The 2019 edition of Intellectual Property Week kicked off on Monday, Oct. 7, 2019, with a session titled “Kickoff and the Importance of IP.”

The introductory session covered the importance of IP to Argonne, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and the U.S. You can view a recording of the session on Argonne’s training channel on YouTube.

The lineup of speakers included:

• Glenn McKeown (Argonne general counsel) and Ushma Kriplani (interim associate laboratory director, Science and Technology Partnerships and Outreach) on the importance of IP to Argonne and its mission
• Supratik Guha (Argonne and the University of Chicago) on the role of IP in building strategic laboratory programs
• Brian Lally (assistant general counsel for technology transfer, DOE) on the importance of IP to DOE and the nation

The Technology Commercialization and Partnerships division invites you to register for a presentation by David McCallum, new program capture manager, on the Sponsored Programs Information Network (SPIN) tool.

The presentation will take place at 2 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25, 2019, in Building 212, Room A157.

SPIN is advertised as the world’s largest searchable database of funding opportunities, and it is available to all Argonne researchers. SPIN offers more than 40,000 opportunities from more than 10,000 sponsors, including favorites such as the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and others. The SPIN database also includes information on a wide variety of potential new sponsors.

SPIN features a fast, capable search engine. Users can filter results, save searches, and automatically run searches and receive updates.

Given the level of competition there is around pursuing funding opportunities and the evolving priorities within DOE, many Argonne staff are seeking new forms of funding or are simply looking to put themselves in the best position to capture funding. SPIN can be a valuable tool in those efforts.

If you have questions, please contact McCallum via email or by phone at ext. 2-4338

Registration is required.

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A big thank you to all who completed the Green Ride survey and shared feedback on Argonne’s bike share, rideshare, and electric vehicle charging programs. In continuation of our outreach activities, the Sustainability program is hosting a series of focus group sessions to take a deeper dive into these programs.

All employees are welcome and encouraged to participate at any of the sessions. The feedback will help the sustainability team evaluate which programs add value and how to best support the lab staff. Information from the focus group sessions will help to improve and shape our future planning and investment in these programs.

Register now for the session that best suits your schedule. Space is limited.

Bike Share Program Session

• Monday, Oct. 21, 2019
  10 -11:30 a.m., Building 446 Auditorium
  Register here.

Rideshare Program Session

• Monday, Oct. 28, 2019
  2-3:30 p.m., Building 202, Room B169
  Register here.

Electric Vehicle Charging Program Sessions

• Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019
  2-3:30 p.m., Building 214, Room B234
  Register here.
• Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019
  10-11:30 a.m., Building 202, Room B169
  Register here.

All are welcome to join us on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019, at 2 p.m. in Building 241, Room A323, for a set of presentations and discussion as part of Argonne’s artificial intelligence (AI) in science and engineering town hall meeting series, hosted by Physical Sciences and Engineering.

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The purpose of the meetings is to build a community and a network of collaborators across divisions and directorates to help catalyze collaborative projects involving development and use of AI in science and engineering. This will enable Argonne to capture major anticipated external funding in the scientific areas over the next five years. Ideas and discussions shared at these meetings will also help articulate a science-driven strategy for AI applications, and areas where Argonne should claim national and international leadership.

Argonne’s Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program drives innovation by supporting the development of transformative ideas that have the potential to lead to new, sponsor-funded research and development (R&D) programs.

This announcement offers researchers the opportunity to seek funding under three LDRD calls:

• Topic Area Call for Microelectronics – proposals due COB Nov. 4, 2019
• Seed 2020 – proposals due COB Nov. 4, 2019 – open to postdoctoral associates and RD2 staff
• Swift 2020 – open call, proposals accepted until Swift funds are allocated

The Topic Area Call for Microelectronics solicits proposals related to the priority research directions highlighted in the Microelectronics BRN preliminary report. These include co-design that connects new devices and materials to system/architecture-level impact, new approaches for memory and interconnects, atom scale nanofabrication, new methods for monolithic integration, and new computing approaches that extend beyond von Neumannian architectures. Proposals should target revolutionary approaches rather than incremental. Cross-divisional and cross-directorate proposals are strongly encouraged.

Seed is part of the LDRD Innovate portfolio. The Seed component of the Innovate LDRD area is an opportunity for early-career scientists to pursue an independent innovative research idea and gain experience as a lead investigator. Proposals may be submitted by postdoctoral and RD2-level staff.

Swift was created to assist researchers in meeting R&D goals prior to applying for Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) or other funding opportunities, which are often awarded based on the demonstrated success of preliminary work. Swift submissions may address innovative or strategic research that supports U.S. Department of Energy and Argonne mission goals. The targeted funding opportunity must be explicitly identified in the proposal.

Argonne’s LDRD page on Inside Argonne describes the scope of each focus area and provides submission instructions for pre-proposals. As detailed on that page, all three calls are full proposal only, with no pre-proposal phase.

The MyLDRD proposal system may be accessed through the LDRD page or directly. All call information and the proposal templates are available on the LDRD page and in MyLDRD.

Please contact the LDRD office at ldrd@anl.gov or ext. 2-5373 if you have any questions.

Twenty-two Argonne National Laboratory community members will be honored at an awards ceremony and reception hosted by the UChicago Argonne Board of Governors on Monday, Nov. 4, at 3 p.m. in the Building 240 TCS Conference Center. All are welcome to attend.

The Board of Governors Awards, presented annually, honor distinguished employee performance, outstanding service to the laboratory, and excellence in diversity and inclusion, education, and safety.

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Distinguished Performance Award

To recognize a specific outstanding achievement or a distinguished record of such achievements by an employee of the laboratory in the areas of basic and applied science and engineering. Awardees:

• Charles Catlett (MCS)
• Jeffrey Elam (AMD),
• Daniel Haskel (XSD)
• Hoydoo You (MSD)

Outstanding Service Award

To recognize employees in support positions whose exemplary service over an extended period has significantly contributed toward helping the laboratory fulfill its various missions and attain its overall goals. Awardees:

• Dino Marconi (CLS)
• Doreen Schoening (FAC)
• William Toter (NWM)
• Raymond Ziegler (XSD)

Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award

To recognize demonstrated leadership of diversity and inclusion efforts by inspiring others and creating a demonstrative effect in areas such as, catalyzing a shift in mindsets, building skills for bridging differences and changing behaviors, and fostering longer-term culture change efforts within the lab.

• Lisa Durham (CLS)

Pinnacle of Education Award

To recognize Argonne employees for exceptional contributions and continuous efforts that help to make science education and outreach inspiring and unique for students, teachers, and community groups. Awardees:

• David Grabaskas (NSE)
• Joseph Gregar (PSE)

Director’s Award for Outstanding Safety Leadership

To recognize laboratory individuals who demonstrate leadership in safety by embodying the principles of integrated safety management, contributing to a positive safety culture, having a commitment to excellence in workplace safety, and successfully addressing critical challenges and vulnerabilities in safety.

• David Cook (EVS)

James B. Porter, Jr. Team Award for Outstanding Safety Performance

To recognize a team of laboratory employees working in any part of the laboratory who embody the principles of integrated safety management and directly contribute to the creation and sustenance of a positive safety culture and a commitment to excellence in workplace safety.

Team Award: Fire Technical Support (STE)

• Kevin Stoll
• Mari Anfuso
• Kevin Ballou
• Robert Farley
• Mark Haskett
• George Maly
• Steven McCloughan
• Alex Smith
• Paul Winter
• Corey Zadlo

For the first time, 100% of Argonne employees responded to text, phone, or email messages as part of the accountability exercise mandated by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The previous response rate from July 2019, was 98.59%. Thanks to the lab community for their full  participation in this important exercise.

All full-time employees were contacted as part of the regular accountability exercise. The objective is to practice contacting and accounting for employees in case of an emergency.

With safety one of Argonne’s five Core Values, the incredible result for the latest accountability exercise is welcome news. The exercise proved that the lab can effectively reach all full-time employees in the case of an emergency.

The next exercise will be held in a few months. Watch Argonne Today and Snapshot for details.

Check your phone contact settings in Workday

To make sure the laboratory can reach you effectively for this and other high-priority messages, you may need to update your settings in Workday, especially if you use your mobile phone as your primary contact and you don’t have a landline at home.

If you don’t have a landline phone and are using your mobile device as your primary telephone, your Workday listing should be: “Usage: Home (Primary)” and “Device: Mobile.” If it’s entered as “Device: Phone” you may not receive important messages from the laboratory. Here are step-by-step instructions for changing your phone settings in Workday.

The laboratory’s alert system is programmed to contact the mobile phone first; if there is no response and the situation warrants, it may contact a landline if one is listed.

If you mark these phone numbers “private,” they won’t be shared with the public or made available in the laboratory directory.

Mangers or reviewers using the “Manager Timesheet” view in Dayforce may notice that the hours are not being displayed. Dayforce is working to resolve the issue.

Mangers and reviewers can review, edit, and authorize effort and absence using the “Timesheet” view.

The call for proposals for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) ASCR Leadership Computing Challenge (ALCC) is now open.

Open to researchers from industry, academia, and national laboratories, the ALCC program allocates computing time and resources at DOE’s supercomputing facilities: the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility, the Oak Ridge Computing Facility, and the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

For this year’s call, principal investigators are now required to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) as the first step of submitting a proposal. The LOIs are due Dec. 16, 2019.

Proposals are due Feb. 3, 2020. Information from the LOI will be automatically populated to the proposal by Dec. 18, 2019.

For more information, visit DOE’s Office of Science website.

Jim Kerby (AUP), APS Upgrade chief project officer, will present “Building the Next Generation Hard X-ray Light Source’” on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019, at Argonne National Laboratory, Building 402 Auditorium, 9700 S. Cass Avenue, Building 402, Argonne, IL.

This lecture is free and open to the public. A Q&A will follow the presentation.

• Reception and APS tour: 5-7 p.m.
• Presentation and Q&A: 7-8 p.m.

Advance registration is required. Please be sure to review Argonne’s site access policy before registering.

Abstract

For over two decades, Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source (APS) has produced high-brightness, high-energy X-rays to illuminate the molecular structure and function of materials that comprise nearly every aspect of our lives. The APS Upgrade, once completed, will increase the brightness of the X-rays provided by orders of magnitude, opening new frontiers of scientific discovery.  How will the APS Upgrade deliver X-rays that are more than 500 times brighter than today? And why is this project so important? APS Upgrade Chief Project Officer Jim Kerby will discuss the significance of the APS Upgrade to science and society.

As a vital part of a commitment to helping its employees maintain an optimum quality of life, Argonne provides a benefit called the Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

Available to you and your family members, the EAP is a resource offering consultation, support, information and planning, and referrals to professional resources in your community. There is no charge to you for this service, and it is confidential.

Newsletters

FrontLine Newsletter for Employees

This month features information on drug abuse, communication in the workplace, and dealing with new technology.

• Read the October 2019 issue

FrontLine Supervisor

In this month’s edition, learn more about productivity as a supervisor, and rewarding good behavior on your team.

• Read the October 2019 issue

WorkLife Webinar

“Mastering the Business of Workplace Etiquette” is available on-demand through the webinars tile.

Monthly webinar series

Perspectives Mailings

Each month, Perspectives sends a short, colorful newsletter with links to the latest newsletters, seminars, resources and wellness information for employees.

• Subscribe to Perspectives mailings
• Archive of past Perspectives mailings

Websites

Working World Café

Written by Perspectives staff and guest experts, the Working World Café blog aims to provide leadership insights for human resources specialists, C-suite executives and other management professionals interested in legal, financial, health and productivity issues that impact the workplace.

• Visit the Working World Café Blog

Perspectives Website

Perspectives Ltd is a workplace resources firm specializing in the nationwide delivery of employee assistance programs, managed behavioral healthcare, worklife services, organizational development and wellness.

Note: This wellness information is provided for the use of Argonne employees. The provision of this information is not intended to create a physician-patient relationship or to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, opinion or treatment. If you believe you have any health problem, or if you have any questions regarding your health or a medical condition, you should promptly consult your personal physician or other healthcare provider.

The Argonne Club will host its annual Halloween party Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Argonne Guest House.

The party will feature door prizes, a 50/50 raffle, beverages and food for purchase, and music.

All attendees must be 21 or older. All non-Argonne employees must be badged prior to 4 p.m. and are subject to a search.

Flyer

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On Monday, Nov. 11, 2019, the laboratory will retire the Issues Management Tracking System (IMTS) and, in its place, launch Prism. The new application supports a more simplified process and is designed to provide a better user experience.

In advance of the launch, the Prism team invites IMTS users across the laboratory to attend a user-centered training and orientation session. Our goal is to fully support the transition to Prism through focused, personalized sessions so that you are confident in using Prism to manage issues.

Six training sessions are scheduled; please attend a session that best fits your schedule:

• Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019
  9-10:30 a.m., Building 201, Room 167C
• Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019
  1-2:30 p.m., Building 360, Room E101
• Friday, Oct. 25, 2019
  10-11:30 a.m., Building 201, Room167C
• Monday, Oct. 28, 2019
  1-2:30 p.m., Building 360, Room E101
• Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019
  9-10:30 a.m., Building 201, Room 167C
• Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019
  2-3:30 p.m., Building 360, RoomE101

The agenda for each training session will include:

• A hands-on demonstration of Prism
• An introduction to reporting functions available through ServiceNow
• Questions and feedback

To register, contact Prism@anl.gov. Feel free to direct questions to the Prism team in the same email. As the sessions are offered in computer labs, attendance will be limited by the number of available computers.

Representatives from Argonne and Chain Reaction Innovations (CRI), Argonne’s lab-embedded entrepreneurship program, will take part in a panel discussion titled “Energy Tech & Innovation: Solutions for Our Future” on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019, at hub88 (2000 Lucent Lane, Naperville, IL, 60563).

CRI Director John Carlisle will moderate the discussion. Sue Babinec, Argonne’s Program Lead for Stationary Storage, will be on the panel, as will CRI innovators Tom Guarr and Julie Brumreiter.

A networking reception will be held from 5-5:30 p.m., and the panel discussion will be from 5:30-6:30 p.m.

The panel will discuss:

• Clean-tech energy sources
• Solar, wind, and other renewables
• Battery innovation and storage solutions
• Fuel savings and transportation

Hub88 is a technology acceleration center serving northern Illinois. Drawing from the technology, science, and industry along the Illinois I-88 corridor, hub88 serves to integrate the regional commercial, education, and entrepreneurial communities to discover, build, test, and commercialize emerging technologies and services.

Argonne’s participation in events aimed at building and enhancing the local innovation ecosystem enhance Argonne’s leadership in science and technology and foster an environment that is conducive to Argonne making as much positive impact on society as possible.

If you have questions or would like to RSVP to this free event, contact hello@hub88.org.

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Attend the town hall meeting to learn how GRC students can advance lab research

Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago have launched a new collaboration that will bolster Argonne’s stature as a world-class community of talent and increase its impact as a science and technology leader. All employees are invited to a town hall meeting on Monday, Oct. 21, 2019, to learn about this new pathway for Argonne staff to serve as primary research supervisors for Ph.D. students and other benefits of the Graduate Research Cooperative.

About the Graduate Research Cooperative (GRC)

The Graduate Research Cooperative is a new administrative unit within the University of Chicago Office of Research and National Laboratories that fosters joint graduate student research between UChicago and Argonne.

GRC students are a new option available to support Argonne projects. For students performing their entire Ph.D. research at Argonne, the GRC will fully cover the cost of students while they are taking courses.

Through the GRC, UChicago graduate students will pursue research projects along two tracks. The first resembles current visiting student appointments limited to one or two years in continuous research residence at Argonne. In the second track, students will conduct the entirety of their thesis research in residence at Argonne, investing approximately five years at the lab, thus sustaining projects and expertise over a longer time. All students will pursue research in Argonne mission areas. This month, the first two students from the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering started in the GRC pilot program.

A key benefit to the GRC is that, for the first time, a pathway has been established by which Argonne staff who are not jointly appointed as faculty at a university can become eligible to serve as primary research supervisors for Ph.D. students.

The program will scale up quickly, creating a diverse and vibrant presence of students throughout the laboratory and building a pipeline of exceptional scientific talent. All Argonne employees are invited to learn more at the GRC town hall meeting.

About the GRC town hall meeting

The GRC town hall meeting is Monday, Oct. 21, 2019, from 11 a.m. to noon in the Building 240 TCS Conference Center. The meeting will include an introductory overview, panel discussion with GRC leaders, and a Q&A session. Coffee and tea will be provided.

Speakers include Juan de Paulo, vice president for national laboratories, UChicago; Paul Nealey, professor and deputy dean for education and outreach in the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, UChicago; Ka Yee Lee, vice provost for research, UChicago; Paul Kearns, director, Argonne; Stephen Streiffer, interim deputy laboratory director for science, Argonne; and Seth Darling, director, Center for Molecular Engineering, Argonne.

Questions? Contact Seth Darling at darling@anl.gov.

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Hundreds of free books, courtesy of the Argonne Research Library, will be available to interested employees from Monday, Oct. 21 through Friday, Oct. 25, 2019. Browse through hundreds of gently used and duplicate library books scheduled to be withdrawn from circulation. This year the library received many donations which were not needed. These donations, as well as titles formally withdrawn from the collection, are looking for a new home.

Employees can stop by the library to view the books and sign up for titles they would like to add to their personal collections. Books, sign-up instructions, and Halloween goodies will be available on carts in the library’s 5th Floor Reading Room located in Building 240 TCS, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The free books will be mailed out to their new owners in November.

Mobile Lube Express will be on campus Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019, providing convenient, onsite oil change service for employees.

Employees can drop their vehicles off for service anytime between 8 a.m. and noon at the raised portion of the Building 200 Parking Lot (kitty-corner to Building 205) and pick up their vehicle later in the afternoon.

To register for service, complete the pre-registration form and send it to Mobile Lube Express by fax at (847) 469-8425 by Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019.

Mobile lube Express offers three different packages, which can service most Asian and domestic vehicles. To determine which package is appropriate for your vehicle, you need to know what oil viscosity the manufacturer recommends for your vehicle.

While appointments are recommended, Mobile Lube accepts walk-up customers if there is availability. Please bring a completed pre-registration form.

Note: Credit card information can also be taken onsite, if preferred, but the registration form should still be faxed by Octt. 23 to ensure a reservation.

2019 oil change schedule

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Ramanujam Raj Sekar

Former Argonne engineer Ramanujam (Raj) Sekar died Monday, Oct. 7, 2019. Born in 1943, Sekar received his M.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison (1969) and an MBA from Indiana University, Bloomington (1974).  He worked at Cummins Engine Company from 1969-1984, eventually becoming program manager for U.S. Department of Energy programs.

Sekar was hired in 1985 by Argonne’s Energy Systems division for the specific task of initiating an engine-related research program. His 30-year career at Argonne culminated with the position of acting director for the Center for Transportation Research.

Sekar is credited for over 50 technical publications, more than seven patents, an R&D 100 award (1999) and several other awards.  In 2003 he was elected as a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

View the online obituary here.

The Intranet Redesign Project is an Improving How We Work (IHWW) initiative focused on increasing operational excellence by enhancing the laboratory’s intranet — an essential communication and work hub for the Argonne community.

Improvements to the intranet will be completed in phases, starting this November and ending in spring 2020. Throughout the journey, as we implement new features and functionalities, we will seek your feedback to measure the impact of changes and identify priorities.

Today, we invite you to participate in a baseline survey designed to gather feedback before any improvements to the intranet are implemented. As you complete the survey, reflect upon your experience using the existing Argonne intranet, which includes two sites: Inside Argonne and Argonne Today. Your candid feedback is essential. But hurry! This initial survey will only be available until Friday, Oct. 25.

Questions? Please contact the intranet redesign team at myargonne@anl.gov.

The Argonne community includes people who belong to a wide range of gender identities and/or sexual orientations, and people who are allies to their LGBTQIA+ peers. Spectrum is Argonne’s employee resource group (ERG) for those minorities and their allies, dedicated to fostering an environment of understanding, acceptance, and equality.

Spectrum invites the community to celebrate Asexual Awareness week (Oct. 20–26) by learning about asexuality. If you’re unfamiliar with asexuality, or you simply want to increase your diversity awareness, the following resources may be useful:

• Spectrum blog post
• Online resource (includes educational materials)

Spectrum welcomes any Argonne staff, and those from the U.S. Department of Energy, the University of Chicago, and Abri Credit Union. The group meets on the second Thursday of each month from noon to 1 p.m. in Building 241, Room C201. (Feel free to bring your lunch.)

Allies are always welcome!