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Vol. 52 - No. 30 July 31, 1998 BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY Dick Setlow Steps Down as Associate Director, Life Sciences; Returns to Research in BNL’s Biology, Medical Departments After 12 years as Associate Direc- crease human susceptibility to skin tor and two years as Acting Associate cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer Director of Life Sciences, as well as and others. I only regret that there are seven years as Chairman of the Biol- not enough hours in the day for me to ogy Department during his 24 years do both science and administration. at BNL, Richard (Dick) Setlow stepped So — back to science.” down from the Directorship on July 1. After receiving an A.B. degree from He will remain at BNL as Senior Bio- Swarthmore College in 1941, Setlow physicist in the Biology and Medical earned his Ph.D. in physics from Yale Departments. University in 1947. He taught physics “Dick has made many discoveries and biophysics at Yale from 1941 to relating to the process of DNA repair 1961 and studied the quantitative di- in cells, and built research groups in rect effects of ionizing and UV radia- this field at both Oak Ridge National tion on proteins and nucleic acids. Laboratory [ORNL] and BNL,” wrote In 1961, Setlow moved to ORNL to Laboratory Director John Marburger do full-time research, where he and in his announcement of Setlow’s step- coworkers were the first to demon- ping down. “We owe much of the vital- strate that UV light induces struc- ity and productivity of our life sciences tural defects in DNA, the substance here to his leadership. On behalf of the that is the molecular basis of heredi- Laboratory, I thank Dick for his ex- tary, that can cause biological dam- traordinary service to BNL, as well as age. He then showed that bacterial Roger Stoutenburgh to science.” cells can repair defects in DNA, by a Said Setlow, “Doing fundamental process called nucleotide excision re- science is not only interesting, intrigu- pair. ing, and fun, but has much unforeseen This discovery showed for the first utility. Thus, DNA repair, discovered time that the genetic materiel is sub- in the responses of bacteria to ultra- ject to biochemical turnover, a notion Dick Setlow violet [UV] radiation in 1964, was disputed then by most geneticists. This called, by the journal Science, the ‘Mol- ground-breaking research stimulated Joining the staff of BNL’s Biology to stratospheric ozone depletion by ecule of the Year’ in 1994. We now a new interest in the field, since cer- Department in 1974, Setlow studied supersonic planes or chlorofluorocar- know many different types of repair tain genetic diseases stem from inher- UV damage to DNA so as to under- bons. With his team, he found that the systems and that repair defects in- ited deficiencies in DNA repair. stand effects on skin that might be due (continued on page 2) Hank Grahn Retires Today as BSA Chief Financial Officer, BNL Assistant Director, Finance & Administration Having served BNL for almost 40 smoothly. The entire Laboratory is years, helped the Lab through the indebted to Hank for his willingness transition between AUI and BSA, and to help BNL through the most admin- worked with BSA to establish a frame- istratively difficult months in its 50- work for future fiscal years, BNL’s year history.” Assistant Laboratory Director for Fi- With his retirement home in Spring nance and Administration, Henry Hill, Florida, completed one year ago (Hank) Grahn, who is also BSA’s Chief this month, Grahn could have left the Financial Officer, is retiring today. Lab 12 months ago, at a time when “Hank’s long experience in the vari- BNL’s future was as uncertain as who ous budget and administrative offices its next management and operating in the Lab, combined with an ener- contractor would be. However, Grahn getic ‘can do’ attitude, has helped this explains, “I decided to stay on, to help Laboratory through many difficult epi- lead the Lab through the difficult sodes,” notes Laboratory Director John months, to help mitigate the financial Marburger. “Hank accepted many re- and administrative problems that I sponsibilities and gave his time freely knew were ahead.” to help make the Lab function But now, having led the Lab’s tran- Searches Are On, Interim Assignments Are Made Roger Stoutenburgh With Richard Setlow’s return to research in the Biology and Medical Departments as of July 1 (see story, top of page), a search, led by Deputy Director for Science & Technology Peter Paul, has been on for a new BNL Associate Director for Life Sciences. In the interim, Special Assistant to the Director Peter Bond has assumed Setlow’s former administrative responsibility for the Institu- Hank Grahn tional Biosafety Committee and the Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee, and Bond now serves as the point of contact for human sition team and helped introduce the BSA Board of Directors issued a reso- studies at BNL. new people to the Lab’s financial and lution, directing Grahn “to enjoy his Another search, this one headed by Deputy Director for Operations administrative operations, and hav- retirement to the fullest extent pos- Thomas Sheridan, is ongoing for a new Associate Director for Finance & ing worked through the Lab’s terrible sible, ignoring and dismissing all ob- Administration, given Henry Grahn’s retirement from the Lab at the end budget problems this fiscal year and stacles that may impede such enjoy- of today (see story, middle of page). In the meantime, Greg Ogeka, who worked with BSA to return both a ment.” is Manager of the Administrative Support Division (ASD), is Interim larger percentage and a larger dollar Though the Grahns are anticipat- Assistant Director for Finance & Administration. amount of its fee to BNL, “I accom- ing enjoying a lot of time on the golf Assisting Ogeka in this role are two employees on temporary assign- plished what I wanted to do,” says course, Hank Grahn will still keep his ment: Fiscal Officer Mark Israel of ASD’s Fiscal Group, and Kevin Fox, Grahn. “I still have my health and I hand in BNL’s financial and adminis- a senior contracts specialist in the Contracts & Procurement Division. feel great. Marie, my wife of 41 years trative affairs: because “the Labora- In Ogeka’s absence from ASD, Lance Warren, Manager of Operations who works as a senior administrative tory simply cannot let a valuable asset & Maintenance of the Plant Engineering Division, is serving as Interim secretary in the Physics Department, slip away,” Marburger has invited ASD Manager. And, while Israel is on assignment, Deputy Fiscal Officer has been here 21 years and she’s ready Grahn to continue his association with Susan Perino is overseeing the Fiscal Group. to go, so it is time that we retire.” the Lab as a consultant, an invitation In honor of Grahn’s retirement, the (continued on page 2) Brookhaven Bulletin July 31, 1998 Stony Brook Resident Wins BWIS 1998 Chasman Scholarship March Into May Final Results Are In Roseanna Ryan of Stony Brook has have been Long Island women whose In 1995, Ryan enrolled part time at won the 1998 Renate W. Chasman college education had been inter- SCC, becoming a full-time student in BNL was one of ten organizations Scholarship for Women. rupted, but who had returned to school 1996. She was graduated this spring nationwide selected to participate in a The $2,000 scholarship is awarded at least part time to study for a degree. with an associate’s degree in liberal ten-week physical activity program annually by Brookhaven Women in This years’s winner, Roseanna arts with an emphasis in math. called March Into May. Sponsored by Science (BWIS), a not-for-profit orga- Ryan, after graduating from Cen- To earn a bachelor’s degree, she the Centers for Disease Control and nization formed to promote the ad- tereach High School in 1984, attended will matriculate this fall in the ap- the National Coalition for Promoting vancement of women in the scientific, Suffolk County Physical Activity, the program ran engineering, and technical professions. Community College from March until May, and it was This year’s award was presented to (SCC) for two se- designed to help everyone, regardless Ryan at the July 21st BWIS Summer mesters, but her of their physical-fitness and activity Reception by Editor-in-Chief Martin education was in- levels at the start. Blume of the American Physical Soci- terrupted due to After setting personal goals for regu- ety, who is a senior physicist in BNL’s family concerns. lar activity, participants tracked their Physics Department and was the guest Having discon- progress using a daily activity log. As speaker at the event. tinued her studies, recorded within the log, every ten min- As a colleague and friend of the late she took a secre- utes of exercise was worth one point. Renate Chasman, the world-renowned tarial position at a At BNL, of the 360 employees who accelerator physicist for whom the speech patholog- expressed interest in the program, 336 scholarship is named, Blume recalled ists’s office. In 1988, returned the initial survey, in which highlights of Chasman’s career at BNL, she worked as a participants disclosed their current where she was chief theorist in the teller at North Fork fitness and activity levels, and set groups that designed and built the Bank, and, in 1992, their personal goals. 200-million-electron-volt linear accel- she took a clerical Of the 336 participants, 251 — 75 erator injector for the Alternating Gra- position at Univer- percent — reached their personal dient Synchrotron.