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July 28, 2009

This Month in Research Update:

UChicago Argonne, LLC News

Field Museum President and CEO, John McCarter, Jr., to Join Argonne Board of Governors
John W. McCarter, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, was appointed recently to the UChicago Argonne, LLC Board of Governors for Argonne National Laboratory effective October 1, 2009.

The Field Museum is a world renowned research institution in the areas of environmental conservation, evolutionary biology, geology, and anthropology. Its collections number over 24 million specimens, and the staff of 650 includes 72 Ph.D.s. The Field has activities in 94 countries.

“We are very pleased to have someone with John’s range of experience and expertise in corporate, government, and nonprofit settings join the Board,” said Donald Levy, Vice President for Research and for National Laboratories, The University of Chicago and Chief Executive Officer, UChicago Argonne, LLC Board of Directors.

“The University and Argonne have strong ties to the Field Museum through joint appointments and joint research activities. We hope John’s appointment will serve to strengthen existing relationships and encourage further collaboration,” said Levy.

A native Chicagoan, McCarter previously was Senior Vice President of Booz Allen & Hamilton, Inc., serving clients including Procter & Gamble, Monsanto, ConAgra and The Chicago Board of Trade. Earlier in his career, he served as President of DeKalb Corporation, an international agribusiness concern and was Budget Director of the State of Illinois under Governor Richard B. Ogilvie. He was a White House Fellow during the administration of Lyndon B. Johnson.

McCarter is a Director of W.W. Grainger, a trustee of Janus Funds and serves as Chairman of the Board of Divergence, Inc.

He is an Emeritus Trustee of the University of Chicago, a Regent at the Smithsonian Institution, a trustee of the National Recreation Foundation, an Emeritus Trustee and former Chairman of Chicago’s Public Television Station Channel 11. He is a Director and former Chairman of the Chicago Consulting Alliance and currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Chicago Central Area Committee. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

McCarter is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Business School, and also attended the London School of Economics. He and his wife Judy have three adult children and four grandchildren.

University federal relations office adds new member
Public policy professional Matthew Greenwald recently joined the University of Chicago’s Office of Federal Relations as Deputy Director. Greenwald has extensive experience in the Congressional Budgeting process and in government funding of science research.

According to Scot Sudduth, Associate Vice President for the University’s office of Federal Relations, Greenwald “will help lead the University’s efforts to engage more effectively on policy and funding issues impacting university-based research, healthcare, education and the University’s role in the management of Argonne National Laboratory and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.”

“In the near term,” says Greenwald, “a lot of the emphasis for me, based on my background and University interest, is advocacy for science in the broad sense and helping key lab management and management here at the University work with Congress and Department of Energy to pursue their strategic objectives.” In the longer term, Greenwald’s role will expand to include work with other key agencies.

During the second term of the Clinton administration, Greenwald served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Senate Liaison in the Office of Congressional Affairs at the Department of Energy and was responsible for building and sustaining support in the U.S. Senate for the department’s mission and budget during the tenure of Secretary Bill Richardson.

“DOE never gets enough credit for all the interesting science going on at the labs,” says Greenwald. However, he believes that major appointments of top scientists, like Steven Chu to the post of Secretary of Energy, underscore the administration’s support for basic research.

Before working at the DOE, Greenwald served as senior budget analyst on the Senate Budget Committee for all funding issues related to energy, environment, science, space and technology for former Chairman Jim Sasser and Ranking Member Jim Exon.

Although the administration, vis-à-vis the stimulus package and the FY10 budget that increases the Office of Science’s budget by almost four percent, and other program areas with DOE and other departments of interest for things like energy efficiency initiatives, nonproliferation efforts and homeland security, Greenwald says it will be a challenge to get Congress to sustain these increases in funding in future years.

“The fiscal situation right now is pretty rough. Deficits are getting higher. There is a feeling that the DOE already has a lot of money in hand now from the stimulus bill; let’s see how they manage it,” says Greenwald. “There’s going to be a lot of pressure to meet some of the funding commitments put forth by the administration and science is one of those areas that will be a challenge to meet,” Greenwald says.

Immediately before his University appointment, Greenwald served as senior representative with the federal government and local jurisdictions for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority on all policy and budget issues related to homeland security. There, he worked to obtain funding and support from the Department of Homeland Security to expand the chemical detection program for the city’s underground rail stations which utilized technology developed at Argonne.

He has also been manager of medicine research policy for the University of California, San Diego.

Greenwald received a B.A. in Economics from Clark University and a master’s in Public Policy from Georgetown University. He is the author of a book on running, Secrets of Smart Running. He will work in the University’s new Washington office at 1730 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Suite 275. He lives in nearby Bethesda, MD with his wife and four children.

Strategic Laboratory Leadership Program makes headway
Argonne participants in the first Strategic Laboratory Leadership Program (SLLP) revealed in a recent survey that the program has made a meaningful difference in their daily jobs. The program, now in its third year, will have provided leadership development to 45 Argonne and 30 Fermilab employees at the conclusion of its current class (Cohort III).

“We knew from the course evaluations that Argonne participants enjoyed the SLLP opportunity” said Geralyn Becker, Argonne Manager of Performance Development. “We sent the survey to learn what people were applying to their work a year later. We see this program as a key piece of leadership development at the Laboratory.”

Strategic planning was considered the most important skill learned by about one third of participants. One participant noted spending more time considering the role of others, how they will perceive things, and the benefit to them―a strategic planning concept that relates to value and customer identification.

Roughly a quarter of participants found most valuable a concept from the program called “social capital,” forming a contact network that reaches many, disconnected people. About a fifth of respondents applied leadership management concepts in their work. Others enjoyed flexing their new-found negotiation skills and ability to manage change and innovation. Overall, 89 percent of respondents said that they used concepts skills gleaned from the program in their work.

“I appreciated the opportunity to interact with my colleagues from Argonne and Fermilab and participate in a fantastic educational experience,” said a program participant. “The Booth faculty provided valuable insights and tools that I will apply to leading our Lab into an exciting future.”

Staying connected is also important to former participants. Members of the first cohort group established a list serve to share articles and ideas and they meet informally with subsequent cohort groups.

“In addition to introducing participants to business-related concepts and tools, the program also strives to create a learning environment that strengthens ties within and across functions and laboratories,” says Michelle Terry, Director, Operations and Education Programs. “I was excited to see that the majority of participants have transferred what they learned in SLLP to their roles in the Lab environment,” said Terry.

Currently 25 Laboratory employees from both Argonne and Fermilab are enrolled in the three-part program and have completed the first section. They will also have the opportunity to take an elective class from Booth’s Executive Education program.

Cohort III participants include:

From Argonne:

From Fermilab:

Next year, the University hopes to involve University faculty to further strengthen Laboratory-University collaborations.

“The dedication of the Booth faculty and the participants’ willingness to try out these leadership concepts is quite impressive. It is very meaningful to know that the program adds value to the Labs―that is important,” said Terry. “We will continue to use feedback from participants to shape and improve future programs.”

SLLP was conceived by the University of Chicago Office of the Vice President for Research and for National Labs in conjunction with Argonne, Fermilab and the University’s Booth School of Business to enhance the management skills of select employees and scientists across the Laboratories. The program was developed by the University as part of the UChicago Argonne, LLC contract to manage and operate Argonne for the U.S. Department of Energy.

University Announces Continuation of Argonne-University Seed Grant Program
Applications Due: Friday, August 14, 2009

Donald Levy, Vice President for Research and for National Laboratories, the University of Chicago, recently announced the continuation of the Strategic Collaborative Initiatives program that supports collaborative research projects between the University of Chicago faculty and Argonne scientists/engineers.

Joint proposals that also include researchers from Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (in addition to researchers from Chicago and Argonne) are also eligible for consideration under this program, said Levy.

The Program

Research funded will be new projects intended to provide the basis for future collaborative research between the University and the Laboratory.

Criteria

Criteria for selection of proposals include importance of the work; whether the collaboration creates a more powerful or convincing research program than could be achieved by working independently; and potential to achieve and sustain an ongoing collaboration.

Guidelines and Evaluation

Applications are due on Friday, August 14, 2009. Application forms and proposal guidelines can be obtained by request from Tracy Schultz at tjschultz@uchicago.edu. Proposals should be assembled and submitted utilizing the provided forms and guidelines and should clearly make the scientific case, identify PIs and other personnel, the resources existing in this and related areas, and the resources sought. There must be at least one applicant from each institution on each proposal and University applicants must be PI-eligible. Proposal budgets should be in the range of $50k-$100k for one year.

The Laboratory Director(s), relevant Deans, and others with necessary expertise will evaluate proposals and assess their merits. The final selection will be made in September 2009 with a start date of October 1, 2009. Upon completion of the project, PIs will provide a brief written report on the scientific results of the project and how the funds were used.

Proposals should be submitted electronically by PDF attachment to my office at the University of Chicago (tjschultz@uchicago.edu). Additional questions should be directed to Larry Hill, Associate Vice President for National Laboratories, at lhill@uchicago.edu or 773-834-0953.

University, Fermilab scientists to receive $216,000 in collaborative seed grants
Scientists at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the University of Chicago have been awarded $216,000 for new and continued joint research projects through the University's Strategic Collaborative Initiatives (SCI) program for Fermilab. The research projects cover a broad range of studies and include, in one case, collaboration with an Argonne scientist. Full story.

Board of Governors Meeting Focuses on Lab Priorities
The Board of Governors for Argonne met last month for the second time this year. The two-day meeting included committee meetings, reports, breakout sessions, presentations and discussions.

Donald Levy, Vice President for Research and for National Laboratories, The University of Chicago, started the meeting with an update on the Great Lakes Alliance for Sustainable Energy Research (GLASER) which met for the second time in May. One of the major ideas that emerged from the meeting, he said, was the idea to build energy-related research projects around the central theme of sustainable transportation, an area where the Midwest excels. The organization has formed a steering committee to consider ways to move the initiative forward. To that end, GLASER is considering holding their next meeting in Washington.

Next, Argonne Director Eric Isaacs laid out his priorities for Argonne― chief among them executing Argonne’s strategic plan. “The plan,” he said, “centered on the idea of ‘discovery science and engineering-driven innovation’ in three core areas: energy security, biological and environmental systems and national security.” Isaacs emphasized the importance of executing the plan safely, while at the same time, exceeding sponsor expectations, developing the Laboratory’s workforce, and building partnerships with other research institutions and businesses in the region.

Isaacs’ science priorities included APS renewal, leadership computing, and energy storage. To maintain its leadership role in hard X-ray science, Argonne submitted a proposal to the DOE for $350 million over the next 6-7 years. The funding would be used to update APS equipment and instrumentation and to conduct major R&D on next generation light sources.

“The road to exascale computing will require $125 million per year over the next 4 years,” said Isaacs. The funding would enable the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility to continue to be at the forefront of materials-, biology- and climate-focused computational science.

Lastly, Isaacs spoke about the Laboratory’s Energy Storage Initiatives and partnerships in several DOE Energy Frontier Research Centers that are focused on finding solutions to the national energy challenges.

Scott Sudduth, Associate Vice President for Government Relations, The University of Chicago, gave a government relations overview which led to a discussion about how the Laboratory as well as Board members can work together to galvanize federal support for Argonne’s most important priorities.

The meeting concluded with executive sessions with Laboratory management. The next meeting of the Board will be held October 20-21, 2009.

UChicago Argonne, LLC honors Argonne scientists, employees with awards
The UChicago Argonne, LLC Board of Governors for Argonne honored 38 employees and 3 children of Argonne employees with awards at its 2009 Awards Program on Monday, June 29, 2009 continuing a 34-year University of Chicago tradition. This year’s award winners represented a wide range of offices and divisions and the number of winners almost quadrupled from last year due to the addition of two new safety awards. Full story.

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Events

Carillonathon!
Sundays, July 26 – August 16, 20, 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Rockefeller Chapel

This series of free concerts features University Carillonneur Wylie Crawford along with guests from across the United States and Europe. Free. Call 773-702-7059. Free tours at 5:30 pm.

FILM: Mari Part I: Sumerian City on the Euphrates
Sunday, July 26, 2009, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Oriental Institute

Discovered by chance in the early 1930s, the ancient city of Mari provides insights into Mesopotamian culture and humankind’s first steps toward urbanization. In this program, archaeologists Jean-Claude Margueron and Béatrice Muller-Margueron lead a team in the excavation of Mari’s urban center as they work to uncover the successive layers of towns at Mari. 3-D animations illustrate aspects of how the city looked and functioned in its prime. (2005)

Film showings begin at 2:00 PM and last approximately 30-50 minutes unless otherwise indicated. Following the film, docents will be available in the galleries to answer your questions.

Free Admission. No registration required.

Smart Reading Series: The Art of Anxiety
Sunday, August 9, 2009, 2:00 PM

Smart Museum of Art

Examine anxiety in contemporary art and writing during this free adult workshop that pairs works by William Wiley, Laura Letinsky, and Art Green with the short stories of Raymond Carver and the poetry of Frank O’Hara. The afternoon features a short lecture, writing activity, and discussion led by Matthias Regan, poet, scholar, and author of Death Blossoms and People’s Pugilist: The Writings of Carl Sandburg in the International Socialist Review.

Advanced registration is required, as space is limited. Free. To register, contact Kristy Peterson at kristypeterson@uchicago.edu or 773.702.2351.

Summer Seminar Series on Scientific Integrity and the Ethical Conduct of Research
The Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine of the Dept of Medicine, the Committee on Molecular Medicine, and the Institute for Translational Medicine will present a Summer Seminar Series on Scientific Integrity and the Ethical Conduct of Research. This interactive seminar series is open to Argonne researchers as well as the entire University Biological Sciences Division community, but may be especially useful for post-doctoral research trainees and junior faculty members with NIH or other research awards who seek training in scientific integrity and ethical research practice. More.

For a complete list of University events visit: http://event.uchicago.edu/maincampus/.

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University Research in the News

Structure of crucial anthrax protein revealed
Anthrax, long feared for its potential as a biological weapon, has lost some of its mystery. Researchers at the Argonne National Laboratory, in collaboration with scientists at the University of Chicago, have determined the structure of a protein crucial to the virulence of anthrax bacteria. Full story.

SmartSignal Turns Ten
In the early 1990s, the U.S. Department of Energy asked researchers to develop a better tool for predicting problems at nuclear facilities after the failure of a coolant pump forced an experimental reactor shutdown. The DOE buried several faults in 18 months’ of data from a nuclear power plant and held a worldwide competition challenging researchers to find the problems.

Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory not only found the hidden faults, but their software discovered previously unknown problems. They quickly realized they had developed a technology that could be patented and commercialized.

In 1999, the University of Chicago helped these researchers launch SmartSignal. Today, that company employs the same core technology, now expanded and refined. (Also, it has developed new technologies.) SmartSignal licenses the core technology from UChicagoTech. Full story.

Janet Rowley awarded Gruber Genetics Prize for cancer research Janet Rowley, a founder in the field of cancer cytogenetics and a leader in molecular oncology, will receive the 2009 Genetics Prize of The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation for her research on recurrent chromosomal abnormalities in leukemias and lymphomas—discoveries that revolutionized how cancer is understood and treated. Full story.

Chicago Booth study shows confidence in banks growing
A sense of optimism and a reduction in fear and anger toward America’s financial institutions mark the latest findings in the Chicago Booth/Kellogg School Financial Trust Index. According to the report published today, trust in financial institutions has gone up slightly in the last three months, especially toward banks and government intervention in financial markets. Full story.

More than half of CPS teachers leave their schools within five years; African American schools hit hardest
About 100 Chicago schools suffer from chronically high rates of teacher turnover, losing a quarter or more of their teaching staff every year, and many of these schools serve predominantly low-income African American children, according to a study released Monday by the Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago. Full story.

Vitamin-A derivative provides clues to better breast cancer drugs
Retinoic acid, a derivative of vitamin A, could lead researchers to a new set of drug targets for treating breast cancer, researchers from the University of Chicago report in the June 26, 2009, issue of the journal Cell. Full story.

University of Chicago’s Office of Technology and Intellectual Property improves digital communications
The University of Chicago Office of Technology and Intellectual Property recently redesigned its website providing a new look, feature stories and more detailed information about their organization and offerings. The office will soon launch its own electronic newsletter. Check out UChicagoTech’s new site.

More University of Chicago news.

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