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April 9, 2009

This Month in Research Update:

UChicago Argonne, LLC News

Argonne Science Policy Council considers regional energy initiative
Leaders from top Midwestern research universities gathered last month to discuss the formation of a regional energy consortium called the Great Lakes Alliance for Sustainable Energy Research (GLASER) to leverage the strengths and resources of participating institutions in developing a new research paradigm in support of the goals of the Obama administration’s energy initiatives. The conference, convened by the leaders of Science Policy Council member institutions, Argonne, University of Chicago, Northwestern University and the University of Illinois, was designed to develop a more refined strategy to structure and pursue support for the initiative. The Science Policy Council is responsible for guiding the interactions and scientific directions of Argonne and its Illinois academic partners.

“The initial meeting was very productive,” says Don Levy, Chair of the Science Policy Council and Vice President for Research and for National Laboratories at the University of Chicago. “We discussed broad research themes that the different institutions are pursuing, how they differentiate our region from others and how this initiative might help overcome some barriers that have hindered fully collaborative R&D in the past.” The goal, says Levy, is to identify big problems that require a large-scale, collective approach that best leverages the region’s significant research capabilities and facilities.

The next meeting of the group is being planned for May 26-27 in Chicago.

Ricketts Laboratory prepares for CDC visit
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will soon conduct a site visit at The University’s Howard T. Ricketts Regional Biocontainment Laboratory at Argonne, a final step leading to authorization for the laboratory to begin research activities. The Ricketts Laboratory completed its application to register the facility with the CDC several weeks ago. Authorization to work with select agents is expected within 2-4 weeks of the site visit.

“We’ll still have a few hurdles to overcome before we are authorized,” says Joe Kanabrocki, Assistant Dean for Biosafety, Associate Professor of Microbiology, Biological Sciences Division, University of Chicago. “At the lab itself, we have to make sure that we run through all of our standard operating procedures with non-select surrogate agents before we begin research with select agents. We also need to conduct drills and exercises with Argonne Police and Fire Departments and Emergency Response Teams.” The laboratory is also testing systems and conducting operations to ensure everything is ready to go when the green light is given.

The Ricketts Laboratory will be operated as a fee for service operation. Funding for current research activities comes from the Great Lakes Regional Center of Excellence (GLCRE) for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Research. Project work for the Center, currently undertaken at the University of Chicago’s Biosafety Level-3 facilities, will be transitioned to the Ricketts Laboratory and occupy about half of the facility’s bench space. Kanabrocki expects that 10-15 people will start in the lab initially working with select agents.

The Ricketts Laboratory is a state of the art laboratory where scientists study the molecular mechanisms of infectious disease and conduct translational research to develop products such as diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines. Research at the laboratory will be directed towards improving prevention, intervention and therapy of infectious diseases all over the world.

“I think it’s fair to say that we could realistically be up and running as early as May 1— short timeline, or by June 1, at the very latest,” says Kanabrocki.

For more information about the Ricketts Laboratory, please visit http://www.htrl.uchicago.edu/.

Third cohort to begin Strategic Laboratory Leadership Program
On May 11th a select group of Argonne, Fermilab, and University researchers and staff will assemble to form the next cohort of the Strategic Laboratory Leadership Program (SSLP), now in its third year. 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.

Previously, fifteen Argonne and ten Fermilab employees were selected for the program based on their applications and supervisor recommendations. More recently, University faculty members were invited to join the program to encourage more collaboration between University researchers and laboratory scientists as well as to offer researchers the opportunity to hone their leadership skills.

Rustem Ismagilov, Professor, Department of Chemistry, Physical Sciences Division, was the first faculty member to join the program. “I found the program very stimulating,” said Ismagilov. “It was exciting to work with people outside of the usual circle, establish new contacts, and learn more about leadership.”

For program participants, the program offers the opportunity to better understand their strengths and think more strategically about their jobs.

“One class taught us how to manage in the ‘white space.’ It was so relevant to what we do at the Lab,” said Ravi Madduri, Principal Software Development Specialist, Math and Computer Science Division (MCS) at Argonne. “Most of the time there are opportunities that you don’t really see unless you take some time and think about them.’

‘I now realize that there are two parts to my job―one is to manage more tangible and concrete day-to-day activities; the other is to look into the future at strategic opportunities that we can work on. I started to do this more consciously after the class. It was a definite help.”

Case in point: Madduri reached out to a group at the Advanced Photon Source to look for areas for collaboration. Now, both teams are working on ways for beam-line scientists to analyze the data they are procuring from the beam-line using some of the web services tools developed at MCS.

“The classes made me realize that the issues I see in my job everyday are not uncommon― people have seen them before and have come up with some tools that have allowed them to deal with these issues more efficiently,” said Madduri. “Sometimes you get so busy that you don’t take the time to think about what you are doing. Now, I have a more disciplined approach.”

Similar to previous years, the SLLP curriculum will be offered in three sections: leadership (May 11-14), strategic thinking (August 31 – September 1) and leading change and innovation (November 12-13). Additionally, participants have a year to select an open enrollment workshop conducted by faculty of the Executive Education Program at the Booth School.

Eric Isaacs named director of Argonne National Laboratory
Eric D. Isaacs, a prominent University of Chicago physicist and senior administrator at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, has been selected to become the next director of Argonne. The appointment will be effective May 1, 2009. Full story.

Argonne strategic plan nearing completion
At the February meeting of the UChicago Argonne, LLC Board of Governors for Argonne Eric Isaacs, Deputy Laboratory Director for Programs, and Director-elect of Argonne National Laboratory, presented an updated strategic plan for the Laboratory which is nearing completion.

“Our vision,” he said, “is to lead the world in providing scientific and engineering solutions to the grand challenges of our time: plentiful and safe energy, a healthy environment, economic competitiveness and a secure nation.”

The mission, he stated, was to apply Argonne’s world-class user facilities, science and engineering to deliver innovative research and technologies to create new knowledge for the benefit of the nation. He also discussed the Laboratory’s core values and operating principles which highlighted discovery and innovation, safety, sponsor satisfaction, respect for community, and partnering for research and education.

Isaacs will present the strategic plan to the U.S. Department of Energy later this month. His term as Director of Argonne will begin on May 1, 2009.

Dynes, Karsner and Wright join Board of Governors for Argonne
UChicago Argonne, LLC has named Robert C. Dynes, former President, University of California, Andy Karsner, energy infrastructure developer and financier and former Assistant Secretary of Energy for Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and Mary Ann Wright, Chief Executive Officer of Johnson Controls-Saft, and Vice President and General Manager, Hybrid Systems for Johnson Controls, to the Board of Governors for Argonne National Laboratory.

Dynes, a renowned physicist and an expert researcher in semiconductors and solid state circuits, served as President of the University of California from October 2003 until his recent retirement. A first-generation college graduate, Professor Dynes served as the sixth Chancellor of UC’s San Diego campus from 1996 to 2003. He came to UC San Diego in 1990 after a 22-year career at AT&T Bell Laboratories, where he served as department head of semiconductor and materials physics research and director of the chemical physics research laboratory. His numerous scientific honors include the 1990 Fritz London Award in Low Temperature Physics and his election to the National Academy of Sciences in 1989.

Dynes is a professor of physics at UC Berkeley and UC San Diego where he directs a laboratory that focuses on superconductivity and incorporates postdoctoral and graduate students in physics and materials science as well as undergraduates. As a professor of physics at UC San Diego, he founded an interdisciplinary laboratory where chemists, electrical engineers, and private industry researchers investigated the properties of metals, semiconductors, and superconductors. He subsequently became chairman of the physics department and then Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.

Dynes is active in the national scientific arena. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He serves on the Executive Committee of the U.S. Council on Competitiveness and has served on the Executive Council of the National Academy of Sciences. He is a Fellow of the California Council on Science and Technology and a member of the Business-Higher Education Forum. He serves on the California Commission for Jobs and Economic Growth and the Governor’s Nurse Education Initiative Task Force, and is a member of the Oakland CEO Council.

Karsner recently completed a remarkable tenure as America’s ninth Assistant Secretary of Energy for Efficiency and Renewable Energy and has resumed his career as an energy infrastructure developer and financier. He has been named to the Board of Directors of Applied Materials (the world’s leading nanomanufacturer and supplier to the global solar industry), is a Distinguished Fellow of the Council on Competitiveness, and serves on the Advisory Boards to the Automotive X Prize and Freedom Prize. His counsel and voice continue to be sought out by business, academic, industry, diplomatic and political leaders worldwide.

As U.S. Assistant Secretary of Energy, Karsner managed the federal applied science, research, development, and deployment portfolio (~ $2 Billion), promoting marketplace integration of renewable and environmentally sound energy technologies for transportation, generation, and efficiency. He was DOE’s only senior regulatory official for efficiency codes and standards for appliances, buildings and vehicles.

Responsible for building bipartisan coalitions to pass the landmark Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 and implementing the comprehensive Energy Policy Act of 2005, Karsner testified before Congress on more than twenty occasions. The Wall Street Journal dubbed him “the Wolf in the Henhouse” for his relentless efforts to keep Washington focused on the need for transformation of energy markets. He served as principal U.S. representative to the international climate change negotiations for the “Bali Roadmap” and contributed to the architecture of “the Major Economies Process”. In addition to advancing renewable and efficiency technology, Karsner bore primary responsibility for regulation, education, conservation, and efficient use of our nation's energy resources, including federal energy management and procurement, vehicle technologies, national building codes, appliance standards, and the ENERGY STAR® program, amongst others. The U.S. Green Building Council, the US Energy Association Efficiency Forum, and the Alliance to Save Energy have honored Karsner for his extraordinary record of public leadership on efficiency.

Previously, Karsner served as an international energy developer and entrepreneur in the private sector on a wide range of technologies including heavy fuel oil, distillates, natural gas, coal, wood waste/biomass, utility grade wind energy, distributed solar power. He has been involved in equity investing, asset development, operations, commodities, project management, and financing large-scale power projects in North America, Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. He has personally led and participated in financial closings in excess of half-billion dollars and has contributed to technology diffusion, job creation, and new company startups in both the developed and developing world.

Wright is the Chief Executive Officer of Johnson Controls-Saft and Vice President and General Manager, Hybrid Systems for Johnson Controls. Wright joined the company in March 2007.

Wright is responsible for accelerating the growth and executing the launch of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicle battery programs with emphasis on state of the art technology, manufacturing and electronics integration.

Prior to joining the company, Wright most recently served as Executive Vice President Engineering, Product Development, Commercial and Program Management for Collins & Aikman Corporation. Prior to joining Collins & Aikman, she served as Director, Sustainable Mobility Technologies and Hybrid Vehicle Programs at Ford Motor Company. In this capacity she was responsible for all hybrid, fuel cell and alternative fuel technology development. Wright also served as Chief Engineer of the 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid, the industry's first full hybrid SUV. She began her career at Ford in 1988, holding a variety of positions in finance, product and business planning, and engineering. She also played a major role in the launch of multiple vehicles at Ford including the initial Mercury Villager and Nissan Quest, and successive versions of the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable.

Wright has been recognized by the Wall Street Journal as one of the “Top 50 Women to Watch” and by Automotive News as one of the "Leading 100 Women in the Automotive Industry. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA), Washington DC and the Executive Board of the Greater-Milwaukee, WI YMCA.

UChicago Argonne, LLC, a University of Chicago company which operates Argonne for the U.S. Department of Energy, selects new board members from faculty, administrators and trustees of the University, as well as from other universities, national and international organizations, and from industry.

Events

Argonne, University and Caterpillar to host Midwest Energy Summit
Tackling the nation’s energy security and sustainability challenges from a regional perspective will be the focus of an invitation-only Midwest Energy Summit, “Investing in a Midwest Renaissance: The Future of Energy Security and Sustainability,” to be held at Argonne, May 13-14, 2009. The summit, sponsored by Argonne, Caterpillar, Inc. and The University of Chicago, will bring together regional leaders to discuss how forward-looking investments and policy will make possible a more successful and sustainable Midwest― and a more competitive United States of America.

With an eye on regional capabilities, participants will explore investments in energy production, storage, transmission technologies and infrastructure as well as federal policies that would spur innovation and commercialization in both public and private sectors.

“It is fitting that this summit takes place at Argonne, a historic site for the development of atomic energy, today a dynamic center for frontier research in energy and energy storage, the environment, and transportation,” says Robert Rosenberg, Associate Vice President for Public Affairs University Communications. “The summit will look at enlightened investments in research, and how these investments can be translated most effectively to public benefit.”

The summit is part of an Energy Security, Innovation & Sustainability Initiative begun by the Washington-based Council on Competitiveness. The initiative’s aim is to develop a comprehensive set of recommendations for the nation that will drive private sector demand for sustainable energy solutions and create new markets, industries and jobs. The Council plans to issue its recommendation at a national Energy Summit in Washington, D.C., September 23-24, 2009.

UChicago Argonne, LLC Board of Governors for Argonne member Deborah L. Wince-Smith is president of the Council on Competitiveness. Founded in 1986, the Council is the only national organization that brings together leading CEOs, university presidents, and labor leaders to promote U.S. productivity growth, success in global markets, and a rising standard of living for all Americans. Currently celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Council's regional, national and global portfolio aims to strengthen America's innovation capacity, the foundation for competitiveness and prosperity.

For more information, visit http://www.compete.org/.

'Around the World in 80 Telescopes' webcast to include South Pole Telescope
The South Pole Telescope (SPT), which the University of Chicago operates with eight partner organizations, will be among the observatories taking part in a 24-hour live Webcast titled "Around the World in 80 Telescopes."

The event is part of 100 Hours of Astronomy, the cornerstone project of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009). The United Nations proclaimed IYA2009 on Dec. 20, 2007, to help citizens of the world rediscover their place in the universe. More.

Free lecture series to look at world on smallest of scales
A series of nine free lectures at the University of Chicago will explore how the scientific view of the smallest constituents of ordinary matter and the forces that act upon them has changed dramatically over the past century.

"From Quantum Mechanics to the String" is the title of this spring's Arthur Holly Compton Lectures, sponsored each spring and fall by the University's Enrico Fermi Institute. The 69th series of these public lectures will begin Saturday, April 11 and will be held each Saturday through June 13 (except for May 23). The lectures will be given from 11 a.m. to noon in Room 106 of the Kersten Physics Teaching Center, 5720 S. Ellis Ave.

Compton Lectures are intended to make science accessible to a general audience and to convey the excitement of new discoveries in the physical sciences. Delivering the lectures this spring will be Nelia Mann, McCormick Fellow and Postdoctoral Researcher in the University of Chicago's Enrico Fermi Institute. Full story.

New Exhibit Chronicles History of Women at University of Chicago
What: "On Equal Terms": Educating Women at the University of Chicago
When: March 16 to July 14, 2009
Where: Joseph Regenstein Library, Special Collections Research Center, 1100 E. 57th St., Chicago

"On Equal Terms": Educating Women at the University of Chicago highlights the experiences of women at the University of Chicago. Since it welcomed its first students in the fall of 1892, the university, as stated in its charter, was committed to "provide, impart and furnish opportunities for all departments of higher education to persons of both sexes on equal terms." While the early commitment to co-education was progressive, achieving gender equality has proved to be an on-going project, one that continues to this day. More.

Free screenings to feature film director Nina Paley on April 19, 20 Nina Paley, director of the animated film Sita Sings the Blues, will discuss her film at two free screenings in Chicago before it travels to Ebertfest 2009. More.

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

University Research in the News

Researchers unravel role of priming in plant immunity
Scientists have discovered a naturally occurring compound that triggers a plant’s immune system, thereby protecting the plant from a secondary bacterial infection.

The patent-pending discovery could lead to an effective, inexpensive and environmentally safe way to improve plants’ resistance to disease, according to research to be published in Science on April 3, 2009. Full story.

Research links evolution of fins and limbs with that of gills
The genetic toolkit that animals use to build fins and limbs is the same genetic toolkit that controls the development of part of the gill skeleton in sharks, according to research to be published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on March 23, 2009, by Andrew Gillis and Neil Shubin of the University of Chicago, and Randall Dahn of Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory. Full story.

Class probes nexus of science and policy
Christine Kolb focuses on urban policy and public resource allocation at the Harris School of Public Policy Studies. And although her career interests lie in urban issues, the second-year graduate student’s childhood made her a firm believer in the importance of introducing policy students to science issues.

“I grew up with dinner conversations about inadequate federal funding of science or how policymakers were not aware of what science is, what it accomplishes, and why it’s important,” she says, referring to her father, Edward “Rocky” Kolb, the Chair of Astronomy & Astrophysics and the Arthur Holly Compton Distinguished Service Professor. “There is a chasm between the policy that regulates and funds science, and the process of science—what science must do.”

Christine’s passion for science and policy piqued the curiosity of Robert Michael, the Eliakim Hastings Moore Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in the Harris School, for whom she is a teaching assistant. An idea started to germinate between them for a class that would combine the two disciplines, which had never been explored at the Harris School.

The result was a 10-week offering called Science, Technology, and Policy—an innovative, non-credit, elective created to expose public policy students to science policy. Full story.

MacArthur Foundation awards planning grant to improve decision-making in energy policy
The University of Chicago is launching a large-scale collaboration to develop a computational modeling tool that will help a wide range of organizations in climate and energy policy decision-making.

A $350,000 planning grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation supports the effort, called CIM-EARTH (Community Integrated Model of Economic and Resource Trajectories for Humankind). Additional internal support comes from the University and Argonne National Laboratory. Full story.

Link to other recent University of Chicago news stories.

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