2004-2005 MIDYEAR REPORT Academic Education Committee Health Physics Society Mark Rudin - Chair Report Prepared by Mark J. Rudin, Ph.D. January 11, 2005 Abstract The Academic Education Committee (AEC) has been and continues to be very active in a number of areas. Accomplishments/activities during the first half of the 2004-2005 time period included: 1. Administration of Health Physics Society (HPS) Fellowship and Travel Grant Awards 2. Maintenance of Student Branch Programs 3. A fifth health physics program participated in the Applied Science Accreditation Commission (ASAC) of the American Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc. (ABET) accreditation process. Page 220 Report Outline: I. Recommendations for Action II. Subcommittee Assignments for 2004-2005 III. Progress Reports 2003-2004 HPS Fellow Selections 2003-2004 Student Travel Grants Student Branch Program Health Physics Education Reference Book Health Physics Program Directors Organization Accreditation Sub-Committee Revision of the Careers in Health Physics brochure I. Recommendations for Action 1. The Committee anxiously awaits the approval of its Rules/Operating Procedures. Once the rules are approved, the AEC will be able to appoint individuals from the AEC Subcommittee on Accreditation to the ANS and the American Academy of Health Physics. John Poston and Rich Brey have agreed to serve as the liasions for the ANS and Academy, respectively. 2. Chuck Roessler has graciously served as the HPS Commissioner on the Applied Sciences Accreditation Commission (ASAC) of ABET for two terms (2003-04 and 2004-05). Note that ASAC is the ABET commission under which accreditation of Health Physics Academic Programs is conducted. Commissioner terms are for one year with members eligible for reappointment for up to five terms. However, Dr. Roessler has indicated that he is not available to serve a third term. The AEC recommends that the HPS consider nominating Richard Brey as its ABET/ASAC Commissioner. Dr. Brey is certainly qualified for the position. He has successfully completed ABET Program Evaluator (PEV) Training, participated in a site visit as an observer in Fall 2003, and participated in an HP program site visit as a full-fledged PEV in October 2004. Dr. Brey has also been serving as the HPS point of contact with ABET and he is the HPS member most familiar with the workings of ABET. Most importantly, he has indicated that he is willing to serve as the HPS Commissioner. There are actually two functions to be covered by an ABET-participating society - Commissioner and Society Point of Contact. According to recent discussions with ABET, these functions can be covered by the same individual. Subsequently, the AEC recommends that the Society nominate Dr. Brey as both HPS Commissioner and Point of Contact. The AEC will work with the HPS Executive Committee to support this initiative. 3. In the advent of Chuck Roessler submitting his resignation as the HPS ABET/ASAC Commissioner and a valued ASAC PEV, and the natural attrition of other HPS PEVs, the Society is in desperate need of new PEVs for future accreditation activities. A number of years ago, the Society hosted an individual from ABET to offer an all-day training course to prospective PEVs at an annual meeting. The event was well attended and certainly did an Page 221 excellent job in providing participants with the necessary tools to become effective PEVs. However, due to the current shortage of PEVs, the AEC is requesting that the Society consider hosting another ABET PEV Training Session at the 2005 meeting in Spokane. The AEC will compile a list of individuals who will be asked to participate in this training. As in the past, the AEC is requesting that the Society pay any expenses incurred by the ABET instructor for this event. An initial estimate of these costs is $1,500. II. Subcommittee Assignments for 2004-2005 AEC Chair: Mark Rudin AEC Co-Chair: Derek Jokisch HPS Fellowships Rick Cummings (Chair), Clayton French, with assistance from Northern California Chapter of the Health Physics Society (NCCHPS) member Charlie Schmidt HPS Travel Grants Clayton French (Chair), Eduardo Farfan, John Zimbrick Student Branch Programs Ian Hamilton (Chair), Erno Sajo HP Education Reference Book Wes Bolch (consultant), Ted Lazo (consultant) Subcommittee for the Accreditation of Health Physics Programs Mark Rudin (Chair), AEC representative - Derrick W. Jokisch. Consultants to AEC/Accreditation Subcommittee members: Richard Brey, Wes Bolch, Tom Borak, Jack Couch, John Poston and Bob Fjeld III. Progress Reports A. 2004-2005 HPS Fellow Selections The following individuals were recommended by the AEC for 2004–2005 HPS fellowships: Burton J Moyer Fellowship: Jonathan Saleeby – U Mass Lowell Robert Gardner Memorial Fellowship: Zhonglu Wang – Georgia Tech Landauer Fellowship: Robert Staton – U of Florida Page 222 Richard Burk Fellowship: Atdrienne Lehnert – U of Michigan J. N. Stannard Fellowship: Deborah Falta – Clemson HPS Fellowship: Ashley Gann – UNLV The AEC is continuing to consider ways to enhance the available resources for fellowships. The idea is to discuss the opportunity for corporations to directly sponsor students under named fellowship programs. This idea was brought to the attention of the board of directors with approval in the past. The Committee looks forward to working with the HPS Executive Committee to accomplish this in the most diplomatic fashion possible. B. 2004 Student Travel Grants No significant issues were identified in disbursement and fulfillment of the 2004 Travel Grant Program. The Subcommittee on HPS Travel Grants received 26 student applications in 2004. The number of applicants in previous years is as follows: Year Number of applicants 1997 60 1998 47 1999 53 2000 40 2001 36 2002 56 2003 43 2004 26 C. Student Branch Program The committee feels strongly that the student branch program has been and continues to be a great success. At present, the Society has 17 formally chartered student branches: 1. Colorado State University 2. Georgia Institute of Technology 3. Idaho State University 4. Lakeshore Technical College 5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology 6. New Mexico's Universities 7. Oregon State University 8. Purdue University 9. Texas A&M University 10. Texas State Technical College Page 223 11. University of Cincinnati 12. University of Florida 13. University of Michigan 14. University of Missouri at Columbia 15. University of Nevada - Las Vegas 16. University of Tennessee - Knoxville 17. Clemson University Committee members felt it may be appropriate to recognize students from active student chapters (i.e., turned in a student chapter annual report, etc.) at the annual meetings. One suggestion was to place some type of placard or stick on the student’s meeting badge. The Committee will continue to address this matter in the future. D. Accreditation Sub-Committee The following four health physics academic programs have been formally accredited by the Applied Science Accreditation Commission (ASAC) of the American Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc. (ABET): University of Nevada, Las Vegas, M.S. Program Idaho State University, B.S. and M.S. Programs Oregon State University, B.S. Program Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, M.S. Program Note that a fifth program participated in an ASAC/ABET site visit during 2004. There is every intention to keep the Accreditation Sub-Committee as a viable entity under the AEC. This sub-committee will continue to be responsible for maintaining the accreditation program for the HPS. They are the organization that considers, and if appropriate, recommends to ASAC/ABET changes to the accreditation criteria. They are also responsible for maintaining a pool of approved ABET evaluators, and dissemination of accreditation information to academic programs as appropriate. The chair of the AEC will additionally serve as the chair of the AEC’s Accreditation Sub-Committee. Page 224 Page 1 of 7 Media Relations Recommendations 4/6/2005 Recommendations of the Ad Hoc Committee on HPS Media Relations Committee Members: Andrew Karam, Chair Genevieve Roessler, Editor Health Physics Society Web Site, HP News Benjamin Stein, American Institute of Physics Daniel McGrane, Chair Health Physics Society Public Education Committee Elizabeth Whelan, President American Council on Science and Health Ralph Andersen, Nuclear Energy Institute Abstract Radiation and radioactivity are widely used in our society in areas that include medical, research, industry, and power generation. There is widespread ignorance of radiation and its effects across a wide spectrum of our society, including members of the media, and this ignorance causes many to either forgo the benefits of radiation and radioactivity, or to take inappropriate actions when they are exposed to radiation. In the event of a radiological emergency, this could also lead to large-scale unwarranted panic and poor decision-making throughout society, possibly exacerbated by poor media coverage. Most reporters strive to report stories in a fair and balanced manner. In the case of stories dealing with radiological issues, reporters may be unable to do this because they are not aware of information resources available for such stories, and because health physicists are often reluctant to speak with reporters. In this report, we recommend a number of ways for the HPS to respond to breaking stories, to develop and provide information resources (written, electronic, and personnel) to the media, and for the HPS to proactively contact the media when it is appropriate. We suggest this process include a media liaison effort similar to that of the HPS legislative liaison, including retaining a professional media representative. Towards this end, we recommend the following action items, to be completed prior to the HPS Annual Meeting. 1. Investigate the costs associated with the actions recommended in this document. 2. Investigate possible funding mechanisms for this effort. 3. Develop list of HPS members to serve as the HPS Media Liaison and as HPS media contacts, for submission to the Board of Directors. 4. Develop a list of potential media contacts in the print, television, and radio media.