Some of this week's stories

Summer teacher enhancement program
gets high marks in independent study

The study ranked Argonne's program at the top of all categories -- including instructor application, follow-up and immersion in science -- for programs of this type. Others rated in the study included programs sponsored by NASA, the National Institutes of Health and the Smithsonian Institution.

Under the program, about 25 high school and 25 junior high school science teachers spend a month at Argonne learning to operate scientific equipment and to incorporate the technology into classroom studies. Teachers can then use equipment for one week during the school year.

A 16-foot truck designed to transport the state-of-the-art laboratory equipment delivers the instruments to the schools. During the 1995-96 school year, approximately 20,000 students have used the equipment in hands-on classroom experiments.

The program is operated by the Divison of Educational Programs and is co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation's Science and Technology Center for Superconductivity.

Mixed-paper recyling to expand

The program allows building residents to recycle a wide variety of paper types, such as newspapers, magazines, colored paper and blueprints. The pilot program reduced the amount of general refuse in Building 205 by 70 percent while increasing the amount of paper recycled each week from 300 to 1,025 lbs.

Lorraine Morris and Keith Trychta (both EMO) conducted the pilot program study in cooperation with the Chemical Technology Division, Plant Facilities and Services-Custodial, and USA Waste Services.

EMO and PFS are exploring the possibility of adding corrugated cardboard and brown paper to the program's list of recyclable paper products.

For more information, call the waste minimization and pollution prevention hotline at ext. 2-6778.

Argonne at 50: First-ever open house
showcases Argonne's newest reactor

But open houses are nothing new at Argonne. The laboratory's first open house, held March 20, 1954, brought some 2,300 people -- mostly employees and their families -- to the laboratory to tour Chicago Pile 5 (CP-5), the nation's newest nuclear reactor.

Like the Advanced Photon Source, CP-5 was a powerful -- for its time -- machine for studying the structure and behavior of materials. But instead of X-rays, it used neutrons -- uncharged particles found in the nuclei of nearly all matter.

During its 25-year career, CP-5 attracted hundreds of scientists from industry, universities and government laboratories all over the world. It opened new horizons in materials research, taught future scientists, trained reactor operators, and served as a model for many other research reactors in the United States and abroad.

CP-5 was the fifth and last member of the distinguished family of "Chicago Pile" reactors, whose legacy ranges from the earliest efforts to develop nuclear reactors to current environmental research aimed at learning how to retire them safely.

Chicago Pile 1 was the world's first nuclear reactor, built in 1942 by Enrico Fermi under the abandoned football stands at the University of Chicago.

Early in 1943, CP-1 was dismantled and moved to a less-populated site in the "Argonne Forest" section of the Cook County Forest Preserve in Palos Park. That part of the forest has since been renamed, but its appellation survives today in the name of Argonne National Laboratory.

Fermi's reactor was rebuilt in a new configuration and redubbed CP-2. A small laboratory atop the 14,000-ton reactor provided space for limited experiments using neutrons from the reactor's core. The reactor's face contained ports through which materials could be inserted into the core for irradiation.

Chicago Pile 3, a research reactor built in the Argonne Forest in 1944, was the world's first "heavy-water moderated" reactor . Today, 35 heavy-water reactors around the globe generate more than 18 million megawatts of electricity.

The core of a heavy-water moderated reactor is surrounded by water in which normal hydrogen atoms have been replaced by deuterium, a heavier form of the element. Inside the reactor core, uranium atoms split to release neutrons, which strike other uranium atoms, causing them to split in turn and creating a chain reaction. If the neutrons move too fast, they are less likely to split uranium. The moderator's job is to slow them down.

There is no "Chicago Pile 4" in the CP lineage. That's because the reactor that was called "CP-4" in its early design stages eventually became Experimental Breeder Reactor I (EBR-1). Today, EBR-1 is a Registered National Historic Landmark in recognition of its many historical firsts:

* First reactor built at the National Reactor Test Station (known today as the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory).

* First reactor to generate usable amounts of electricity, powering a string of four light bulbs on Dec. 20, 1951.

* First reactor to demonstrate the "breeder principle," which allows a reactor to create more fuel than it burns.

When Chicago Pile 5 retired from active service as a materials research reactor in 1979, it marked the end of operations for the Chicago Pile reactors.

But today, CP-5 is the site of a new program to develop new technologies to safely decontaminate and decommission aging facilities. With this program , the Chicago Pile legacy has come full circle, from pioneering nuclear reactors 50 years ago to learning how to retire them safely today.

IAEA official to speak on
`Global Nuclear Safety Culture'

Morris will describe the components of a global nuclear safety culture, from non-binding safety standards of the 1960s and 1970s. He will also cover binding international legal agreements drawn up in response to Three Mile Island and Chernobyl nuclear accidents and the current growth of international expert reviews and advisory services.

Rosen has served the IAEA in several capacities since 1973, including a year as a safety expert in the Rebublic of Korea during the formative stage of the Korean nuclear power program. He had a leading role in formulating the IAEA's response to the Chernobyl accident.

Off-site visitors should call Rosemary Stanton at (708) 252-4114 no later than 11 a.m. March 28 for clearance to enter the site.

The lecture is sponsored by Argonne in cooperation with the IAEA.

DIS's Herzenberg elected fellow
of Association for Women in Science

Herzenberg is a physicist and emergency/energy systems engineer in Argonne's Decision and Information Sciences Division.

Fellowship is awarded to those who have made significant contributions to the mission of AWIS by promoting participation of women in science through scholarship, leadership, advocacy, or service.

Herzenberg's work at Argonne focuses on the development and implementation of emergency preparedness programs, including radiological emergency preparedness and response, and activities supporting both the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Energy.

Prior to her work at Argonne, Herzenberg was a physics lecturer at California State University, Fresno, and a visiting associate professor of physics at the University of Illinois Medical Center.

Other honors Herzenberg has received include being named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1990. In 1989 she was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society and was inducted into the Chicago Women's Hall of Fame.

Herzenberg has authored nearly 100 publications, including journal articles, book chapters and a book. She received a bachelor's degree in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has a master's degree and a Ph.D. in physics, both from the University of Chicago.

AWIS is a non-profit organization that works to expand education and employment opportunities in science for girls and women. The association has more than 5,000 members worldwide and 66 chapters across the country.

U of C's Oxtoby appointed
to lab's board of governors

The board provides guidance, oversight, direction and advice to laboratory management. Its 21 members are drawn from University of Chicago trustees, officials and faculty, representatives from other universities, and industry leaders.

Oxtoby is a theoretical chemist who specializes in phase transitions, especially the crystallization of liquids on an atomic and molecular level. His studies have included formation of particles in the atmosphere and the casting of metals.

He served as director of the university's James Franck Institute from 1992 to 1995. He has also served as professor and assistant professor at the institute, and master of the university's Physical Sciences Collegiate Division and Associate Dean of the College.

He is the co-author of two introductory textbooks in chemistry, "Principles of Modern Chemistry" and "Chemistry: Science of Change," and has written or co-written 120 scientific articles on liquids, light scattering, chemical reaction dynamics and phase transitions.

Oxtoby is a member of the American Chemical Society, the Materials Research Society, Great Britain's Royal Society of Chemistry and is a fellow of the American Physical Society. His honors include the Llewellyn John and Harriet Manchester Quantrell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in 1986, and the Royal Society of Chemistry's Marlow Medal in 1983.

Waste minimization session
open to all Argonne employees

This session will provide information on recycled products and those with recycled material content, such as personal protection equipment, plastic containers, and office paper.

EMO plans to conduct additional awareness sessions in the future. Employees may address questions or suggest topics for future sessions by calling Lorraine Morris at ext. 2-9483, ext. Keith Trychta at ext. 2-1476, or the waste minimization and pollution prevention hotline at 2-6778.

`Valuing Difference' series
to end with March 20 session

Workshops on March 26, April 3 and April 10 have been canceled.

The March 20 workshop will examine the supervisor's responsibility in providing equal employment opportunities in the workplace. Sessions will also include information on discriminatory harassment (including sexual harassment) complying with Americans with Disabilities Act and cultural diversity.

The March 20 session will be held from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Argonne-East Building 203 auditorium. To enroll, contact Betty Iwan (HR) at ext. 2-3410.

Nuclear society conference
will offer tour of laboratory

The international conference will address the creative, comprehensive and cost-effective approaches to nuclear site decontamination and decommissioning programs.

Tour participants will visit the Experimental Boiling Water and CP-5 reactors on Wednesday, April 17, and will receive information on several technology development activities like laser decontamination, aerosol monitoring and chemical decontamination.

To register for the meeting, or for more information, call (312) 269-8600.

Candy prices to rise

Extra-large candy bars will remain at 90 cents.

Prices in the 900 area vending machines are serviced by a different vendor and will remain the same.

Retirees

Edward J. Czlapinski (OCF-PRO) retired Jan. 15 with 15 years of service.

Donald D. Emery (PNS) retired Feb. 16 with 33 years of service.

Morton O. I Erickson (IPNS) retired Feb. 29 with 35 years of service.

Donald T. Ficht (CHM) retired Feb. 1 with 29 years of service.

Richard Georgantas (OCF-PIM) retired Jan. 31 with 28 years of service.

Carl E. Johnson (CMT) retired Jan. 26 with 42 years of service.

Thomas J. Kovarik (TD) retired Feb. 29 with 21 years of service.

Richard W. Kush (TD-DES) retired Jan. 31 with 37 years of service.

George Lubben (OPS) retired Jan. 31 with 39 years of service.

William W. Marr (ES) retired Feb. 2 with 26 years of service.

Oscar O. Ohlsson Jr. (ES) retired Feb. 15 with 22 years of service.

Phyllis J. Panek (DIS) retired March 1 with 12 years of service.

Zenon F. Sungaila (MSD) retired Jan. 31 with 43 years of service.

David H. Thompson (RE) retired Feb. 2 with 32 years of service.

Robert A. Washburn (ED) retired Jan. 15 with 24 years of service.

Monday, March 18

Energy Technology Division Seminar: "Millimeter Wave Spectroscopy and Its Industrial Applications" by Nachappa Gopalsami, (ET). 10:30 a.m., Bldg. 212, Conference Room A157.

High Energy Physics Division Theoretical Physics Seminar: "Challenging Weak Scale Supersymmetry at Colliders" by Gregory Anderson, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, Ill. 2 p.m., Bldg. 362, Conference Room E188.

Physics Division Seminar: "Medium Modified Nucleons and Their Interaction" by Willem Dickhoff, Washington University, St. Louis, Mo.

3:30 p.m., Bldg. 203, Conference Room R150.

Tuesday, March 19

Physics Division Seminar: "The Rise and Fall of Nuclear Collective Motion" by Victor Janzen, AECL, Chalk River Laboratory, Ontario, Canada. 3:30 p.m., Bldg. 203, Conference Room R150.

Spring 1996 ACCA Biology Seminar Series: "Toxicology of Pesticides and Hepatic Function" by M.A.Q. Khan, University of Illinois, Chicago. 7 p.m., Bldg. 223 Auditorium.

Wednesday, March 20

High Energy Physics Division Seminar: "Single and Double Isolated Prompt Photon Production in Polarized pp Collisions" by Lionel Gordon, (HEP). 11 a.m., Bldg. 362, Conference Room F108.

Energy Systems Division Seminar: "Life-cycle Energy Savings Potential from Aluminum Intensive Vehicles" by Frank Stodolsky, (ES). Noon, Bldg. 360, Conference Room L119.

Thursday, March 21

Chemistry Division Monday Morning Seminar Series: "Anisotropic Electron Transfer in Synthetic Polymers" by Marye Anne Fox, The University of Texas, Austin. 11 a.m., Bldg. 200 Auditorium.

Friday, March 22

Physics Colloquium: "The Birth of Stars: Proto-Stellar Jets, Accretion and Proto-Planetary Disks" by Jon Morse, University of Colorado, Boulder. 11 a.m., Bldg. 203 Auditorium.

Monday, March 25

Joint Chemistry and Materials Science Divisions Seminar: "Optical and Electronic Properties of Passivated Silicon Nanocrystals" by Lloyd L. Chase, Materials Science & Technology Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. 1:30 p.m., Bldg. 200, Conference Room J183.

Materials Science Division Seminar: "High-Pressure Structural Transformations Via Ab-Initio Simulations" by Sandro Scandolo SISSA/ISAS, Trieste, Italy. 2 p.m., Bldg. 223, Conference Room L119.

Physics Division Seminar: "Radioactive Beam Experiments Using the Leuven-Le-Neuve-Edinburgh Detector Array LEDA" by Phil Woods, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom. 3:30 p.m., Bldg. 203, Conference Room R150.

Tuesday, March 26

Energy Technology Division Seminar: "Insoluble Particles/Melt-Interface Studies in Composites under Normal and Micro-Gravity Environment" by Brij K. Dhindaw, University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa. 10:30 a.m., Bldg. 212, Conference Room A157.

Physics Division Theoretical Physics Seminar: "Spin Observables for Vector Meson Photoproduction" by Frank Tabakin, University of Pittsburgh, Pa. 3 p.m., Bldg. 203, Conference Room B221.

Spring 1996 ACCA Biology Seminar Series: "Heavy Metal Toxicology and Metabolism" by David Petering, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. 7 p.m., Bldg. 223 Auditorium.

Story ideas, comments and suggestions are welcome. The Argonne News office is in Building 201, room 2Q-02 (OPA-201). The fax number is ext. 2-5274. Send E-mail to Argonne News editor Dave Jacque.

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