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VRC expansion to make room for new
science and technology information center

The Visitor Reception Center (Bldg. 224) at Argonne-East will more than double in size over the coming months to accommodate a new Argonne Science and Technology Information Center. The center will house exhibits highlighting the laboratory's and U.S. Department of Energy's current activities and history for the general public.

"Argonne is now the only major DOE laboratory without a visitors' center or associated science museum," said Argonne Director Dean Eastman. "At the other labs, these facilities help the public to understand and appreciate the contributions of science and technology to society. They also help interest young people in science and engineering careers -- two very important goals in assuring the future of science in America."

During construction, VRC functions will continue at a trailer in the east area of the lab.

The Argonne Science and Technology Information Center, now in the final planning stages, is designed to improve public access to the laboratory and to provide easily understood information about Argonne's and DOE's mission, activities, resources and services. The center will also serve as a briefing and staging area for site tours, which will be expanded.

Exhibits at the center will present Argonne activities in science and technology, education, outreach, technology transfer, environmental management as well as its history. Topics will be presented in a way that will capture the attention and interest of junior high school, high school and college students and non-technical adults. The exhibits will be as "hands-on" and interactive as resources allow. Exhibits will be developed at the laboratory and will probably include displays from the recent open house.

Current plans are for the center to include an auditorium or briefing area with a capacity for 40 to 50 visitors. The area will be suitable for orienting tour groups and for showing videos highlighting Argonne's history, accomplishments and programs.

Bldg. 224 will be renovated and expanded by about 4,000 square feet, to a total area of about 7,000 square feet. About 5,000 square feet will be available for the information center; the rest will be used for visitor registration and passes.

"Our plan is to develop and operate the Argonne Science and Technology Information Center at a cost that is as low or lower than similar centers at the other labs," Eastman said. "Given the large number of potential visitors in the Chicago area, I believe this center will be able to educate more people about science and technology at a lower per-person cost than any of its counterparts."

Guest House
opens its doors

Formerly known as the User Residence Facility, the structure has (or soon will have) all the features of a standard hotel -- plus a few unique to Argonne.

The six-story Guest House has 149 standard rooms, most of which wouldn't look out of place at a Holiday Inn. These rooms are about evenly split between those with single queen-size beds and those with twin beds. Seven rooms have special accommodations for those with disabilities.

Sixteen units are four-bedroom suites, designed for teams of researchers, and two master suites on the top floor will provide spacious housing for VIPs.

Rooms have large windows, giving excellent views of the Argonne site and the wooded area surrounding the building. All rooms have the standard cable TV, full maid service and card-key entry systems. Additional TV channels displaying laboratory seminars and APS status are planned

But unlike the local Ramada, each Guest House room contains a direct, high-speed connection to the APS network for laptop computers, so researchers can keep an eye on the progress of their work 24 hours a day. With the right "Ethernet" modular connection, computers can access the APS and Argonne networks at up to 10 megabits per second. (Hardware and software requirements will be posted on the Guest House's World Wide Web page when it becomes available).

In another departure from standard hotel design, hallways have "interaction areas" for informal meetings, with tables, sofas and dry-erase boards.

Rooms will be available for use by Argonne employees, their families and friends. Rates are competitive with area hotels.

On the ground floor, a bright, airy 210-seat restaurant lined with floor-to-ceiling windows will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. The dining room will feature an American menu with regional and international specialties. It will be open to Argonne employees. An official opening will be scheduled for mid-February.

The ground floor also contains the registration desk -- which will be staffed 24 hours a day -- gift shop and combination recreation lounge and vending area.

"The objective is for the facility to become the hospitality and social center" for Argonne-East, said Adrian Glover, national director of development for Marriott Management Services.

The Guest House is being operated by employees of Marriott Corp., with management selected from other Marriott operations. The Guest House's general manager is Bill Schaefer.

A springtime formal dedication is planned, as well as open house events. For reservation information, call (630) 739-6000.

MCS `reasoning software'
solves famous math problem

The problem was posed by Herbert Robbins at Harvard University in the 1930s, and it has captured the interest of some of the great mathematicians of this century.

The Robbins problem deals with Boolean algebra -- a mathematical model of some of the basic rules of logic and thought. Robbins asked whether one set of rules is powerful enough to capture all of the laws of Boolean algebra.

One way to state the Robbins problem in mathematical terms is to ask if the equation "not(not(P))=P" can be derived from the following three equations:

1. P or Q = Q or P,

2]. (P or Q) or R = P or (Q or R),

3. not(not(P or Q) or not(P or not(Q))) = P.

With the development of new automated reasoning techniques, Argonne's software succeeded in solving the Robbins problem -- the answer is "yes." More than eight days of computer time was required to solve the problem.

More information can be found on the World Wide Web.

Argonne musicians
to play cafeteria Jan. 23

Sponsored by Marriott Corp., the parties will give Argonne employees a chance to show off their musical talents. Bands scheduled to appear span a variety of musical styles. Each band will perform a 45-minute set. The favorite group from each party will meet in a showdown in the spring.

More information will appear in next week's Argonne News.

Bands are still wanted for future parties. Call Dennis Sullivan at ext. 2-5225. At least one member of each band must be an Argonne employee.

Natesan named NACE fellow

NACE has more than 15,000 members worldwide and is the world's largest professional society dedicated to the control and prevention of corrosion -- the deterioration of a material, usually a metal, that results from a reaction with its environment.

Natesan has spent his career investigating the performance of metals, ceramics, composites and coatings in the hostile environments of various energy and process systems, including advanced nuclear reactors and coal-fired combustion systems.

He is an active member of ASM International (formerly the American Society for Metals), the Metallurgical Society of the American Institute of Metallurgical Engineers (TMS-AIME), NACE and a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance. He has published more than 200 research articles and holds three patents for alloy/coating development.

His honors include receiving the TMS-AIME best paper award in 1972, being conference chairman for Heat Resistant Materials II in 1995 and being elected a fellow of ASM International in 1995.

Snow closing
stations listed

Information will also be posted on the Argonne Info-line (252-INFO) and on the Argonne News Web page (http://www.anl.gov/OPA/local/news97/an.html).

WGN-AM (720)

WBBM-AM (780)

WMAQ-AM (670)

WLS-AM/FM (AM 890/FM 94.7)

WMAQ-TV (Channel 5)

WGN-TV (Channel 9)

FOX-TV (Channel 32)

CLTV News (Cable)

WJOL-AM (1340)

WLLI-FM (96.7)

WYSY-FM (107.9)

WGCI-AM (1390)

WVAZ-FM (102.7)

WVVX-FM (103.1)

Seminar to focus on
martial intimacy

The one-hour family series seminar will begin at 11:30 a.m. in Argonne-East's Building 203 Auditorium.

Nominations sought for annual
distinguished performance awards

The awards recognize outstanding technical or scientific achievement or a distinguished record of achievements by a member of the lab's technical and scientific staff.

Statements of 250 words or less citing the achievement or record of the nominee should be submitted to the laboratory director. Fifteen copies are required.

Deadline for initial nominations is Wednesday, Feb. 5.

After internal review of the nominations, the lab director will notify nominators of the acceptance of the nominations for submission to the University of Chicago. Additional support materials will be requested at that time.

Credit Union to stock
additional calendars

To receive a wall calendar, call Joan Harris at ext. 2-5835, or send e-mail to jharris@argonnecu.org.

Calls for director
are misdirected

Eastman's phone number is ext. 2-2481. The fax number is ext. 2-7923.

Director Emeritus Alan Schriesheim's number is ext. 2-3872.

ECT offers
database class

Students will learn to design and construct databases effectively using Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools. This course provides the basic terminology and concepts of database design and uses the Irwin CASE tool for rapid database development.

The "hands-on" course runs for three hours each day and costs $175. For more information or to register, contact the ECT Consulting Office at ext. 2-5405.

Fermilab computer classes
offered to ANL employees

Current classes, details and future class listings can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.fnal.gov/cd/training

Prices listed below and on the web page do not include an 18.5 percent overhead surcharge for non-Fermilab students.

For more information, contact Paul Krystosek at ext. 2-3456 or Roy Thatcher at (630) 840-8364. To enroll, send E-mail to valadez@fnal.gov

Class schedules:

January

* "Fast Track to Objects" -- Jan. 15. Cost: $100.

* "Windows NT Workstation and Server" -- Jan. 20-24. Cost: $1,250.

* "Object Oriented Analysis and Design" -- Jan. 27-31. Cost: $700.

February

* "C++ for Non-C Programmers" -- Feb. 10-14. Cost $700. Those registering by Jan. 27 will receive a discount.

* "Windows NT Workstation and Server" -- Feb. 17-21 (NOTE: This class has been filled since Argonne News went to press. Another will be offered March 17-21, with a discount deadline of March 3. Cost will be $1,250.)

Return to Index

Russian class offered

A Russian language class is being offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays for beginning and intermediate students at Argonne-East.

The course includes practical listening, speaking and writing skills.

For more information, call Betty Iwan (HR) at ext. 2-3410 or instructor Lily Huberman at (773) 352-4389.

Ar'Gang

NEW ARRIVALS

A girl, Anne Marie, born Nov. 21 to Joe and Cindy Rock (EMO); a girl, Alyssa Grace, born Oct. 22 to John and Becki Gagnon (XFD); a boy, Kevin Andrew, born Nov. 30 to Rosalie and Andy Jansen (CMT); a girl, Stephanie Therese, born Nov. 5 to Kevin Brown (IPD); a girl, Allison Nicole, born Dec. 5 to Debbie and Adam Cohen (ET); a boy, Stephen Anthony, born Oct. 20 to Mary and R.B. Vilim (RA); a boy, Kevin Bernard Slater, born Oct. 29 to Kimberly and Jeffrey Slater (DIS), grandmother is Jean Slater (DIS). Proud grandparents: a grandson, William Ronald Vercellotti, born Oct. 6 for Myrna Czajkowski (ASD); a grandson, Mason Joseph, born Oct. 7 for first-time grandmother Martha Teitlus (CMT); a granddaughter, Paige Erin Sullivan, born Nov. 6 for Barbara Sullivan (ES); a grandson, Liam Kot Thompson, born Oct. 21 for first-time grandparents Eva and Christian Kot (RE); a grandson, David James Markusic, born Nov. 20 for Barbara Burke (ECT); a granddaughter, Sarah Kristine, born Nov. 22 for Jeannie Verklan (RA); a grandson, Charles Conner, born Dec. 2 for Carol Ealy (EAD). Harry Sowers (MSD) became an uncle for the first time with the birth of nephew Michael John.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Jane Andrew (IPD) and Vic Comello (formerly IPD) received the APEX `96 Award for Publication Excellence for their contribution to the APS User Information Manual. David Nadziejka (IPD) is the 1996 recipient of the Alfred N. Goldsmith Award for his outstanding contributions to the f>

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