Wednesday, May 7, 1997
Lab, UCLA and architectural firm design virtual
laboratories
One day soon, scientists will be able to ship a threatening virus or potential miracle drug found in a remote jungle to an automated laboratory, then use global computer networks to design and run experiments that will yield analytical results within days.
This vision of 21st century laboratories already has been designed by researchers from the Laboratory; University of California, Los Angeles; and the San Francisco architectural firm of Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz. Such labs could let hundreds of researchers collaborate on the thousands of experiments needed to develop vaccines for infectious diseases such as AIDS before epidemics devastate huge populations.
"Most vaccine research is a painfully slow, trial-and-error process," explained Tony Beugelsdijk of Energy and Process Engineering (ESA-EPE). "It's notoriously difficult to find the common elements in various mutations, especially when dozens of new mutations of diseases like AIDS appear so rapidly."
Beugelsdijk, Dr. Scott Layne of UCLA's School of Public Health and Victor DeSantis, director of laboratory facilities at Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz, think the answer is fully automated, integrated and flexible laboratories that can speed the quest for vaccines -- and other research results -- by a hundred- to a thousandfold.
The laboratory designed by the trio would be a collection of standardized robotic modules that researchers can mix and match to customize sample preparation, analysis and data interpretation. As experimental needs change, scientists can quickly reconfigure the modules to make new instruments.
"In today's global economy, each one of us is no more than an airline trip away from the next outbreak that potentially could cripple our society," Beugelsdijk said. "Infectious diseases are definitely outrunning our ability apply to our scientific tools to them."
Layne added, "Our concept blends basic science, automation and robotics, and smart laboratory architecture into an inevitable new weapon in our disease-fighting arsenal, one that allows us to conduct a massive variety and volume of research simultaneously, with faster results and easier collaboration."
Researchers at Los Alamos and other Department of Energy national laboratories over the past five years have developed automated laboratory modules and the process control software needed to run them. Now Beugelsdijk and his colleagues are working on a generalized laboratory interface, Internet-savvy software tools that give researchers at remote locations the ability to design and control specialized experiments at automated labs.
"An environmental field worker might find a suspected pollutant. The worker could log onto a lab continents away through the Internet and get the codes needed to design an analysis, along with shipping labels and safe shipping instructions," Beugelsdijk explained. "When the sample arrives at the lab, the bar codes on the package tell the control software which modules need to do what, and the worker can log on to get the analysis results the next day, before the pollutant can spread."
Robotic systems have been used in laboratories for years but have lacked the flexibility needed for adaptable, modular experimental work. The widespread acceptance of the Internet as the primary medium of information exchange and recent developments in hardware and software engineering now make it possible to coordinate science over computer networks.
"Our goal is not just to manipulate bits over the Internet, but actual matter," Beugelsdijk said.
DeSantis added, "The virtual laboratory never grows obsolete. The walls can be broken down, new technologies can be adapted and the entire laboratory can be reconfigured quickly."
--Jim Danneskiold
Laboratory researchers in the Materials Science and Technology (MST), Engineering Sciences and Applications (ESA) and Physics (P) divisions are developing a way to use erbia -- a pink, rare-earth oxide material that's extremely stable -- as a thin-film coating for nuclear weapons components. Erbia is more stable than any plutonium oxide and therefore resists degradation in the presence of molten plutonium, an important safety characteristic when building weapons components, especially those components that are designed to prevent the dispersal of plutonium in the event of an accidental fire. The Lab team is investigating several methods for coating surfaces with erbia, including spray coatings, chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition and plasma-source ion implantation. In addition, researchers are comprehensively characterizing erbia to learn about the material's mechanical properties, microstructure, particle size and behavior. Beyond the nuclear weapons arena, erbia also may prove useful for industrial applications that require coating molds for metal components. |
EAC seeks nominations
The Laboratory's Employee Advisory Council (EAC) is seeking nominations from employees in certain divisions or programs interested in serving on the council.
These employees will replace members of the council who are completing one or two year terms, said Tonya Suazo of the Industrial Partnership (IPO) Office and chairperson of the Employee Advisory Council.
Specifically, employees from the following divisions and programs are encouraged to submit nominations: Audits and Assessments (AA) and Business Operations (BUS) divisions; the Community Involvement and Outreach (CIO), Industrial Partnership (IPO), Government Relations (GRO), Diversity (DVO) and Public Affairs (PAO) offices; Department of Defense (DoD) Programs Office; Applied Theoretical and Computational Physics (X) Division; Environmental Management (EM) Programs Office; Engineering Sciences and Applications (ESA) and Life Science (LS) divisions; Science and Technology Base (STB) Programs Office; Physics (P) Division; Laboratory Counsel (LC); the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE); Nuclear Materials Technology (NMT) Division; and Nuclear Weapons Technology (NWT) Program.
Employees should first obtain approval from their immediate supervisor, and the supervisor needs to know that EAC representation requires about 10 to 15 percent of an employee's time, including regular attendance at bi-weekly EAC meetings, said Tonya Suazo of IPO and chairperson of EAC.
Upon approval from a supervisor, employees can send a statement of interest directly to EAC at eac@lanl.gov by electronic mail, she said. The deadline to submit nominations is May 12.
Employees should include in the statement of interest information about themselves, what they believe they can contribute to EAC and a committment to be a regular participant at EAC activities.
The Employee Advisory Council provides broad-based employee input and feedback to the Laboratory Leadership Council and serves as a communications link between the LLC and employees around the Lab.
Membership terms begin June 1 and are for one year with a possible one year renewal, said Suazo. The selection of new members will be made later this month.
The Employee Advisory Council has a home page, which can be found by accessing the Lab home page and then clicking on "Information by Subject."
Employees needing additional information can contact Suazo at 7-5774 or write to tsuazo@lanl.gov by electronic mail.
--Steve Sandoval
Vice chairs named for Diversity Council
Pia Griego of Procurement (BUS-5) and Susie Medina of Planning and Management Processes (ESH-P&MPO) have been named vice chairs of the Laboratory's Diversity Council.
The appointments were made by Diversity Council chairman John Viechec of the Institutional Facility Management Program (FSS-IFMPO) Office.
In addition, Viechec has appointed Ruben Rangel of Ecology (ESH-20) as communications director for the Diversity Council.
Griego will be vice chairwoman for operations. Medina will be vice chairwoman for projects.
The Diversity Council acts as an advisory body to the Lab's diversity director and meets bi-monthly, said Mick Trujillo, acting director of the Diversity Office.
"The leadership positions will give greater opportunity for involvement in the future direction of the Diversity Council," said Viechec. "It simply makes sense to expand the leadership of the council, since about half the members are in the second year of a two-year term. Moreover, the council has had a very active agenda with reviewing plans and providing input on such matters as career development and training."
Viechec said Griego will serve as chairperson of the Diversity Council in his absence and also will serve as the council representative at various ongoing activities and functions.
Medina will have oversight of projects the council is currently working on, such as accountability, best practices and a scholarship plan, as well as Diversity Council-sponsored events.
Rangel will serve as the primary source of information for the council and work to increase the awareness of diversity at the Lab, Viechec said.
"I am excited about the energy all the new members have exhibited and have complete confidence the leaders selected will do an outstanding job to enhance diversity at the Lab," said Viechec.
--Steve Sandoval
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Keeping plutonium in the pink