Fire danger: High
High Pressure Science Working Group formed
The Laboratory is collaborating with the Russian Academy of Science's Institute for High Pressure Physics, an internationally recognized center of high-pressure science and technology.
The collaboration will formally establish the Los Alamos High Pressure Science and Technology Working group, to be co-chaired by Joe D. Thompson of Condensed Matter and Thermal Physics (MST-10) and Professor Sergei Stishov, director of IHPP.
The working group is the product of an earlier collaboration between Laboratory scientists and IHPP that began about five years ago when Sergei Stishov was invited to the Lab as the Orson Anderson Scholar. In the intervening years, Stishov visited the Lab to advise in the design of pressure apparatus for neutron scattering experiments and, more recently, to build a gas-pressure cell for neutron experiments. In February 1999, Stishov met with Laboratory Director John Browne and principal Deputy Laboratory Director Bill Press to propose a broader collaboration between the two institutions. In March, Stishvov organized an informal meeting of interested Lab researchers to discuss collaboration opportunities.
According to Joe Thompson, "The collaboration with the IHPP provides a significant new resource to existing and planned high-pressure science throughout the Laboratory. The working group will look for ways to integrate research activities that use static high-pressure techniques."
The Working Group will sponsor a series of seminars and discussions aimed at the Laboratory's technical community. The first of these seminars is to be held in Los Alamos Tuesday.
"The group also will serve as a catalyst to promote high-pressure research and the value of our high-pressure capabilities to potential programmatic sponsors," said Thompson.
Like temperature or magnetic field, pressure is a thermodynamic variable that can help reveal the physics of matter. Combining these variables at their extremes provides a powerful approach to understanding fundamental interactions in matter and for producing new states of matter. Elements that are normally gases at atmospheric pressure can be solidified by pressure techniques available on a benchtop. The experiments allow scientists to mimic high-pressure conditions such as those found in the interior of planets. New materials already have been discovered and other materials of technological importance, such as synthetic diamonds and boron nitride, can be synthesized using high pressures.
Laboratory researchers interested in high-pressure science are urged to join the working group by contacting Thompson at jdt@mst.lanl.gov or Stishov at stishov@lanl.gov or stish@ips.ras.ru.
--Todd Hanson
Breast cancer awareness emphasized this
month
Representatives of Occupational Medicine (ESH-2) and the Women's Diversity Working Group will be in the Otowi Cafeteria Lobby from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. next Wednesday to provide information about breast cancer.
The material, presented as part of the Lab's observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, will include brochures, guides on self-examination and practice models for detecting breast cancer lumps. Information about testicular and prostate cancer also will be available.
A major theme for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is observed nationally each October, is regular self-examination. Research shows that the five-year survival rate for breast cancer patients is more than 95 percent if the disease is detected early.
Other activities scheduled at the Laboratory during October include a panel discussion with survivors and family members and participation in the American Cancer Society's "Tell A Friend" program, in which people are asked to call five women over the age of 40 and urge them to have mammograms.
"Having the information come from a friend adds a personal touch that we hope will convince people to act on it," said Jessica Kisiel of ESH-2, the "Tell A Friend" coordinator at the Laboratory.
Kisiel said three months after the phone call, women who had not had mammograms will receive a reminder card from the ACS. The callers also will be asked to make follow-up calls.
She said all information is confidential and will be used by the ACS only to measure the success of the program. For more information, or to obtain a calling kit, call Kisiel at 5-4368. Information about the program also is available on the World Wide Web at http://www3.cancer.org/cancerinfo/documents/cancer_5/tell_a_friend.asp?ct=5.
According to the ACS, about 175,000 women and 1,300 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, and some 43,700 of them will die from the disease. Breast cancer is the leading cause of death of women between the ages of 35 and 54.
Additional information about breast cancer, including links to many Web sites, is available at the WDWG Web page at http://www.lanl.gov/orgs/dvo/wdwg/women.html. Watch the Newsbulletin for more information about the panel discussion in late October.
--John A. Webster
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Where there's smoke ... Piles of waste from tree thinning operations will be burned today beginning at 8:15 a.m. Smoke probably will be visible during the prescribed burn at S-Site. |
SLAC deputy director to discuss the future of stockpile stewardship
Sidney Drell, deputy director of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, will review the current national science-based stockpile stewardship program at a Director's Colloquium at 8:10 a.m. Friday in the Administration Building Auditorium.
The talk is open to badge holders only but also will be shown on LABNET. For more information, see the Oct. 4 Newsbulletin.
National Safety Council visits Los Alamos
Two experts from the National Safety Council, a congressionally chartered nonprofit organization that seeks to promote safety practices and prevent avoidable injury or loss, visited the Laboratory this week to jump-start traffic safety awareness and address traffic safety issues stemming from a recent fatal motor vehicle crash on Diamond Drive.
On Tuesday, Harold Thompson, NSC program manager for highway traffic safety, and Charles Hurley, NSC executive director for public affairs, met with the "Grassrooters," a group of about 60 Lab employees and subcontract personnel who joined together last year to discuss safety and provide suggestions for improving Lab safety. Earlier in the day, Hurley and Thompson addressed the Operations Working Group and also met with officials from Los Alamos County.
"What NSC brings is a commitment to learn about the Lab and the community, its culture, leadership and traditions," Hurley told the OWG. "Community pride can enhance a program of communitywide safety. We know a lot about what works and what doesn't work in highway safety. It's important to follow the data, follow patterns and implement technologies that we know work well."
Thompson, a traffic engineer, said the science of traffic safety is fairly well understood. "We use the principle of Expected Value Analysis, that is, there are an expected number of incidents per given traffic volume," he said. "Additionally, we use a set of engineering tools to study traffic safety. They include surveillance, diagnostics and evaluation. It's most important to fully quantify what the problem is, then explore the probable causes of the problem so you can identify engineering solutions that will work."
"Up to age 37 the primary risk of injury is from a motor vehicle crash," Hurley told the Grassrooters. "Driving is inherently a high-risk environment. With education, and some enforcement, you can lower the risk."
The Laboratory plans an out briefing in the near future via teleconference with the NSC and perhaps some additional visits by NSC experts as well. Both Hurley and Thompson were optimistic. "You've set a goal of zero incidents and if you push for that goal you can reach it," said Thompson. Hurley added, "This is an opportunity to take your risks and fundamentally reduce them, not only for the benefit of the Lab but for your families as well."
--Kevin Roark
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Two experts from the National Safety Council, a congressionally chartered nonprofit organization that seeks to promote safety practices and prevent avoidable injury or loss, visited the Laboratory this week. Shown here at a lunchtime meeting on Tuesday with the "Grassrooters" are Harold Thompson, left, NSC program manager for highway traffic safety, and Charles Hurley, center, NSC executive director for public affairs. Earlier in the day Hurley and Thompson addressed the Operations Working Group and also met with officials from Los Alamos County. Photo by Kevin Roark |
Workshop for expectant parents Tuesday
Compensation and Benefits (HR-1) and Occupational Medicine are sponsoring a workshop for expectant parents and those who are thinking about having a child. The workshop is from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday at Occupational Medicine.
Angela Jaramillo and Caryn Gates of HR-1, and Sheila Brandt and Anne Brown of ESH-2 will conduct the workshop for University of California Laboratory employees.
The Benefits Office sponsors similar workshops every other month, Jaramillo said.
The workshop is in the ESH-2 conference room. No registration is required, though it is encouraged to estimate the number of attendees, she said.
Jaramillo and Gates will talk about short-term disability. Brandt will present the Family and Medical Leave Act, maternity and parental-leave portion of the workshop. Brown will discuss safety issues in the workplace for expectant mothers.
For more information, call HR-1 at 7-1806 or write to benefits@lanl.gov by e-mail.
A sign language interpreter can be present at the workshop by calling HR-1 three business days in advance to make arrangements.
--Steve Sandoval
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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. |
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