Eleanor Robson (EAD), and Kathy Ruffatto (DIS).
A direct address is available to the free online seminar "The Scientific Article: From Galileo's New Science to the Human Genome," prepared by Joseph E. Harmon (ET) and others.
Retirees
Gregory Chisholm (DIS) retired March 28 with 24 years of service.
Henry M. Domanus (ET) retired March 15 with 28 years of service.
Betty Duncan-Clay (PFS-CU) retired March 29 with 13 years of service.
Leroy Gebhart (HR) retired March 29 with 17 years of service.
Fredrick N. Lindahl (PFS-CR) retired March 29 with 15 years of service.
David W. Maddison (NT) retired March 29 with 33 years of service.
Yong W. Shin (RAE) retired March 29 with 30 years of service.
Diane Simms (ASD) retired March 29 with 16 years of service.
Robert V. Strain (ET) retired March 29 with 35 years of service.
Ronald Van Buskirk (CHM) retired March 18 with 35 years of service.
A representative from MetLife will be available at Argonne-East Tuesday, May 7, and Tuesday, May 21, to meet with individual employees and provide 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 should fax their auto policy renewal statements to (630) 810-1628 before their appointments.