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Security improvement highlighted in Lab testimony
Laboratory Director John Browne described significant improvements in security programs achieved at the Lab over the last two years in a testimony Tuesday before the House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
These improvements enabled the Lab to earn the highest possible rating in a recent comprehensive security audit by the Department of Energy.
"We have made significant progress the last two years," Browne said, and "while there are still improvements to be made, we have identified them, aggressively pursued corrective actions and are committed to implementing those actions until all issues have been fully addressed."
Browne outlined areas where the Lab recognized the need for continued improvement, including expanded and improved employee security training, improved cyber security against insider threats, expanded testing of the Lab's unclassified computer network for vulnerabilities and efforts to improve security of nuclear materials.
"We recognize that the security threats we face today are different from those during the Cold War," Browne said. "As such, our response must be continuously improved to address newly emerging threats."
Browne detailed in his testimony the status of and recent improvements in the Lab's security program in the areas of program management, information security, cyber security, nuclear material control and accounting, and personnel security.
Efforts by the program management team have created an increased security focus among the Lab's employees.
"Perhaps the most fundamental change in our security posture has been the increased buy-in and involvement on the part of our employees," Browne said. "Employees have always taken security seriously, but new challenges have been met with increased commitment at the Laboratory."
"We now have a great deal of confidence in our inventory accuracy," Browne said, "and are equally confident that our material has been adequately safeguarded from theft or diversion."
Planned additional improvements in the area of nuclear materials include upgrades to the security alarm system and reducing the number of areas used for temporary storage of material.
Personnel security improvements include increased employee training and implementation of a more stringent badging and access control system.
"Training is the key through which we keep our employees knowledgeable of and vigilant to security threats," Browne said. "Our employees are our first and best lines of defense in meeting the tremendous challenge of safeguarding nuclear material and classified information."
Browne noted that the Lab's efforts represented a joint commitment by the Laboratory and the University of California, which manages Los Alamos for the DOE, to ensure that security remains a top priority. These efforts were supported and guided by DOE leadership.
For a complete transcript of Browne's testimony, go to the Director's home page and click on "Congressional Testimony."
-- John R. Gustafson
Jill Trewhella elected AAAS Fellow
Jill Trewhella, acting director of the
Biosciences (B) Division, has been elected a Fellow of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science.
AAAS is a nonprofit professional society dedicated to the advancement of scientific and technological excellence across all disciplines and to the public's understanding of science and technology. AAAS membership is comprised of more than 143,000 scientists, engineers, science educators, policymakers and other professionals worldwide. As a Fellow, Trewhella joins an elite group of about 10,000 of the nation's leading researchers.
Trewhella was elected a Fellow by the AAAS Council for her "fundamental structural studies of intracellular signaling and enzyme activation via second messengers, and for the development of neutron scattering applications in structural molecular biology."
Trewhella will be honored February in Washington, D.C., during AAAS' Fellows Forum, part of the organization's annual meeting.
"I am truly grateful to the AAAS for bestowing this tremendous honor upon me," said Trewhella. "I'm overwhelmed by this recognition, and I share this award with those at the Lab and elsewhere who have supported my research throughout my scientific career."
Trewhella received her bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics and her master's degree in physics from the University of New South Wales (Australia). She received her doctorate in inorganic chemistry from the University of Sydney.
After a brief tenure as a postdoctoral associate and associate research scientist at Yale University, Trewhella came to the Lab as a staff member in the Life Sciences (LS) Division.
She has held several supervisory roles during her 15 years at the Lab, including structural biology section leader, deputy group leader and group leader.
Trewhella also has won several awards and honors throughout her scientific career, including several from the Lab. She was elected a Laboratory Fellow -- the Lab's highest scientific distinction -- in recognition of her outstanding scientific contributions (1995). She received a Laboratory Fellows Prize in recognition of her contributions to the understanding of proteins in solution using biophysical measurements (1995) and the Lab's Outstanding Mentor Award in recognition of her support of women's career development (1999).
In addition to AAAS, Trewhella actively serves in professional organizations such as the Biophysical Society, American Crystallographic Society and the Neutron Scattering Society of America. She also serves on national and international committees, including the National Institutes of Health's Division of Research Grants Study Section in Molecular and Cellular Biophysics. She has authored or co-authored 80 scientific papers.
-- Ternel N. Martinez
Math contest winners announced
Young mathematicians from Farmington and Los Alamos will be recognized for their work in the "Go Figure" math contest held Oct. 9 at San Juan Community College in Farmington.
Seventy-five contestants in grades 7 through 12 from throughout the Four Corners Region and Los Alamos participated in the event, which was sponsored by the Lab, Sandia National Laboratories and San Juan Community College.
The students accepted the challenge of a two-and-half-hour test on problems that ranged from easy to very difficult. Many students said they enjoyed the contest and found it mentally stimulating and challenging.
"Some of the students were working on the problems out in the hall even after they turned in the tests," said Joe Vigil, a science education specialist for the Lab's Science Education Team.
The Lab will award prizes to the winners at each grade level and send letters of commendation to students who earned honorable mentions. The Lab also will sponsor a banquet for the award winners and their families at San Juan Community College on Nov. 20.
The winners are
The goal of the contest was to identify young people with talent in mathematics. It is linked to the Lab's two-year effort called the "Web of Learning" that seeks new ways to use the World Wide Web to aid in science and math education.
"Students who continue to struggle with the problems they found to be difficult during the contest have what it takes to progress in solving real-life problems for themselves, their jobs, their communities and their country," said Abraham Hillman, the originator of the "Go Figure" math contest.
Solutions for the test are posted at World Wide Web site http://set.lanl.gov/programs/learning/Math/Contests/testans.pdf
The Web of Learning site can be found at http://set.lanl.gov/programs/learning
"The Web of Learning offers a growing variety of supplemental material for interested students and teachers of mathematics and science," said Dolores Jacobs, team leader of the Science Education Team.
It also provides details for those interested in contacting the Lab's Science Education Team.
-- Kay Roybal
Healthy couples series continues
The third in a series of presentations designed to improve relationships with spouses and children is scheduled for noon Wednesday, Nov. 3, in the Otowi Building Cafeteria Side Dining Rooms A and B.
"Relationships and Children" is the focus of the presentation by Dawn Barr and Dr. David Dennedy-Frank.
A group of employees from Human Resources (HR) and Environment, Safety and Health (ESH) divisions, and the Diversity (DV) Office put together the three-session series titled "Fission, Fusion or Critical Mass: A Healthy Approach to Couples' Relationships."
The presentations are free and open to University of California Laboratory employees, subcontract personnel, students and the public.
Barr is a licensed social worker with the Counseling Center of the Los Alamos Family Council. Barr has worked with children, adolescent, adults and the elderly in inpatient and outpatient settings for more than 10 years and helped establish a day-hospital treatment program for senior citizens.
Dennedy-Frank is a licensed clinical psychologist and clinical director of the Counseling Center of the Los Alamos Family Council. He also has a private practice at the Pastoral Counseling Center in Santa Fe. Dennedy-Frank has more than 20 years of experience in community mental health services, including clinical and administrative operations.
Karen Edwards of the Diversity (DVO) Office said the series grew out of information members of the employee group gathered from their interactions with the Lab workforce. Couples relationships was an area in which employees expressed interest, she said.
Personnel from outlying technical areas who want to attend can call Johnson Controls Northern New Mexico's taxi service at 7-8294 (7-TAXI) for a ride to and from the talks.
For more information, call Edwards at 5-4113.
--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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