the Vol. 64B - No. 15 ulletin April 30, 2010 THE BLUEPRINT UPDATE In the months since we first began discussing the Blueprint with employees, we’ve put a tremendous amount of effort into laying the groundwork for many of the projects it includes. This special edition of the Bulletin is designed to show some of the Roger Stoutenburgh substantial progress that’s being made across the Lab — in both our science and our operations directorates. I’m very encouraged by our Blueprint progress so far. The highlights, for me, are that we have aligned our expertise in D0150405 life sciences, environmental science, and By Sam Aronson climate within the Environment & Life Sciences Directorate, and, similarly, aligned our applied science, engineering, and commercialization expertise within the Global & Regional Solutions Directorate — and that we’ve hired two very talented and respected ALDs (Gerry Stokes and Reinhold Mann) to manage them. Also, our strong group focus on safety appears to be paying off in the form of fewer accidents and injuries, and we’ve gotten some positive feedback on traffic safety improvement as well. Finally, one of the Blueprint goals is to provide our researchers with updated facilities — and the work under way at the Interdisciplinary Science Building is an exciting precursor of things to come. While all this activity is going on, I know from my recent discussions with staff that some of you still do not have a clear picture of what we are doing, why we are doing it, and what role individual employees play in this process. My goal here is to answer some of these questions and address the concerns you’ve shared. It’s important to understand the impetus behind the Blueprint. Although I’ve said repeatedly that we need to “grow the Lab,” some have asked, “Why can’t we leave things as they are and continue down the path we were on?” That’s an excellent question. The short answer is that we do not have the funds needed to invest in our future — we are basically treading water. If we want to sustain Brookhaven as a premier basic science and technology laboratory, a “center of excellence” in accelerator science and technology, and an institution with impact from discovery through deployment, we’ll require additional investment funds. We have three primary options for increasing our investment funds. We can raise the “tax” on money coming into the Lab (overhead rates), but that decreases our competitiveness for new projects and limits growth. We can cut costs, which will help a little, but not enough to be the main part of our strategy. Or, we can find a way to bring in more research dollars while minimizing cost increases. A “Catch-22” comes with this last solution, however: we need growth to yield the investment funds we need to grow. How do we break into this cycle? The Blueprint’s answer is to continue to grow our basic research… See Lab Director Aronson’s Blueprint Update on pg. 4 One Lab, How Will It Affect Me? We have gone care of each other, One Team Roger Stoutenburgh through many sig- adapted, and emerged nificant changes over stronger. Teamwork, Respect Help BNL’s history. We’ve Looking to the Us Reach Common Goals designed, built, used, Roger Stoutenburgh future, we again need and closed many to change to support At the start of my BNL career, I worked key scientific facili- our vision for BNL a with technician Jack Fuhrmann (now D0011104 ties (like the Graph- decade from now. The retired) to design and build a vacuum By Doon Gibbs ite Reactor and Blueprint will evoke chamber for experiments I wanted to Cosmotron), and the same unsettled do at the National Synchrotron Light replaced them with CN7-45-98 emotions that always Source. I had just completed my doctor- We are much greater than the sum of new ones (like the By Mike Bebon accompany major al degree and was pretty sure of myself our parts when we work together as Relativistic Heavy change. But, as in the and of how things ought to be done. “One Lab/One Team.” Ion Collider and past, we expect that I had never before encountered Our science and technology mis- Center for Functional the Laboratory will the level of professional accomplish- sion here is more important and excit- Nanomaterials, among others). This be a stronger, more efficient, and even ment that our technical staff offers in ing than most any on Earth. In broad tradition of change continues as we more exciting place to work as a result. designing and building sophisticated terms, our mission is nothing less than build the National Synchrotron Light Our expectation is that Blueprint instrumentation — a unique feature finding the key steps to turn around Source II (NSLS-II) and transition will set the stage for an era of personal of the national laboratories. It was a the nation’s energy and climate prob- over staff as we close the NSLS. Each and program growth and diversity. It game-changing moment for me to re- lems (the most important problems of these changes was simultaneously will change some of our jobs, but will alize how well Jack and I complement- of this generation) and understanding exhilarating and scary, as fundamen- not result in reductions in staff. Much ed each other. The instrumentation we the origin of the universe! tal change always is. Looking back, work that is needed is not being done designed together was world-class, and Each of us, whatever we do here, these changes were bold, but essential now. One focus of Blueprint is to revi- it was eventually commercialized. I’ve contributes to those goals — and all to keeping us at the leading edge of talize our business processes, eliminat- never forgotten the inspirational con- our goals — just by working at the science. They changed the careers of ing waste and freeing people up for versations we had and will always be Lab. And, if our Lab strategy is clear some employees, altered the nature of more significant and rewarding work grateful to Jack for showing me how and properly aligned, then everyone jobs, and created exciting opportuni- while enhancing their personal and well a national lab can work when we can see how their jobs contribute to… ties for many. It was painful at times, professional growth. Rather than… share our expertise. The bottom line: See One Team inside. but we absorbed the changes, took See Affecting Me inside. The Bulletin April 30, 2010 XXXXXX Roy Lebel, who heads the Quality Management Office, discusses Blueprint with his group — one of many similar meetings Roger Stoutenburgh being held across the site. Affecting Me from pg. 1 load that previously sapped the time One Team from pg. 1 Another area where we test this policy …staff reductions, our concern is en- and energy of our science leaders, these …the whole, and how they fit into is in job performance. We expect high- suring a top-notch workforce for BNL leaders will be able to immerse them- DOE’s overall mission to “discover level (but safe) performance, which as the “Boomer” generation exits the selves in science, pursuing new direc- the solutions that power and secure often requires a dialogue on sugges- workplace and tions and exploring growth opportuni- America’s future.” tions for improvement. We can do a the competition ties. We’ll empower science directorates Sharing important, over-arching better job of this at all levels. for top talent to manage their operations, select the goals is just one of the ways in which Several aspects of the Blueprint are intensifies. To support services they need, and insist we become designed to help bring us together. meet these chal- on the quality they deserve. “One Lab.” Expanding leadership training, CN7-45-98 lenges, Blue- Our staff will work in mission-ready Given that, it developing Laboratory core values print includes a facilities, professionally managed is surprising and behaviors, and communicating a new approach by Facilities & Operations in close that we are broad understanding of our Labora- D0011104 to managing coordination with science operations sometimes as tory strategy and vision are part of the human re- managers. We will all enjoy new op- fragmented answer. Another part is developing Mike Bebon sources and to portunities and an improved quality and parochial initiatives that will require contribu- Roger Stoutenburgh preparing our of life as Laboratory growth allows as we are. For tions from multiple directorates to staff for future new investments. example, many succeed. career success, So, will all this work go exactly as Doon Gibbs of us — myself One example of this involves our producing an unprecedented decade of planned? Probably not. We’ll have Roger Stoutenburgh included — of- energy and climate initiatives, which exciting career opportunity at BNL. some false starts and dead ends along ten refer to the will bring together staff and manage- Perhaps most significantly, Blueprint the way. But we will keep at it, chang- “science side” or the “support side.” ment from four directorates (Environ- envisions a Brookhaven National Labo- ing and evolving as necessary. Or, we identify with our directorate, ment & Life Sciences, Global & Re- ratory where we are one lab and one Blueprint is a multi-year journey department, or division so strongly gional Solutions, Basic Energy Sciences team that leverages the power of broad that we are on together as One Lab. that we lose sight of the interests of and Light Sources) to work on solu- mutual respect and cooperation. By We need all of your thoughts, others, and, ultimately, the best inter- tions to key scientific challenges.