Some of this week's stories

Former presidential adivsor
to speak at colloquium

The colloquium will begin at 3 p.m. in the APS Conference Center Auditorium, Argonne-East's Building 402. The colloquium is the latest in the "Partners in Progress: Science, Technology and Society" series in honor of Argonne's 50th anniversary.

David was a science advisor to former president Richard Nixon. He is an internationally respected advisor to industry, government and universities on technology, research and innovation.

He is president of EED, Inc., a consulting firm, and has served as president of Exxon Research and Engineering Co. and executive director of Bell Telephone Laboratories.

David is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Public Administration. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences Council, He was the U.S. representative to the NATO Science Committee for 16 years. His many awards include induction into the Georgia Institute of Technology Hall of Fame and the Hall of Fame of the American Society for Engineering Education, as well as honorary degrees from 12 universities.

He received his doctorate in engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Argonne at 50: Argonne scientists were first to develop automated system to grow animal cells

To help medical researchers get human cancer cells for experiments, Argonne scientists developed the first successful small, automated system that would grow animal cells without interruption. By July 1970, the team had completed a test during which human cancer cells were grown continuously for nine months.

Today, another Argonne team composed of Russian and American scientists is developing a small, automated system to decode DNA within human cells. Among benefits possible from that device is discovery of the mechanism that turns cancer cells on and, perhaps, can turn them off.

Like the current effort, the 1970 breakthrough was designed to make a tough task easier. Human cells had been grown in a laboratory before, but only in large, complex facilities and in cultures that grew for only a limited time. The new Argonne system was compact, fast, reliable, and relatively inexpensive, so biologists and biochemists now could maintain their own continuous stock of cells in their own laboratories.

The new system's advantages in the fight against cancer were obvious, and it was quickly seized upon by medical researchers. At the same time, the device was flexible enough to accommodate other types of cultures.

Carl Peraino, Silvia Bacchetti, and William J. Eisler of Argonne developed the system. It incorporated a device called a "Nephelostat," which was also developed at Argonne, by Eisler and R.B. Webb.

Eisler and Webb designed the device for automatic maintenance of micro-organisms in continuous growth, such as yeasts and bacteria. They found the system could be adapted for mammalian cells as well.

The Nephelostat continually renewed the culture's growth by controlling the amount of nutrient it received. By measuring light passing through the suspension, it could calculate just the right amount of nutrient that the culture needed. The more cells in the suspension, the more light was scattered. Therefore, whenever light measurements indicated that the concentration of cells had risen beyond the level set by the experimenter, the Argonne system automatically added fresh nutrient while withdrawing equal amounts of cell suspension.

The system also recorded how often nutrient was added, allowing researchers to easily compute the rate of cell growth at a fixed concentration.

Argonne's current cell-focused effort in support of the worldwide Human Genome Program is headed by Andrei Mirzabekov, who also directs the Russian Academy of Sciences' Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology in Moscow. Mirzabekov's team of biologists, chemists, mathematicians, physicists and engineers are working at Argonne to develop a new super-efficient "biochip" that could help scientists decipher nature's DNA code for building and operating all organisms, including humans, other animals, plants and bacteria.

Their biological microchip, about the same size as an electronic microchip, has the potential to decode or "sequence" DNA thousands of times faster than current methods.

By combining the Mirzabekov-led research in DNA sequencing with research at Argonne's Structural Biology Center, which determines the structure of proteins, scientists will be able to compare the structure of the protein with the genetic code that created it. They may soon be able to quickly tell from DNA sequences what shapes proteins will take and how they function. They could then use the structure of genes to predict the structure of proteins, cells and even whole organisms.

CIGNA PPO network expansion continues

Although the names of these additional providers are not included in the current physician directory, they are availiable to by calling the Care Line telephone number (1-800-438-0247).

Employees also may verify their doctor's participation in the PPO Network directly with them. A new directory, with the health care providers that have been added since the beginning of the year, should be available this fall.

Annual picnic offers food fun and more

Attractions will include a dunk tank, hay ride, games and prizes. Music will be provided by a country and western band. Marriott Corp. will provide food for purchase.

Gruen selected for Who's Who of inventors

The honor was based on Gruen's recent patent, "Diamond from Fullerenes," a new method of producing thin diamond film from recently discovered soccer-ball-shaped molecules of carbon.

Gruen developed a technique of using microwaves to break fullerenes into carbon "dimers" (units made of only two molecules) that bond directly to the growing diamond film. The technique results in extremely smooth films offering extremely low friction and high resistance to wear.

Diamond-film coatings are used on tools for machining hard, lightweight alloys vital to the automotive industry. The films made by Gruen's process show promise as a low-friction coating and are being evaluated for use as a coating on machine tools and rotary pump seals.

Who's Who of American Inventors profiles U.S. inventors whose inventions have made a positive impact on society. Less than 10 percent of all patent holders are selected each year for this honorary membership.

Gruen, associate director of Argonne's Materials Science Division, holds 25 patents.

His other awards include the Patent Law Association of Chicago's Inventor of the Year Award in 1988, Research and Development magazine's IR-100 Award in 1987, an Argonne Materials Science Award in 1989 and a University of Chicago Distinguished Performance Award in 1994. He has written about 350 journal articles.

He is a member of the American Chemical Society and the Materials Research Society.

Gruen holds bachelor's and master's degrees in chemistry from Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Chicago.

Team leader outlines OSHA program

Cook discussed OSHA's perspective on the pilot program and responded to employee questions and concerns.

The six-month pilot, which began June 1, is examining the feasibility of transferring responsibility for safety and health programs at many Energy Department facilities to OSHA. Under current regulations, labs like Argonne that fall under DOE jurisdiction are exempt from OSHA regulations.

During the pilot, DOE will not be doing any on-site evaluations, said Bill Hannum, director of Argonne's Office for Environment, Safety and Health/Quality Assurance Oversight.

Over the next six months, OSHA personnel will assess the impact of providing safety and health compliance at DOE facilities on their own resources. The exercise is based on a new OSHA process called "The Partnership in Excellence Program."

OSHA team members will evaluate written manuals for safety procedures and interview management and employees about their implementation, Cook said.

"This should be a model place for health and safety programs," Cook said. If unsafe conditions are found, OSHA will notify those involved and negotiate a corrective action plan. OSHA may conduct accident inspections and investigate serious accidents, but the agency will not have the authority to levy fine against the laboratory during the pilot period.

OSHA will use the ESH coordinators as their primary contact for Argonne divisions and will give them as much notice as possible before inspections, Cook said.

OSHA members, who inspected four buildings last week as part of their evaluation, will be on site for a total of six weeks. The team members will return again on July 15.

Employees who were unable to attend the meeting can direct questions to Bill Hannum or Mary Grace (ESH). In addition, the monthly meetings with the Union Joint Safety Committee and the associate lab directors and division safety representatives will provide updates as the pilot project progresses.

"We want to learn all we can from this," Hannum said. "We expect all our employees to cooperate fully with this exercise."

Some cell phones to get new area codes

Weight Watchers comes to lab
for 12-week program

This first meeting will be held in Argonne-East's Building 200, Room J183. A minimum of 18 prepaid participants is required. Cost for the program is $119.

To register, employees must fill out a registration form and return it to the Medical Department, Building 201, along with a check made payable to Weight Watchers, by Monday, July 15.

For registration forms, call the Medical Department at 2-2813. For more information on the program, call Lynn Dredge of Weight Watchers at (800) 391-1722.

IIT offers classes via modem

From 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., representatives will be in Building 201, Conference Room 141R with information and registration packets for the fall term of Interactive Instructional Television Network (IITV). IITV allows students to take classes via computer and modem.

Students must request registration forms in advance of the registration date. To obtain forms or for more information, call Gwen at (312) 567-7957.

Newcomers host annual picnic
for visiting scientists, families

The event will take place in the picnic shelter beside the Argonne-East pool in the 600 area. Participants should bring a dish to share, enough to serve 10.

For more information, call the Newcomers Office at 2-8647 or Susan Berger at (708) 963-3735.

Monday, July 15

Energy Technology Division Seminar: "Induced Current in a Superconducting Fault-Current-Limiter" by Yung S. Cha, (ET). 10:30 a.m., Bldg. 212, Conference Room A157.

Chemistry Division Seminar: "Laser Separation of Carbon and Silicon Isotopes by Infrared Multiple Photon Decomposition" by Shigeyoshi Arai, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Japan. 11 a.m., Bldg. 200, Conference Room J183.

Chemistry Division Seminar: "Crystal Field and Magneto-Elastic Phenomena in Rare Earth Insulators" by Boris Malkin, Kazau State University, Russia. 1 p.m., Bldg. 200, Conference Room J183.

Tuesday, July 16

ESH Division Seminar: "Problems of Physical Protection in the Kurchatov Institute Russian Research Center" by Nikolai Bondarev, Director, Regime and Information Protection, Kurchatov Institute, Moscow. 10 a.m., Bldg. 203 Auditorium.

Wednesday, July 17

High Energy Physics Division Seminar: "A LEP Forward: Results from the L3 Experiment at [[radical]]S = 130 GeV" by Thomas Ferguson, Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pa. 11 a.m., Bldg. 362, Conference Room F108.

Thursday, July 18

Chemistry Division Seminar: "The Anistrophy of Conduction in Pulse-Irradiated Polymers" by Thijs De Haas, Interfaculty Reactor Institute, Technical University Delft, Netherlands. 10 a.m., Bldg. 200, Conference Room J183.

Physics Division Heavy Ion Discussion Group: "Aspects of Pion Production at SIS and the AGS" by Christian Müntz, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, N.Y. 3:30 p.m., Bldg. 203, Conference Room R150.

Friday, July 19

Chemistry Division Seminar: "Photo-Induced Charge Separation: From Molecules to Materials" by John Warman, Interfaculty Reactor Institute, Technical University Delft, Netherlands. 10 a.m., Bldg. 200, Conference Room J183.

Tuesday, July 23

Chemical Technology Division Seminar: "Selection of Criteria for Ceramic Oxygen Ion Conducting Membranes (CICM)" by B.C.H. Steele, Professor Emeritus, Imperial College, Department of Materials, London, England. 10:30 a.m., Bldg. 205, Y-Auditorium.

Friday, July 26

Chemistry Division Seminar: "Distance Determination Between Paramagnetic Species in Photosystems Using Pulsed EPR" by Asako Kawamori, Kwansei Gakuin University, Physics Department, Nishinomiya, Japan. 10:30 a.m., Bldg. 200, Conference Room J183.

Monday, July 29

Energy Technology Division Seminar: "A Block-Implicit Numerical Scheme for Thermally Driven and Swirling Flows" by Marcelo J.S. de Lemos, Department of Energy, IEME/ITA/CTA, Brazil. 10:30 a.m., Bldg. 212, Conference Room A157.

Tuesday, July 30

Chemical Technology Division Seminar: "Studies of the Synthesis and Stability of Zeolites Using Synchrotron Radiation Methods" by Neville N. Greaves, Head of Materials Science, CLRD Daresbury Laboratory, Warrington, United Kingdom. 10:30 a.m., Bldg. 205, Y-Auditorium.

Deadline Information

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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