Daily
Newsbulletin
Thursday, Aug. 3, 2000
Bulletin Board | Cafeteria
Menu | Calendar
Page
Director's
News | Reader's
Forum | Road
Report
|
Fire danger: High/very high A letter to employees from the director Dear Colleagues, Gen. John Gordon, head of the new National Nuclear Security Administration, has sent a letter of encouragement and support to the Laboratory (click here for Gen. Gordon's letter). Gen. Gordon has impressed me with his understanding of our vital national mission and his insight into the challenges that confront us. During his visit here he expressed his concern and sympathy regarding the effects of the fire and he recognized the negative impact of the hard-drive incident on morale at the Laboratory. The General was also sensitive to the fact that potential changes to the UC contract also introduce uncertainties that further affect us. We are going through a difficult time now, perhaps as difficult as any the Lab has ever faced. I continue to carry the message to DOE and our national leaders that our workforce is loyal and dedicated to our nation's security. I also miss no opportunity to remind our leaders of the importance of our relationship with UC to our ability to discharge our mission successfully. It is unfortunately true that it takes time to earn trust, but it can be lost in an instant. It is important for us now to carry on with our mission and to continue to do outstanding scientific work while maintaining our focus on safety and security. Good intentions alone are not enough. It is through consistent, day-in and day-out, sustained performance that we will slowly regain our nation's trust. It is by our actions that we will be judged. I believe we have established a productive dialogue with Gen. Gordon, that he understands our situation, and that he will give us every chance to prove ourselves. I am optimistic about our future. If we all pull together we cannot help but succeed. I know I can count on each and every one of you. John C. Browne Truck traffic to increase on Pajarito Road If you thought the traffic on Pajarito Road was bad before, you ain't seen nothing yet. As previously reported in the Newsbulletin, the Laboratory currently is performing rehabilitation mitigation work Labwide due to the damage caused by the Cerro Grande Fire. As a result, State Road 4 and Pajarito and Pecos roads are experiencing substantially increased truck traffic throughout the day and night, as trucks continue to haul aggregate that will be used as part of the flood retention structure being built in Pajarito Canyon nearby Technical Area 66. Twenty trucks will make eight deliveries each between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily, and 30 trucks will make the same number of deliveries each from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily. That's 400 deliveries a day every day until approximately Aug. 20. This situation likely will impact traffic flow and lengthen commute times. Measures are under way to minimize the risk of rocks, dust and debris propelled from the trucks onto the roadway toward vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. Unfortunately, the risk cannot be completely eliminated. As a reminder, the Facility and Waste Operations (FWO) Division strongly advises the following:
Additional construction is occurring throughout Los Alamos, White Rock and Laboratory sites. PHOTO: On Monday, contractor crews with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers moved into full-scale production mode at the flood retention structure in Pajarito Canyon (above TA-18). Pictured here are two of the four trucks that are being used to deliver concrete from the on-site concrete plant to the site of the structure. Operations are continuing on a 24-hour basis. Construction of the retention structure is expected to be complete the third week of August. The goal of the concrete structure is to allow a normal flow of runoff down Pajarito Canyon, but prevent significant flooding downstream. The structure is designed to discharge the water at a controlled rate over a period of time not to exceed 96 hours. Photo by LeRoy N. Sanchez Forum created to bring together employees involved in computational biology and bioinformatics In an effort to identify and collaborate with employees Labwide who are involved in computational biology and bioinformatics, the Bioscience (B) Division has developed the Computational Biology Forum. The forum's goals are to:
The first forum recently was held at the Health Research Laboratory Auditorium in B Division and drew employees from 10 divisions and program offices, said Christian Forst of B Division (B-N1) and member of the Computational Biology Forum Committee. Forst and colleague Mike Wall of B-S1 came up with the idea of creating the forum after a discussion with B Division Director Jill Trewhella and the Complex Biosystems Thrust Team. "Computational biology is a thrust area that cuts across all other thrust areas in bioscience," Forst said. "Aside from that, we should be collaborating with theorists and computer scientists outside our division, particularly in the area of biology and genomics. Our programmatic efforts and expertise strengthen as a result." Added committee colleague Electra Sutton, also of B-N1, "Extending our collaborations with other divisions may help us solve problems of mutual interest. For instance, I may be working on a computational problem in chemical/biological detection and a colleague from another division may be working on a computational problem in functional genomics, but it's the same computational problem. "Through the Computational Biology Forum, we may be able to get together and prepare a program in which we share information and solve both our problems," she added. Forst and Sutton also emphasized that the forum may present unique training and cross-training opportunities for employees. "I'm a computational biologist, but would like to know more about biology. And I'm sure there are experts in biology would like to know more about computational biology," said Sutton. Training was a major concern that was discussed in the inaugural forum meeting, said Forst. "We have the training tools in place. We just have to take better advantage of them, and we believe that the forum will help," he said. Forst added there soon will be a Computational Biology Forum Web site for employees to obtain information, and that forum meetings probably will take place about every two weeks. An e-mail distribution list also has been developed. To place your name on the list or for more information about the forum, write to Forst at chris@lanl.gov, Sutton at electra@lanl.gov, Karla Atkins at karla@lanl.gov or Wall at mewall@lanl.gov. --Ternel N. Martinez Thursday is deadline for UC employees to nominate for fact finders in HR's Complaint Resolution Services Thursday is the last day University of California Laboratory employees can submit nominations to the Human Resources (HR) Division to serve as fact finders on complaints filed by employees against managers or supervisors. The Laboratory's Administrative Manual (AM 111) provides University of California Laboratory employees a mechanism to file complaints about management actions that violate Laboratory policies or about procedures that adversely affect terms or conditions of employment, such as performance appraisals, salary actions, disciplinary actions, and discrimination, said Sharon Hickey, project leader of HR's Complaint Resolution Services. Under AM 111, employees can use fact finders, who are responsible for gathering all of the relevant facts on a case and presenting findings of fact to the employee's senior manager who will then be issuing the decision. Essentially, the fact finders' work includes interviewing witnesses, such as the employee, responding manager and others with relevant information; collecting and analyzing relevant records; and preparing a written report for the senior manager. The employee and the manager receive a copy of the report and then have an opportunity to provide comments on the fact finder's report before a final decision is issued. Employees who are interested in becoming trained fact finders must receive approval from their group leaders and division directors. Nominations of employees should go through division offices and then should be submitted to the HR Division Office, said Hickey. Nomination forms can be obtained from group or division offices, HR generalists or the HR Division Office. Training sessions for fact finders begins Aug. 23. Additional training sessions are scheduled for Sept. 18 and 19, Oct. 5 and 6 and Oct. 12 and 13. For more information, see the July 27 Daily Newsbulletin, contact Hickey at 7-4670 or write to hickey@lanl.gov by electronic mail. --Steve Sandoval UC offers its expertise Under a memorandum of agreement with Los Alamos County, the University of California is providing up to 1,500 hours of fire recovery assistance including urban planning, flood prediction and utility design. Los Alamos County requested the assistance from the university. The agreement took effect June 26 and is scheduled to expire Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year. In one example of the cooperative agreement, urban planner Randall Fleming and analysts Mike McCoy and Andi Thode of University of California, Davis, recently met with county staff to assess specific needs. They will help implement the county's Geographical Information System, which will be used for filing building permits, tracking topography and locating 50-year-old gas lines that supplied fuel to buildings that were destroyed in the Cerro Grande Fire. The UC-Davis team also has been collaborating for several months with Rio Arriba County and the city of Española on their GIS systems. GIS also can help update land and utility surveys. Since county records often times are unclear, GIS can address the deterioration, accessibility, redundancy and compatibility of various records. The completion of a 9-1-1 system that links phone numbers with street addresses is also a priority for the county. "We will be able to design homes better, because we will be able to see better what the impact is before any actual construction begins," said Fred Brueggeman, assistant county administrator for intergovernmental relations, of the use of GIS. Additional UC staff and faculty will visit Los Alamos to assist the county with fire recovery efforts, and will provide such services as advice on flood and erosion. Just after the fire, the University brought survivors from the 1991 Oakland fire to Los Alamos to provide moral support and advice to Los Alamos fire survivors. Tom Dunne, a UC-Santa Barbara hydrologist, recently spent time with county staff, providing advice on flood and erosion problems. "It's a great opportunity," said Martha Waters, community involvement specialist with the UC Northern New Mexico Office. "Administrators and staff from throughout the UC system have been eager to help. Now concrete opportunities are arising to use their expertise." --Michael Carlson
|
||||||
Got a news tip for the Newsbulletin? Click here.
Previous Newsbulletin |
Last
week's headlines
Past
Newsbulletins | Searchable
database of past issues
Other news sources
Reflections
| News
Releases | Dateline:
Los Alamos | Science
for the 21st century | DOE
Pulse
Diversity Issues | DOE
News | Human Resources
Lab
Memos | Research Library
| UC Connection
Questions? Contact the Newsbulletin at newsbulletin@lanl.gov.
LANL | Phone Book | Search | Help
L O S A L A M O S
N A T I O N A L
L A B O R A T O R Y
Operated by the University
of California for the US Department
of Energy
