FUTURE SCIENCE TEACHER — Jamaris Ealy, a senior in education and mathematics at the University of Illinois at Chicago, examines a flask at the flame atomic absorption spectrum. Ealy is a summer intern in the Environmental Assessment Division through the Pre-Service Teacher program. Photo by George Joch.

Program turns students to science teachers

By Rhianna Wisniewski

In an effort to improve science education in both elementary and high schools, an Argonne undergraduate internship program is transforming budding teachers into scientists.

Sponsored by the Department of Energy’s Office of Science and the National Science Foundation, the Pre-Service Teacher (PST) Program gives undergraduate college students an opportunity to work with Argonne scientists to gain a solid understanding of the research process. Through this program, the students, who are majoring in K-12 education in science, math and technology, will transfer their scientific training into usable lesson plans for their students.

“I have had the chance to network with many scientists and learn firsthand about the current research instead of reading about old research from a science textbook,” said Jamaris Ealy, an intern working in Argonne’s Environmental Assessment Division.

Students in the PST program are undergraduates who are still in school or have recently graduated and will not begin teaching until after they have completed the program. For 10 weeks during the summer, these future teachers work closely with Argonne scientists on projects in their chosen fields. They will learn how to transfer what they do in the laboratory into lesson plans and activities elementary or high school students will understand.

“I hope that my experience working at a national laboratory doing research will show my future students that science teachers are real scientists too,” said Courtney Bergman, a PST intern also working in the Environmental Assessment Division. “Participating in this program has helped shape new ideas about teaching and will improve my quality of teaching.”

Nancy Nega is the master teacher for the PST program and a current teacher at Elmhurst School District 205. She helps the students develop usable lesson plans and coaches them on how to take their experiences into the classroom. Nega also works with students both individually and in group sessions to ensure they are getting the most out of their experiences.

Nega explained that the program originated because the Department of Energy recognized the need to get students excited about science, and that the best way to do that is to give prospective teachers actual research experience. This not only strengthens their scientific backgrounds, but also broadens their perspective of science education and encourages them to emphasize both the scientific process and student inquiry.

According to Lou Harnisch, a program coordinator in Argonne’s Division of Educational Programs, PST focuses on enhancing the students’ scientific understanding through a research immersion.

“The program emphasizes exposure to best practice teaching activities and the development of teaching tools which may include an educational module or lesson plan, an idea journal or a digital portfolio,” he said.

PST participants come from around the U.S. and are working on projects in Argonne’s Environmental Assessment Division, Energy Systems Division and the Division of Educational Programs. Suzanne Quartuccio, for example, is currently studying the water chemistry of Lake Pleasant in Pennsylvania. She has written a paper on her research and has also developed lesson plans on water quality to use in her classroom.

Quartuccio said she feels her experience here will help her to improve her ability to teach science and to help students understand what scientists do.

“DEP did not hire PST interns to discover unknown scientific laws, but rather to educate us about the scientific process and aid in our ability to produce the next generation of scientists,” said Quartuccio. “My experiences here not only increase my credibility as a science teacher, but also help me connect doing science with teaching science.”

Supply facility design easy on the environment

By Megan Mills

Argonne-East’s Central Supply Facility (CSF) has been receiving national attention for its environmentally-friendly design and construction. The new facility is the first federally owned building to be awarded a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) 2.0 silver rating. The award was received from the U.S. Green Buildings Council after the facility’s completion.

LEED was designed to create a national standard for “green buildings” and recognize leadership in environmentally conscious building design. Certification is determined via a “point” system of evaluating the building’s design components that incorporate energy and atmosphere, water efficiency, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality and sustainability, with additional points assigned based on the building’s innovation and design process. Points are totaled to determine the building’s rating, or level of certification.

Many of the facility’s building materials were chosen specifically for their recycled, renewable, or low-emission content. Several energy conservation features reduce electricity consumption by 20 percent and natural gas consumption by 30 percent, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55 tons per year. The building’s design and construction minimize site impacts and reduce solid waste.

“Argonne’s Central Supply Facility’s sustainable design is a model for buildings around the country,” said Plant Facilities and Services Director Gwendolyn Allen-Morrison. “The building demonstrates that the DOE complex is capable and committed to designing and constructing sustainable facilities.”

This innovative facility helped Argonne win its second White House “Closing the Circle” award for Excellence in Environmental Stewardship through Pollution Prevention in 2002.

Colloquium to focus on fusion power

Fusion energy will be the topic of a Director’s Special Colloquium by Charles C. Baker, director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Virtual Laboratory for Technology and former director of Argonne’s fusion energy program.

Baker will present “Recent Developments in the U.S. on the Road to Fusion Energy” Monday, Aug. 11, at 3 p.m. in Argonne-East’s Building 402 Conference Center.

Baker will discuss the progress of fusion energy research toward the long-range goal of a practical and economic energy system. He will highlight recent progress in both magnetic and inertial fusion concepts, and recent major programmatic developments, including the decision by President Bush for the United States to join negotiations for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor Project.

Baker leads all fusion technology activities in the United States and serves as its principal spokesperson. In addition, he serves as deputy director of the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) Center for Energy Research as well as adjunct professor in the university’s Mechanical and Aerospace Department.

Baker was director of Argonne’s fusion program from 1977-1989. He was program director for fusion technology at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and head of U.S. work on the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER).

In 1994, he came to UCSD where he continued as head of the U.S. effort on ITER. He has been director of DOE’s Virtual Laboratory for Fusion Technology since 1998.

Wood crates heading overseas must be treated

Shipments from Argonne to countries in the European Union (EU), Australia, New Zealand, and China may be delayed if packaged with coniferous wood packing material, due to new regulations designed to stop the spread of insects.

Manufactured wood or wood that has been manufactured with heat, glue and/or pressure currently does not need any certification since the heat used in the manufacturing process exceeds the World Trade Organization (WTO) standards. Examples include plywood, oriented strand board (OSB) or glue lam beams.

Wood crated shipments or shipments on wooden pallets going to the WTO members can now be stopped at the border if they do not have proper paper certification or stamps. Certification or stamps tell customs that the solid wood packaging material has been heat-treated to meet the new global requirement.

The new standards aim to stop the spread of the North American pinewood nematode, which has no known enemies. The new standard states that all new and used softwood non-manufactured wood packaging originating in the U.S., Canada, China and Japan must be treated with heat, chemically impregnated or fumigated and marked accordingly.

Wood must be heated to a core temperature of 133 degrees for 30 minutes, or fumigated with an approved chemical in accordance with an officially recognized technical specification.

Existing crates can be heat-treated at a local facility certified through North Eastern Lumber Manufacturing Association to qualify for the “bug free” stamp or the Heat Treated Coniferous/ Non-Heat Treated Non-Coniferous stamp or the Heat Treated (HT) stamp. Certified local companies can supply raw or treated lumber to build the crate, and apply treatment if necessary.

Argonne’s Shipping Department will continue to explore new options to comply with this new regulation and ship items in a timely manner.

For more information, call Michael Bubulka (PFS) at ext. 2-4939.

Nominations sought for named fellowships

Nominations are being sought for Argonne’s named fellowship program. This year, four superb scientists and engineers, who show definite promise of becoming outstanding leaders, will be awarded fellowships named after scientific and technical luminaries associated with the laboratory, its predecessors and the University of Chicago.

The Director’s Office initiated these special postdoctoral fellowships, to be awarded internationally on an annual basis to outstanding doctoral scientists and graduate engineers who are at early points in promising careers. Fellowships are awarded for a two-year term, with a possible renewal for a third year, and carry a stipend of $70,000 per year with an additional allocation of up to $20,000 per year for independent research support and travel. The fellows, who will be competitively selected by a special fellowship committee, are given the freedom of working independently or associating with Argonne scientists in a research area of common interest.

The fellowships are named after such eminent researchers as biologist George W. Beadle, high-energy physicist Arthur Holly Compton, atomic physicist Ugo Fano, computational physicist Nicholas Metropolis, nuclear chemist Willard Frank Libby, chemist Glenn Seaborg, nuclear chemist Harold Urey, theoretical physicist Eugene Wigner and nuclear reactor physicist Walter H. Zinn. These fellowships complement the existing Enrico Fermi and Maria Goeppert-Meyer fellowships at Argonne.

Applications should be sent via e-mail to fellowships@anl.gov before Nov. 14, and must include:

Letter of nomination (A recommendation from individual who supports the candidacy.)

Curriculum vitae (Include the names of the nominator and two additional references.)

Two letters of reference (It is the candidate’s responsibility to arrange that the two reference letters be sent to the laboratory via e-mail prior to the Nov. 14 deadline.)

Bibliography of publications

Bibliography of preprints

n Description of research interests to be pursued at the laboratory. (Applicants are encouraged to contact Argonne staff in order to explore possible areas of research.)

All correspondence should be addressed to “Argonne Named Postdoctoral Fellowship Program.” One application is sufficient to be considered for all named fellowships. Argonne is an equal opportunity employer.

Small business grants are topic of workshop

A workshop on preparing proposals for small business innovation research (SBIR) and small business technology transfer (STTR) grants will be held Tuesday, Sept. 9, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Argonne-East’s Building 402, Room E1100.

Sponsored by the Illinois Technology Enterprise Centers, the workshop will be video broadcast live from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. SBIR and STTR programs offer more than $1.6 billion in federal grants each year to fund research and development by small businesses for a three-year period. In the last 2 years, Argonne has been involved in 12 successful proposals, receiving over $1 million in SBIR funding.

Workshop speakers will demonstrate how to become successful in the SBIR and STTR programs, and give tips on proposal preparation from previous grant winners.

The cost for the workshop for Argonne employees attending the full day will be borne by the ITEC Office at Argonne. Cost for non-Argonne attendees is $75.

Up to 25 participants may register. For registration information, contact Cindy Wesolowski (OTT) at ext. 2-7694 or weso@anl.gov.

Child center information available

Argonne Child Development Center Director Debra Ann Muscato will be available at lunchtime in Argonne-East’s Building 213 Cafeteria Monday, Aug. 11, to answer questions about the center, its staff and programs.

Muscato will be in Dining Room B from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with information about enrollment and programs and samples of the children’s projects. Resources about children's development and individual learning styles will be available, and visitors can request future speakers and suggest topics.

The center is open to the children of Argonne, Department of Energy and University of Chicago employees. Full-time and part-time schedules are available for employees’ children ages six weeks through five years old. Summer camp is offered for school-age children ages 6-11 during June, July and part of August. The center is managed by Bright Horizons Family Solutions.

Survey to take pulse of Argonne employees

Laboratory management will be asking all employees to participate in an employee opinion survey that begins Wednesday, Aug. 13.

The results of the survey will enable the laboratory to better assess its strengths, weaknesses and areas for improvement.

The survey will be administered by International Survey Research (ISR) and will be available online.

The survey can be completed in less than 20 minutes, and each employee’s input will be kept confidential.

Employees who do not have access to a computer can obtain a paper copy of the survey from their division offices. Paper copies should be completed and deposited in the “ISR Survey Return Box” located in the Human Resources lobby in Argonne-East’s Building 201, or the box in the Human Resources office at Argonne-West’s Building 710.

Following an analysis of the survey results, management will prepare action plans. These plans along with survey findings will be discussed with employees through division management.

CIS CLASSES

Software classes will be offered during September at Argonne-East. Unless otherwise noted, classes will be held in Building 201, Room 167, are limited to eight participants and cost $215. Complete class descriptions, schedules and enrollment forms are available online.

For more information about enrollment procedures, contact Diane Cavazos (CIS) at ext. 2-7153 or dkcavazos@anl.gov.

“Advanced Word 2000” (CIS108) -- Tuesday, Sept. 2, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

“Advanced Excel 2000” (CIS109) -- Wednesday, Sept. 3, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

“Advanced Access 2000” (CIS110) -- Thursday, Sept 4, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

“Introduction to PowerPoint 2000” (CIS106) -- This course is now a full day, and now includes the first half of “Intermediate PowerPoint.” Friday, Sept. 5, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Comedy club outing is planned

The Argonne Club is planning an upcoming trip to Riddles Comedy Club in Orland Park. The outing is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 15, at 8 p.m.

The two-hour show will feature comedians Chris Johnson, Ken Swan and Ken Stevens.

Admission to the comedy club is $1, with a two-drink minimum (alcohol or soft drinks).

Pizza and other snacks will also be available. The club’s basement atmosphere is complete with couches, televisions and a large service bar open until 2 a.m.

For more information or to sign up by Aug. 14, call Christine Andorf (PBC) at ext. 2-5153 or candorf@ anl.gov.

HR offers English as 2^nd language

A new “English As A Second Language Writing Skills” class will begin in September at Argonne-East.

The class, sponsored by Human Resources, will focus on helping non-native speakers improve their technical writing skills on the job. The class will begin Wednesday, Sept. 17, and run for nine consecutive Wednesdays from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. in Building 201, Room 167.

Contact Betty Iwan (HR) at ext. 2-3410 to register or for more information.

RETIREMENT PLAN INTEREST RATES

Staff and non-staff retirement plan interest rates for the third quarter of 2003 are:

(* No longer accepting contributions)