BNL Director John Marburger Addresses the 'State of the Lab'
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Vol. 53 - No. 8 March 12, 1999 BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY First Anniversary of BSA BNL Director John Marburger Addresses the ‘State of the Lab’ To mark the first anniversary on Marburger announced the beginning March 1 of BSA’s becoming BNL’s of decontamination and decommission- management and operations contrac- ing the Brookhaven Graphite Research tor for DOE, Laboratory Director John Reactor, and the development of a Marburger delivered a “state of the system for minimizing the Lab’s Laboratory” address to a filled Berkner wastestream, “so that today’s waste Hall on Monday, March 8. never becomes a legacy.” In his speech, the Director focused The Lab’s People on three themes: first, BNL’s improved interactions with the local commu- Marburger had opened his talk by nity; second, the continued develop- asking his audience to honor the ment of a “system of assurance” and memory of nine BNL employees and other management systems; and, guests who had died during the past third, the successes of the people who year. The final third of his talk high- do the work of the Laboratory. lighted the Lab’s people and their ac- As a result of his “year of immer- complishments. sion in the Brookhaven experience,” After reviewing management Marburger found, “The state of the changes and arrivals and departures Lab is the state of the Lab’s people and over the past year (see sidebar, page where we are in relation to the com- Roger Stoutenburgh 2), the Director spoke of employees’ munities that we serve.” involvement in the four focus groups that were organized in response to the Caring About the Community recent employee survey. While the In describing how the Lab’s com- groups’ final recommendations are munity relations have evolved over the pending, Marburger announced that past year, Marburger pointed to the he has already taken some actions recent Newsday series on BNL because Such a system of assurance, said do it if we want to work with the suggested to him by the groups, such it has “put a human face on the Lab.” the Director, is designed to satisfy the hazardous equipment and materials as the new Monday Memo e-mail news- The importance of that human face public, as well as the Lab’s sponsors we need for our scientific mission.” letter. was noted in the community survey and regulators. “Until every employee Marburger explained that, in line One of the purposes of the Monday conducted last fall, which had shown understands and internalizes this idea with other DOE facilities, the Lab is Memo, Marburger explained, is to dis- that the Lab’s neighbors learn best of the system of assurance, the Labo- applying the concepts of ISM to its pel rumors. One rumor he discussed, about the Lab from its employees, and ratory is at risk of fines, suspension of other management systems (see to applause from the audience, per- that employees’ personal accounts work, and public outrage,” he said. sidebar, page 2). tained to Lab benefits: He stated that have more credibility than other Establishing the system of assur- Another important reassurance for no significant changes in benefits were sources. ance “may sound like a lot of red tape,” the community, Marburger said, is planned, although ways to reduce the The Lab has worked hard in the Marburger continued. “However, it is the acceleration of the Lab’s Superfund cost of benefits were always being in- last year, Marburger said, “to multi- the only way anyone knows to give cleanup. He thanked Michael Schlen- vestigated. ply our personal contacts with people assurance before the work is done that der, Assistant Laboratory Director for This fiscal year’s budget is tight, and groups outside BNL.” it will be done safely.” Environmental Management, and his the Director reported, but it should This has been accomplished The whole process is part of ‘Inte- staff for the tremendous progress made suffice as a result of the one-time sal- through, among other means (see grated Safety Management’ [ISM],” to date (see sidebar, page 2). ary-increase deferral for some employ- sidebar, page 2), the employees en- he continued, “and we are required to Regarding future cleanup projects, ees. Regarding the Lab’s budget for rolled in the envoy program of the the next fiscal year, Marburger told Community Relations Office, as well those gathered that he had no solid as its tour program, which has experi- information yet. enced a rise in visitor attendance since Some Scientific Achievements As he explained, the shift from RHIC last year, especially among families construction to RHIC operations fund- who hope to develop their children’s At BNL Since March 1, 1998 ing is expected, together with a major interest in science. reduction in the high-energy physics “The community needs to see BNL •Publication regarding a promising new treatment for drug addiction, budget. To review how support ser- employees as approachable, respon- using a European epilepsy drug known as GVG. vices are being paid for at the Lab, sible and responsive to their concerns,” •Completion and installation of the 1,740 superconducting magnets for Marburger announced the existence Marburger said, including employees the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), to be commissioned this of a Lab budget-policy advisory com- who direct and manage programs and year. mittee, chaired by Thomas Kirk, As- projects. For instance, the Director •Success of the first simulated-data test at the RHIC computing sociate Director for High Energy & said, “Mike Schlender speaks to envi- facility. Nuclear Physics. ronmental issues, Mike Bebon speaks •Progress on the continuing construction of RHIC’s four experiments. Marburger spoke of some of the to facilities issues, Satoshi Ozaki greets •First data taken by the muon g-2 experiment at the Alternating “real work” being done at the Lab (see RHIC tours, and Tom Ludlum explains Gradient Synchroton. sidebar, left), such as addiction re- RHIC science to community leaders.” •Beginning of new clinical trials of two promising cancer therapies search, RHIC, and the scientific com- Marburger also spoke of the Lab’s developed at BNL: boron neutron capture therapy for brain tumors, puting made possible by the BNL-built now regular interactions with other and tin-117m DTPA for bone cancer. RIKEN BNL supercomputer. He also organizations through the Commu- •Dedication of new facilities, including: the 0.6-teraflop RIKEN BNL discussed the five Laboratory initia- nity Advisory Council, the Brookhaven supercomputer, winner of the Gordon Bell price-performance prize; tives being developed with Lab-di- Executive Roundtable, and the Suf- the LEAF radiation chemistry facility; a 300-kilovolt electron micro- rected R&D funds: data-intensive com- folk County Task Force. scope for materials science studies; the Center for International puting, the human proteome project, After listing means by which BNL Security Studies; and upgraded laboratories to support brain-imag- the deep untraviolet free electron la- has reached out to the community, ing research using positron emission tomography. ser, the environmental carbon obser- Marburger added, “If we do our jobs well •Awarding of 17 patents for BNL technologies. vatory project, and the muon collider. and maintain open communication •Initiation of nine Cooperative Research & Development Agreements After reviewing the research of the with our neighbors, and take their con- (CRADAs) with industrial partners. future, Marburger congratulated two cerns seriously into account as we plan •Launching in Long Island’s waters of brown-tide monitoring buoys outstanding BNL scientists, Maurice and do our work, then we can count on designed and built by BNL, which provide data to researchers world- Goldhaber, BNL Distinguished Scien- their respect and appreciation.” wide via the Internet. tist and former Lab Director, who won •Continued work on the superconductivity phenomenon of “charge DOE’s highest honor, the Enrico Fermi Assuring the Community stripes” and first evidence of an unusually broad energy scale in Award; and Joanna Fowler, Chemis- Marburger defined “doing our jobs cuprates as they made the transition to superconduction. try Department, who was honored with well” as not only working safely, but •Discoveries on the brain’s response to cocaine, Ritalin and aging. DOE’s E.O. Lawrence Award. also, assuring the community that •Further development of soil-cleaning technologies involving citric “Society has given us the tools to work will be done safely now and at all acid and bacteria, and of a novel way to treat mercury mixed waste. forge new knowledge and looks to us to times in the future. •Joint publication of a new way to pinpoint leaks with PFT tracers. set standards of achievement for the To achieve this, Marburger de- •Obtaining of an NIH grant for new structural biology facility at BNL’s nation,” Marburger concluded. “I am scribed a “system of assurance” which National Synchrotron Light Source. deeply impressed with how often the calls first for written work procedures, •First image of the AIDS virus as it latches onto its target cell. people of this Laboratory have risen to then for work to be done according to •Development of a lithium-niobium oxide crystal detector for use in these expectations, and I am confi- these procedures, and, finally, for checks particle accelerators and fiber optics. (continued on page 2) dent that we will continue to do so in to make sure the procedures are used. the future.” Brookhaven Bulletin March 12, 1999 Science Success (cont'd) BNL Personnel, • Continued work with former Soviet countries to protect nuclear material. Org. Chart Changes • Studies of hyperons made using kaon beams at the Alternating Gradient Since 3/1/98 Synchrotron. • George Malosh became the on-site • FM laser spectroscopy to analyze DOE Brookhaven Group Manager; reactions occurring when a fuel burns.