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Friday, Nov. 5, 1999

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Laboratory/Northern New Mexico United Way 2000 campaign ends Nov. 5.
(For more information, see the Sept. 21 Newsbulletin)

Lab tackles cost-cutting, workforce challenges

The Laboratory has initiated several efforts to reduce costs, improve efficiency and create more flexibility for employees to move between assignments.

To guide these efforts, Lab Director John Browne has formed three teams:

"The men and women of our workforce are the Lab's most precious asset," said Klaus Lackner, acting associate Laboratory director for strategic and supporting research and head of the Workforce Mobility team. "We also know that the world of research and development is increasingly dynamic and we need better ways to help employees find new positions or new funding when their current projects are cut or curtailed."

Congressional action resulted in a reduction of about $25 million in the amount of Lab funding that can support Laboratory Directed Research and Development projects, necessitating a focused approach to moving staff from LDRD projects to other work throughout the Laboratory.

The Lab is implementing recommendations of the Workforce Mobility team to enable employees who may temporarily be unfunded to search out and move more easily to new projects. This includes an accounting safety net to support employees who have lost direct funding and the establishment of a resource pool to match organizational needs with available skills among employees in other parts of the Lab (a master management memo provides details on how to use the Workforce Mobility Program).

The intent of this effort is to make sure the Lab retains the critical skills existing among employees in both technical and support organizations.

"Our Workforce Mobility Program is intended for all Lab employees, not just those working directly on R&D programs," Lackner said. "The dynamism of the R&D world extends to the associated business and operations functions."

Laboratory Director Browne also has imposed a 90-day moratorium on new hires to allow time for a thorough examination of the strategic importance of all pending hires (see a master management memo). As the Workforce Mobility Program's new processes are implemented and improved, they will build an enduring framework to increase the ability of employees who wish to pursue new opportunities within the Lab in the future.

Lab officials also are looking to the future to identify likely skills needs and desirable "strategic hires," that is the hiring of employees who can help the Lab in possible future programmatic activities and also help meet important institutional goals such as affirmative action. The ALDs and DLDs working with their directors and with support from the Workforce Planning team, led by John Herrera (HR-5), have undertaken this examination.

Hiring will be tightly managed for the foreseeable future -- the Lab already requires that the appropriate deputy Laboratory director or associate Laboratory director approve external hires and conversions. And, the Lab will need to achieve significant cost savings to be able to conduct a meaningful program of strategic hires. For example, officials estimate that the Lab will need to achieve at least $30 million in savings in nonlabor costs this year to permit up to 75 strategic hires. This rate of hiring will not match anticipated attrition due to retirements or employees otherwise leaving the Lab.

Labwide, these efforts will be critical for creating the fiscal flexibility the Lab will need to develop the best workforce for responding to future opportunities. The Cost Cutters 2000 team, led by John Ruminer of the Engineering Sciences and Applications (ESA) Division, will work with employees and organizations to identify the best ideas for saving money and improving how the Lab conducts business.

"We expect basically a flat budget over the next two years," said Joe Salgado, deputy director for business, administration and outreach. "It will be a challenge to demonstrate we can cut costs, increase efficiency and at the same time successfully carry out our programmatic mission."

This year's budget provided only a small increase over last year's, and Lab officials expect that the situation will remain the same next fiscal year. At the same time, operating expenses have grown, including a $47 million rise due to the recent salary increases.

--Kathy DeLucas and John Gustafson

Director answers employee questions

In this latest set of questions and answers, part 14, Laboratory Director John Browne answers questions about buying American-made products, new password requirements, speeding government vehicles, diversity and more (see the Director's home page under "Ask the Director").

The director is always open to employee questions and will answer those sent to him at future@lanl.gov.

Researchers develop novel luminescent biosensor

Researchers at the Lab have developed a method of using certain polymers as luminescent sensors to detect and identify biological and chemical agents, almost instantaneously.

The polymers fluoresce in the presence of these agents with the help of molecular intermediaries that bind to the biological and chemical agents' receptor sites.

The new sensors also may be able to detect viruses such as influenza and HIV, as well as bacteria and proteins, paving the way for further development of a lightweight, portable, real-time diagnostic tool that can be used in homes, clinics and in the field.

Lab researchers Duncan McBranch of Chemical Reactions, Kinetics and Dynamics (CST-6); David Whitten, Hsing-Lin Wang and Liaohai Chen of Bioscience and Biotechnology (B-2) along with Fred Wudl and Roger Helgeson from the University of California, Los Angeles, discovered they could use polymers as luminescent sensors while studying electron transfer in conducting polymers for possible applications in photovoltaics and nonlinear optics.

Using a laptop computer, hand-sized spectrometer, fiber-optic cabling and a sample holder, the researchers demonstrated the principle behind this technique by "turning on" a polymer's luminescence by adding the sample protein avidin, derived from egg whites.

Certain polymers transfer their electrons over to electron-accepting molecules when excited by laser light. However, the polymer's luminescence is "quenched" once the polymer transfers its electrons to the acceptor molecule, which is attached to the polymer.

The researchers discovered they could use this effect for sensing by attaching a specific ligand to the acceptor molecule; the new molecular package then gets pulled away from the polymer by a biological or chemical agent's receptor site, restoring the polymer's luminescence.

All pathogens, proteins, viruses and bacteria contain receptor sites, which allow them to latch onto specific ligands and provide a route for cells to be infected. By matching the right ligand with a receptor, researchers can positively identify the specific proteins, viruses or bacteria.

The process is analogous to a lock and key. The ligand part of the molecular package, called a quencher-tether-ligand, is the "key," which fits into a receptor site, or "lock," on the biological and chemical species to be detected, explained McBranch.

"This recognition event literally pulls away the QTL from the polymer, thereby restoring the polymer's luminescence," he said.

To operate the device, McBranch and his colleagues place a water-soluble, quenched polymer inside a sample holder attached to one end of a fiber-optic cable. The other end of the cable connects to the spectrometer which, in turn, connects to the laptop computer.

The water-soluble polymer is essential because it contains the negative charge that attracts the positively-charged QTL. In the demonstration, the QTL contained the ligand biotin.

Next, the researchers added a solution containing the egg white protein avidin inside the sample holder. Biotin and avidin are a well-known ligand/receptor combination often used for biochemical binding studies, said McBranch.

As expected, the receptors within the protein latched onto the QTL and pulled it away from the polymer. The spectrometer picked up the restored luminescence signal from the polymer and displayed it on the computer screen, confirming the presence of the protein. The analysis and identification process took about a second to complete.

McBranch says a researcher can identify unidentified bacteria or viruses simply by placing a sample into an array of sample holders containing different, receptor-specific QTLs. The spectrometer would analyze each sample holder simultaneously and identify any bacteria or virus, again within seconds.

The researchers currently are seeking funds to develop a library of QTLs and to reduce the size of their biosensor device.

Initial funding for their work came from the Lab's Laboratory-Directed Research and Development Program. The Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research is providing $435,000 over three years to further develop the biosensor. The project is in its second year.

The researchers' paper detailing their luminescent sensor finding was published in the October issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

--Ternel N. Martinez

Lab works with Los Alamos County on year-2000 issues

The Laboratory is working with Los Alamos County to reduce the impacts of any possible disruptions in electrical power in the county that may occur because of the year-2000 changeover.

The assistance includes setting aside 5 megawatts of electrical power from the Laboratory for county use on New Year's Eve and activating the Laboratory's Emergency Operations Center at Technical Area 59. County officials will join Laboratory personnel in the Emergency Operations Center during the critical year-2000 changeover, said George Van Tiem of Emergency Management and Operations (S-8).

"We're not expecting a big problem," said Van Tiem, who is part of a Year 2000 facilities planning team at Los Alamos that, among other things, has been looking at year-2000 compliance and readiness issues of Laboratory computers and computer systems, utilities and facilities. The facilities planning team is part of a larger Year 2000 Project Team, headed by Diane Weir of the Computing, Information and Communications (CIC) Division.

"We're fortunate to have the expertise and resources to assist Los Alamos County and its residents in the event of a disruption of power on New Year's Eve and into New Year's Day," said Weir. "We feel confident that we will be able to respond to not only the needs of the Laboratory and any problems that may come up, but also assist county officials if necessary."

Robert Repass, Los Alamos County's emergency management coordinator, said preparing for the year-2000 computer changeover isn't unlike preparing for the sometimes harsh winter weather that sweeps into Northern New Mexico. Residents, he said, should take similar preparedness measures before the year-2000 changeover.

"We've been lucky here; there are parts of the country that go three, four weeks without power," said Repass, who also is a captain in the Los Alamos Police Department. "My job would be much harder without being able to fall back on [the Laboratory's] electrical power."

New Year's Eve falls on Friday this year, which is ideal for Laboratory and county emergency preparedness officials. The Laboratory will be observing its regularly scheduled holiday closure, but most county government offices also will be closed and many businesses and service agencies also are closed on Friday evenings.

"If you had to pick a day of the week or one time of year for this transition to happen, this is it. It's Friday night . . . you have reduced requirements for services," said Repass.

Laboratory and county officials belong to an interagency steering committee, the Local Emergency Planning Committee, that includes the Fire and Police departments, the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Energy's Los Alamos Area Office. The committee provides guidance and oversight to the county for plans and procedures in the event of an emergency or natural disaster, said Repass.

In the summer of 1998, Repass was contacted by John Zoltai of Advanced Database and Information Technology (CIC-15). Zoltai was curious about what Los Alamos County was doing to prepare for the year 2000 computer changeover.

"He explained the great impact [the changeover] could have," Repass recalled.

"I've been following the Y2K situation since late 1997, and as I researched the problem, it became apparent that all communities faced a unique new risk," said Zoltai. "The Local Emergency Planning Committee for Los Alamos County has taken the Y2K problem very seriously, and from what I've seen in other communities, Los Alamos County is better prepared than most to handle Y2K problems that may come our way."

Zoltai spoke to the LEPC, and as a result, representatives from Los Alamos Medical Center, the Red Cross, churches and private citizens also joined LEPC and are active in year-2000 changeover preparations.

Beginning about 5 p.m. on Dec. 31, 5 megawatts of power will be set aside to Los Alamos County for its use, if necessary. The Laboratory has three generators at Technical Area 3.

County officials have designated a central corridor for providing electrical power that stretches from Diamond Drive east to Trinity Drive and Central Avenue and also takes in the area bounded by Canyon Road to the north.

Los Alamos Medical Center would be powered directly by the Laboratory in the event of a power disruption.

This corridor includes churches, Los Alamos High School, Mesa Public Library, the Betty Ehart Senior Center on Oppenheimer Drive, banks, county administrative offices and the Los Alamos Police Department on Trinity Drive. Churches and the high school would be mobilized as shelters for residents who don't have electric power, Repass explained.

Since the Laboratory plans to be operating on minimal power during the critical period from 5 p.m. New Year's Eve to roughly 5 p.m. on Jan. 1, 2000, the Laboratory should be able to provide the county with additional electrical power without affecting electrical power to the Laboratory.

"The Laboratory is lucky enough to have a power station," said Van Tiem. "We've got enough power to share."

Of the 5 megawatts of electrical power, up to 3 megawatts or more could be used on a rotating basis to shift power to areas of the county, if necessary, said Van Tiem.

"We want to have [power] on long enough for people to heat their homes, cook their foods, flush their toilets, fill up their bathtubs with water, do whatever they need to do to get through the next period without power, should it come to that," Van Tiem said.

Flushing of toilets could be a problem because electrical power is needed to operate sanitary sewer lift stations to prevent overflow of sewage.

Both Van Tiem and Repass said Public Service Company of New Mexico officials aren't expecting massive power disruptions, but said there is a slight possibility of a loss of electrical power for 1 to 3 hours.

"We're trying to prepare for a relatively worst-case scenario," said Repass.

Repass said Los Alamos County has inserted Y2K preparedness information flyers in 8,200 utility bills mailed that were mailed to residents in June, August and this month.

Repass also conducted a Y2K preparedness class at the University of New Mexico-Los Alamos branch campus in August and has been speaking to groups or organizations that contact him. "I reach more people in the talks I give. I've talked to church groups, associations, schools," he said.

The county also is working closely with Los Alamos Medical Center, Sombrillo Nursing Facility and local physicians to ensure that special needs patients are helped during the critical year-2000 changeover period.

Like the Laboratory, Los Alamos County also plans to fuel its fleet of about 100 vehicles before the year-2000 changeover. Four county fire stations will be manned on New Year's Eve and serve as communications centers. The centers will be in contact with Los Alamos' emergency operations center

Repass and Van Tiem also noted that 9-1-1 emergency telephone lines have been tested and are year-2000 ready.

"We've made progress," Van Tiem said, in preparing for the year-2000 changeover. "We're prepared to provide the level of protection and services to the county and also provide support for Laboratory operations.

"This is not unique. We want people to prepare for this transition like they would for any other short-term emergency. That's the approach they should take," Van Tiem said.

"We don't want people to go out and buy huge generators and buy food for a year. But it would be wise to have flashlights, batteries, a radio and food available to last several days should the need arise."

--Steve Sandoval

Nobel laureate will discuss prospects for HIV vaccine

Caltech President David Baltimore, winner of the 1975 Nobel Prize for his work in virology, will discuss his outlook for a vaccine against HIV at the Laboratory on Tuesday.

Baltimore will speak at a Director's Colloquium at 10:30 a.m. in the Administration Building Auditorium. The talk will be open to the public and also will be shown live on LABNET.

For more information, see the Nov. 3 Newsbulletin.

DOE issues guidance on cyber security

The Department of Energy this week issued a directive that defines the procedures and responsibilities for granting access to the department's unclassified computer systems to foreign nationals. The notice applies to all DOE, contractor and subcontractor organizations that have access to the department's computer systems at DOE sites and laboratories. For more information, see the DOE news release.

On today's bulletin board
  • Retirement reception for Thomas J. Hirons
  • Family Strengths Network class
  • Lost: keys
  • Little Theartre comedy Nov. 5, 6, 12, 13, 19 and 20
  • Engineering Index® has new interface and search engine
  • Found: keys
  • Found: earring
  • Windows 2000 planning presentation
  • Airtouch Cellular representatives at Lab today
  • Future Directions in Forestry Research Conference slated for Saturday
  • Barbershop harmony show Nov. 5 and 6
  • Compaq announces the Armada E700, PIII-500mhz Notebook
  • LANL Recruiters promoting resumes of leading candidates Monday
  • American Society for Quality (ASQ) meeting Wednesday
  • Club car utility vehicle demonstration
  • Travel reimbursement regulation changes
  • Priority offer for tickets to "Phantom of the Opera"
  • 1999 Corporate Challenge slated for Sunday in Albuquerque
  • National Diabetes Month kick off at The Wellness Center
  • Family Strengths Network offers a brown-bag lunch discussion
  • Software Quality Forum 2000 needs speakers
  • Free Kluwer electronic journals
  • Holmes Products Corp. announce recall of portable heaters
  • Mobile shoe service today
  • Fidelity Investments representative at the Lab today and tomorrow
  • Kids commuting from Santa Fe to Los Alamos High School
  • Additional ASM classes titled, "Introduction to Plutonium Metallurgy" are available
  • ASM International dinner meeting Nov. 17
  • Silicon Graphics Inc. sponsors Linux University Dec. 2
  • Battle of Iwo Jima talk by William A. Hudson at Mesa Public Library

Lab Counsel offers guidance on dealings with investigators

The Laboratory Counsel Office has issued a memorandum that provides guidance to employees who might be asked for documents or interviews by investigators with the Federal Bureau of Investigation or U.S. Attorney's Office. Click here for the memo.

Security issues at the Laboratory

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