|
|||
| ARGONNE HOME PAGE | ARGONNE INTRANET | NEWS HOME PAGE | BACK ISSUES |
|
|
|||
| ARGONNE HOME PAGE | ARGONNE INTRANET | NEWS HOME PAGE | BACK ISSUES |
Just added:
Women with backgrounds in science and technology and an interest in speaking with women scientists of the future are needed to lunch with about 400 high school students on Thursday, March 13.
As part of the Sixteenth Annual Science Careers in Search of Women conference, volunteers will spend about 1½ hours talking about what they do and advise young women on how to get involved and pursue careers in science and technology.
Science Careers in Search of Women is an all-day event sponsored by the Division of Educational Programs to encourage women to consider careers in the science and technology fields. It will include an introduction by Laboratory Director Hermann Grunder, a keynote speaker and three panel discussions that will split the students into smaller groups based on their interests. Lunch is scheduled to take place in the Building 213 Cafeteria between 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., but volunteers are encouraged to arrive by 1:15 p.m. to allow them more time to talk with the young women. Ideally there will be two scientists at each table of five to six students.
There will be between 60 and 80 Chicago area High Schools participating in the event. A complimentary lunch of sub sandwiches, apples, cookies and soft drinks will be served. If possible, table assignments will be made according to the interests students indicated on their applications for the event. After lunch the young women will have an opportunity to take part in selected tours of Argonne and visit career booths set up for the day. To volunteer, or for more information, contact Jean Sloboda (PBC-HP) at ext. 2-1282 or e-mail to jsloboda@anl.gov.
by Amy M. Kile
The Council for Chemical Research recognized Luis Nuñez and Michael Kaminski for their work with SourceTech Medical to commercialize a fast manufacturing method for radioactive seeds used in prostate cancer treatment.
Working in the Chemical Technology Division (CMT), Nuñez, deputy associate laboratory director for physical, biological and computing sciences, and Kaminski, assistant materials engineer, were separating radionuclides for the Department of Energy’s remediation and nuclear waste clean-up activities when they became interested in radionuclide applications in nuclear medicine.
“We began to explore other opportunities with our expertise in the nuclear field for nuclear medicine and became interested in medical radioisotopes,” said Nuñez.
In looking for an outlet for their medical interest, they formed a research partnership with SourceTech, a start-up company based in Carol Stream, Ill. SourceTech entered into a work-for-others program with Argonne through which it paid the laboratory to help research and develop its product, titanium seeds containing an iodine isotope.
The small seeds are used in brachytherapy, a form of cancer treatment in which the seeds, smaller than a rice grain, are implanted in the prostate gland. There they deliver a localized dose of radiation to destroy cancer cells.
Before the Argonne-SourceTech collaboration, the seeds were in short supply, delaying treatments for three to six months. The industry-laboratory collaboration resulted in a new technique to manufacture the seeds. This technique made SourceTech the number-three producer of seeds.
SourceTech, with Argonne’s assistance, was able to enter the Iodine-125 brachytherapy market in half the time they originally estimated, eliminating the seed shortage.
Every year the Council for Chemical Research recognizes collaborations between universities, industry and government laboratories and publicizes the successes to portray the benefits to the research community and the public.
“I’m honored to receive the recognition, because it shows Argonne’s ability to work effectively and efficiently with industry,” Nuñez said.
Nuñez and Kaminski, along with SourceTech, also won a 2002 Chicago Innovation Award from the Chicago Sun-Times and Kuczmarski & Associates.
Chicago Innovation Awards are given to Chicago area companies that have succeeded in marketing new products. To win the award, the product must have created a whole new category within the last two years. It also had to trigger a competitive response within that category, causing other companies to rush to develop and market similar products.
In addition, Chicago Innovation Award winners must have changed customer expectations, solved customer needs and generated revenues, although not necessarily profits.
A mini-symposium on the results of Laboratory-Directed Research and Development (LDRD) projects will be held from 2:30-4:30 p.m., Monday, Feb. 17, in Argonne-East’s Building 402, Conference Room E1100. All employees whose schedules permit are invited to attend.
Presentation topics will include:
“Ultrasonic Techniques for
Brain Monitoring” by Shuh-Haw Sheen (ET)
“Surface Analysis for
Accelerator Research and Innovation” by Qing Ma (ASD)
“Derivatization of
Ultrananocrystalline Diamond for Bioassays” by John Carlisle (MSD)
“Regional Climate Systems
Modeling” by John A.Taylor (MCS)
“Laser-Based Ignition
System for Natural Gas Reciprocating Engines” by Sreenath Gupta (ES)
“Examination of Reactor
Materials Following Extended Service in Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactors” by Ronald King
(NT-AW)
“Remote Treatment Facility
Process and Equipment Assessment” by Collin Knight (ENT-AW)
by Amy M. Kile
The DuPage County YWCA will honor Marion White (ASD) with its annual Outstanding Women Leaders Award in the science, medicine and technology category.
Each year the YWCA awards women who have achieved excellence in their field with an Outstanding Women Leaders Award. Honorees must demonstrate excellence in their field, represent themselves as outstanding role models for other women and go beyond their field to work on behalf of equal opportunity, racial and economic justice and enhancement of quality of life.
White worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology between 1974 and 1991, after receiving her Ph.D. there. She conducted high-energy physics experiments between 1974 and 1991 while living in Germany, France and Switzerland. She came to Argonne in 1991, already familiar with the laboratory, having worked at Argonne as an undergraduate student. She began working in Argonne’s Accelerator Systems Division as linac group leader, responsible for construction and commissioning of the Advanced Photon Source linac.
Currently, White is senior scientific advisor for front-end and linac construction at the $1.4 billion Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The SNS is a collaborative effort between six U.S. Department of Energy laboratories, including Argonne, to build a powerful spallation source for neutron scattering research and development.
“Neutron scattering is a valuable tool in the investigation of materials, providing information complementary to that obtained from X-ray sources such as the APS,” White said. “Neutrons can locate hydrogen atoms, leading to determination of molecular structure information that can be used in the development of new therapeutic drugs.”
When the SNS comes online in 2006, it will be capable of delivering 1.4 million watts of proton beam power on the spallation target, more than 10 times the highest power available today at a pulsed source.
White recently received a Distinguished Performance Award from the University of Chicago for her contributions to the APS.
“I’m certainly very honored to receive this award,” said White who was notified about the YWCA award on her way to the airport as she was heading to the SNS in Oak Ridge. “It was a complete surprise when I got the phone call because I was not even aware that I had been nominated.”
This year’s award winners will receive their awards at a luncheon May 2 at Drury Lane in Oak Brook, Ill.
Chicago Sun-Times columnist and editorial board member Mary Mitchell will speak at Argonne-East Thursday, Feb. 20, at 10:30 a.m. in the Building 203 Auditorium.
Mitchell has written extensively about race relations, families and community violence, attracting a diverse, nationwide audience. She joined the Sun-Times as an education writer in 1991, and has also covered City Hall and the U.S. Federal Courts. She is a frequent guest panelist on WTTW-Channel 11.
Mitchell’s talk is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and Argonne in celebration of Black History Month. All employees whose schedules permit are invited to attend.
by Amy M. Kile
At halftime of the Chicago Bulls game Wednesday, Feb. 19, the American Heart Association will honor Argonne Emergency Management Officer Gary Winner and Lt. James Hartley III, a member of Argonne’s Protective Force, for using CPR to save a life. After the ceremony they will watch the game from the Chicago Bulls super-suite.
During American Heart Month, each February, the American Heart Association holds “American Heartsaver Day” to recognize heroes from the Chicago area who have saved a life by performing CPR or using an automated external defibrillator (AED). Winner and Hartley will receive the American Heart Association award for saving the life of Rosemary Stanton, Environment, Safety and Health Division recording secretary. As an area emergency supervisor, Winner receives all emergency calls. But on the morning of July 24, 2002, Winner walked into Room 275 in Building 201 before his pager could warn him of the problem. Stanton was having a heart attack.
“She was unconscious, not breathing, and I could see that she was in really bad shape,” Winner said.
After determining that a call had been placed to 911, Winner began CPR. He continued to administer the life-saving procedure until Hartley was dispatched to the scene. Hartley helped with crowd control, checked Stanton’s vitals and took over CPR until the paramedics arrived.
William Sweetie, CPR coordinator for the Argonne Fire Department, nominated both Winner and Hartley for the American Heartsaver Day honor.
In addition to the American Heartsaver Day honor, Winner and Hartley have been presented with Lifesaving Awards by the Argonne Fire Department, and were recognized on WLS-AM radio as “Hometown Heroes.”
“The recognition is great,” Winner said, “but the best reward is that Rosemary is still alive.”
Arts at Argonne will present “Knocks and Shocks,” a series of silent films accompanied by live music, on Friday, Feb. 28, in the Advanced Photon Source Conference Center, Building 402.
Beginning at 7:30 p.m., five films will be presented, each focusing on dramatic reversals of fortune, with the main characters going from rags to riches — or vice-versa. David Drazin, the official silent-film accompanist for the School of the Art Institute’s Film Center in Chicago, will provide live music during the films.
Admission is $5 per person. Order tickets by calling (630) 252-3751, or purchase them at lunchtime in the Building 213 Cafeteria lobby beginning Feb. 24. Tickets will also be sold at the door.
Scheduled films include:
“The Great Train
Robbery,” an Old West crime movie featuring the first cowboy film star, G.M. “Bronco
Billy” Anderson.
“Der Captain’s Magic
Act,” a film involving two mischievous children who sabotage the title character’s
show.
“A Pair of Tights,” a
film featuring slapstick routines comparable to those of Laurel and Hardy.
“Fiddlesticks,” a
film about a man and his dream to play the bass fiddle.
“Flesh and Blood,”
the feature film of the night, featuring Lon Chaney as an escaped convict who disguises himself in
an effort to seek revenge on the man who had him unjustly imprisoned.
Arts at Argonne is the laboratory’s cultural arts program. The program sponsors films, performances by professional musicians, art and photography exhibits and other events. Arts at Argonne is partially supported by the University of Chicago and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
More information is available on Arts at Argonne’s Web Page.
Argonne employees can receive a 15 percent discount at area Borders bookstores during the “Government Appreciation Days” promotion, Feb. 22-23.
Employees need to bring their badges to receive the discount. DVDs, computer games and gift certificates are not included in the promotion. The offer is valid at participating stores in Bolingbrook, Wheaton, Naperville, St. Charles, Geneva and DeKalb. The Borders Web site has addresses and directions.
Human Resource Benefits Representatives Marge Vaught and Julie Losinski will distribute information and answer questions about the laboratory’s retirement plans in Argonne-East’s Building 213 Cafeteria Lobby Wednesday, Feb. 19, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
They will hand out retirement plan brochures, forms and enrollment packets.
“Program Development,” a course designed to assist employees at federally-funded research and development institutions expand their sponsor base, will be held March 25-26 from 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. in Argonne-East’s Building 213 Cafeteria, Dining Rooms A and B.
The course (HR242) will help participants develop focused marketing strategies, and the methods, skills, tools and techniques needed to establish new business alliances and better manage ongoing sponsor relationships.
The deadline to register is Friday, Feb. 21. To, enroll, contact a Training Management System representative. For more information, call Betty Iwan (HR) at ext. 2-3410; for a complete description visit the HR Web site.
by Katie Williams
Last fall, a student appointee named Wenyi Cai caused a stir at Argonne as the youngest winner ever of a student poster presentation.
Cai, who was a senior at Naperville Central High School when she won the poster presentation, is back in the spotlight again: she has been named one of five 2002 Davidson Institute Fellow Laureates for the analytical research she did at Argonne with Advanced Photon Source (APS) staff scientist Jin Wang (XFD). The award reception was hosted by two U.S. senators at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.
Cai created a computer model based on data Wang and his colleagues obtained using the APS and other synchrotron radiation facilities to study gasoline direct injection sprays. The model reconstructs the 3-D fuel distribution, which allows scientists to optimize the injection nozzle design and assist in more realistic spray and combustion modeling and simulation. The title of her award-winning study is “Quantitative Analysis of Highly Transient Gasoline Sprays by Time-Resolved and Synchrotron X-Radiography.”
The Davidson Fellows Award program encourages, recognizes and rewards the extraordinary achievements of young people under the age of 18. To be named a fellow, students under the age of 18 must demonstrate significant achievement in one of five categories: science, technology, mathematics, humanities or “out of the box” (a combination of 2 or more of the categories). This award carries a $50,000 scholarship, which Cai plans to use toward college tuition in the fall.
Cai was also a regional finalist in the 2001 Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology and the 2002 Intel Science Talent Search for her progressive research work.
“In her first week of interaction,” said Wang, “I realized that she had a solid background in mathematics and an exceptional understanding of physical phenomena. Her motivation and willingness to work hard is something one only sees among the most successful of professional scientists and engineers.”
Cai will take the experiences she has gained at Argonne with her as she begins her freshman year at Harvard in the fall.
“It has been such a pleasure being 17 and experiencing so much,” Cai said. “From international conferences and world-class experiments to working with energetic and helpful people, this has left such a big imprint on my life.”
A representative of the Social Security Administration’s Joliet office will visit Argonne-East Wednesday, Feb. 19, 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, call Fran Perri (HR) at ext. 2-2989.
Argonne and University of Chicago researchers are encouraged to apply for funding opportunities offered by the Center for Integrating Statistical and Environmental Science (CISES), beginning in summer 2004.
Employees with project ideas can send a one-page summary to cises@galton. uchicago.edu with a curriculum vitae or brief biographical sketch. CISES will help identify potential collaborators if only partial teams have been assembled. For more information, visit the CISES Web site.
Q: What are the responsibilities of the Chief of Staff? Job description?
A: The position of chief of staff was added to the Directorate this past autumn to coordinate its many activities. Jill Morgenthaler was named to the post. She supports Argonne Director Hermann Grunder by monitoring the progress of assignments and making sure everyone has the resources they need. She works with the other members of the Directorate and their staffs to maintain scientific, programmatic, operational and administrative visions, and reports on progress and problems. The chief of staff also handles special assignments on the director’s behalf.
As part of these responsibilities, the chief of staff participates in strategic planning and setting of priorities, transmits plans and recommendations of the Directorate to the laboratory director, advises him about such plans and recommendations and acts as his agent in carrying them out. She sometimes represents him at events, including speaking engagements. Such representation may be with local and community groups, foreign dignitaries, and other VIPs.
“Ask the Directorate” gives employees an opportunity to ask senior Argonne management about the laboratory's operations, policy, strategy, mission, budget and goals. Employees should continue to refer job- or workplace-specific questions to their immediate supervisors. Employees may submit questions to askthedirectorate@anl.gov or fax them to 2-5274. Only questions that include the name of the questioner and contact information, such as e-mail address, office extension or fax number, will be answered.
James M. Boyle (TD) retired Jan. 7 with 35 years of service.
Fred Brewer (PFS-SES) retired Jan. 31 with 10 years of service.
Jack Jagger (ASD) retired Jan. 17 with 13 years of service.
Andrew Kelly (ASD) retired Jan. 10 with 38 years of service.
Judy Martinet (ER) retired Jan. 9 with 10 years of service.
Michael J. Meshenberg (DIS) retired Jan. 31 with 17 years of service.
Gordon D. Muma (FAC) retired Jan. 6 with 36 years of service.
Richard H. Rigg (ENT) retired Jan. 6 with 23 years of service.
Charlyne Robinson (HR) retired Jan. 17 with 10 years of service.
Harold C. Russell (TD) retired Jan. 8 with 42 years of service.
Bobby R. Seidel (NT) retired Jan. 6 with 30 years of service.
Karl T. Shirley (FAC) retired Jan. 6 with 23 years of service.
Richard A. Valentin (ET) retired Jan. 31 with 38 years of service.
Chung-Yi Wang (RAE) retired Jan. 6 with 31 years of service.
Susan E. Webster (OCF) retired Jan. 17 with 33 years of service.
Richard H. Wesel (RAE) retired Jan. 6 with 35 years of service.
Raymond D. Wolson (CMT) retired Jan. 6 with 39 years of service.