Under the University of Chicago/Argonne scholarship plan, children of full-time, regular Argonne employees are eligible to compete for full tuition scholarships at the University of Chicago. Scholarship recipients will continue to be eligible for annual renewal as long as they remain in good academic standing and a parent is a full-time employee of Argonne. The university will also continue to provide one-half tuition remission to all dependent children of full-time, regular Argonne employees who are admitted for study in the college as long as their parent(s) remain full-time, regular Argonne employee(s).

To be awarded a scholarship, the student must be accepted for first-year admission to the University of Chicago and must be among the most qualified applicants from Argonne families as judged by the university. First-year applicants are required to fill out the Common Application or the Coalition Application in addition to the UChicago supplement. The deadline for applications for Early Action and Early Decision I timelines is Nov. 1, 2019. The deadline for Early Decision II and Regular Decision timelines is Jan. 2, 2020.

Students who wish to compete for a scholarship are also required to complete an Argonne verification form. The deadline for submitting this form is the same as their respective application deadline. The form must be validated by Argonne’s Educational Programs department. Upon validation, the form will be sent to the university for approval. Please contact Shari Knight at ext. 2-4114 to obtain the verification form. Scholarship recipients will be notified by mid-April, 2020, and must accept or decline the offer no later than May 1, 2020.

This scholarship is merit-based and does not preclude the possibility of additional need-based financial assistance from the university. It is university policy to ensure that financial need is not the controlling factor in determining whether a student can attend. To apply for financial aid, students and families must submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the UChicago Worksheet (located in the student’s UChicago Account), or the CSS Profile and 2018 tax return and W-2 documents. For additional information and deadlines, please visit the UChicago website.

For questions or concerns about the tuition remission program, contact Stacey Wojahn in Human Resource Services, at ext. 2-8803.

For information on admissions, contact Justin Klein, senior admissions counselor, at 773-702-2858.

Edward F. Barry knew everything about the science behind Argonne’s Oleo Sponge, the reusable foam that can capture oil after a spill.

What he didn’t know was how to market it.

Barry, an applications scientist in the Applied Materials division, joined Argonne in 2012 to help develop the oil-grabbing technology.

Eager to see it made available commercially, he applied to the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Energy I-Corps program, a two-month long training course where national lab researchers learn about industry needs and evaluate potential market applications for their technologies.   Energy I-Corps proved invaluable, Barry said, changing everything from how he talked about the Oleo Sponge to how he approached his work at Argonne.

“I truly wish I would have done it sooner,” he said. “It was a game-changer for both the technology and my career as a scientist in the national lab complex.”

Participation by Argonne researchers in Energy I-Corps enhances Argonne’s leadership in science and technology, supports Argonne’s efforts to sustain a world-class community of talent, and increases the impact of Argonne research. The program, essentially a crash-course in technology commercialization, opens with a series of helpful introductory webinars. After that, participants convene for a week-long session — ­Barry and the others in his group met in Golden, Colo. in the fall of 2017 ­— that includes a series of engaging lectures, hands-on-training, one-on-one coaching and interviews with potential customers.

“The goal of the program is to help participants develop a value proposition behind the technology, to move away from the technical details about what the technology is and how it works to focusing on what problems it solves,” Barry said.

To that end, participants must conduct 75 customer interviews either in person or over the phone to better understand their target audience.

The process can be painful, at least at first, he said.

“For about four hours, you actually have to get out of the building and go talk to customers,” Barry said. “Your first attempts are utter disasters. After the first couple, your script usually goes out the window.”

But Energy I-Corps focuses on more than just messaging. It introduces participants to a business model template that forces them to weigh a number of critical and interwoven factors into their overall strategy, including the value they promise to deliver customers as well as cost structure and revenue streams.

“When you first look at the model, it doesn’t make too much sense,” Barry said. “But then they show you how all of these ideas are inter-related, how if you change just one component, the others need to be adjusted accordingly. Only then does it start to come together.”

Those interested in participating apply in three-person teams, including an entrepreneurial lead, who functions as a sort-of CEO, a principal investigator — Barry took this role — and an industry mentor, a business-person who is well-versed in the field or in entrepreneurial endeavors in general. The industry mentor can provide a good sense of context as well as a list of potential buyers or clients, Barry said.

“We were fortunate enough to have two exceedingly awesome individuals in the entrepreneurial lead and industry mentor roles, Kevin Burke and Rick Landuyt,” Barry said. “I couldn’t have been happier with our team. Everyone contributed mightily to the effort.”

Barry is grateful not only for his selection into Energy I-Corps but for Argonne’s continued support.

“It is an absolutely wonderful program, one that helps the national lab system continue to serve as a hub for technological innovation, moving technology out of the lab and into the hands of consumers,” he said. “I am so glad to be a part of it.”

He advises those interested in the program to apply as soon as they can.

“Go for it,” Barry said. “Do it. It has been one the highlights of my career.”

DOE recently issued a call for applications for the next Energy I-Corps cohort. The submission deadline for Intent to Apply is 4 p.m. Central Time on Nov. 15, 2019. The submission deadline for Full Team Proposals is 4 p.m. Central Time on Jan. 6, 2020. It is highly recommended that you leverage Argonne’s proposal writing support services, and if you do, you must submit your draft proposal to David McCallum (ext. 2-4338), Argonne’s Energy I-Corps point of contact, by Dec. 20, 2019.

Complete details on the call, including how to apply and application forms, can be found in the Cohort 11 Lab Call document. Note that Intent to Apply must be submitted on behalf of the team by Argonne’s Energy I-Corps point of contact. Additional information on Energy I-Corps is available at DOE’s Energy I-Corps webpage.

If you have questions, please contact McCallum.

By Jo Napolitano

Due to U.S. Department of Energy reporting requirements for the October month-end close process, all employees and Argonne Associates must complete a series of events:

• All effort for the week ending on Oct. 27, 2019, must be entered and authorized in Dayforce by noon on Monday, Oct 28, 2019. Please make the appropriate arrangements if you are on travel or away from the laboratory.
• All effort corrections must be fully authorized by noon on Friday, Oct. 25, 2019, in order to be included in the October ledger activity. Submit the appropriate Timecard and Effort Correction form.
• Timecard and Effort Correction forms:
  • Employees:  Dayforce Timecard and Effort Corrections (ANL-1007)
  • Argonne Associates: Argonne Associate Timecard and Effort Corrections (ANL-1077)

For questions, contact Nghe Nguyen (OCF) at ext. 2-8020.

Similar to last year, Human Resource Services is mailing the Open Enrollment brochure ahead of the enrollment period to your primary home address to allow benefits-eligible employees time to compare plans and make decisions. The brochure provides details on changes to the healthcare plans, coverages, and rates.

Be sure to look for your hard copy brochure in the mail this week, and plan to make your elections starting Nov. 1.

A digital version of the brochure is also available.

Update Oct. 23: Work has been postponed.

Southwood Drive will be closed Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Outer Circle to Bluff Road for water line repairs. Signs and barricades will mark the closure; use Meridian Road as an alternate.

The Open Enrollment period for 2020 begins Friday, Nov. 1, and ends at 5 p.m. CST on Friday, Nov. 15, 2019. Elections made during this period will take effect on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020.

Open Enrollment is the time when you can add or drop dependents without requiring a change in family status.

Employees can cover legal dependents under the healthcare plans:

• Spouse (regardless of sexual orientation)
• Civil union partner
• Child(ren) under the age of 26 or under the age of 30 (military dependents)
• Stepchild(ren)
• Adopted child(ren)
• Child(ren) for whom legal guardianship was obtained
• Disabled child(ren) over the age of 26

Note: A child does not include a grandchild or foster child unless the child has been legally adopted or is under the employee’s legal guardianship.

Employees covering legal dependents that were not covered under their 2019 plans will need to submit supporting documentation.

The required documentation is as follows:

• Spouse/Civil Union Partner:
  • Provide a copy of the official embossed marriage certificate/civil union certificate;
• Children:
  • Provide a copy of the official birth certificate that contains child’s and parents’ names and date of birth; and/or adoption papers; or prior years redacted tax return listing the dependent child

Documentation needs to be uploaded directly into Workday during the enrollment process.

How to Attach Documentation

Attach the dependent’s documentation to your Open Enrollment event. You will find a field to attach documentation at the last step. If valid documentation is not received, coverage for the new dependents will be denied. If your documentation is in a language other than English, please provide an official translation.

To review the definition of an eligible dependent for Argonne’s healthcare plans, see Eligible Dependent Definition for health insurance.

The Argonne Commercialization Council (ACC) and the Technology Commercialization and Partnerships Division (TCP) are pleased to announce the selectees who will make up Cohort 4 of the Launchpad Program.

The researchers, who will begin their participation in Cohort 4 of Launchpad immediately, and their respective topic areas, are:

Launchpad, which is designed for early- and mid-career researchers who have a vision for building a technology program, provides participants with resources, training, and time to develop a growth strategy for their respective proposed programs. Resources include mentorship from a senior leader at Argonne and access to a dedicated support team (business development, marketing communications, etc.).

The ultimate goals of Launchpad are to:

• Help researchers develop skills that are critical to building partnerships and developing funding streams that enable maximum impact of Argonne science and engineering.
• Help each researcher build a technology program that, within three to five years, can become a multi-million dollar program.

The U.S. Department of Energy has recognized Launchpad as a complex-wide best practice in feedback delivered over the past two years.

Participants devote a portion (up to 50 percent) of their time to working closely with TCP and other lab Operations functions, while spending the remainder of their time conducting their primary research. The portion of staff effort dedicated to program development is paid for by TCP.

Launchpad was started at the beginning of FY17 as an additional driver of new programs that grow Argonne’s research portfolio and sponsorship thereof. In addition to growing Argonne’s research portfolio and sponsorship streams, Launchpad also serves as a career development opportunity for future leaders of Argonne, helping ensure Argonne has a world-class community of talent.

The researchers who make up Cohort 3 of Launchpad are in the final stages of their one-year program. The participants have developed their respective value propositions, identified target sponsors, developed marketing presentations to engage with these sponsors, and are in discussions with potential sponsors who have expressed interest in their work. A few have already begun research collaborations with external organizations. The Cohort 3 members also have support from within Argonne for continuing to grow their respective programs following the end of their Launchpad assignments.

Researchers who took part in the first two cohorts have signed sponsored research agreements with new collaborators and, in some cases, their Launchpad projects have become central pillars of Argonne research initiatives.

For Cohort 4, the ACC and TCP received high-quality proposals from several qualified candidates and would like to acknowledge all who applied for their efforts in developing and submitting strong proposals. TCP is continuing discussions with those who were not selected for Cohort 4, with an eye toward supporting their pursuit of their ideas, as relevant.

If you have questions, please contact TCP’s John Harvey at ext. 2-3566.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) has issued the call for applications for Cohort 11 of the Energy I-Corps program.

The goal of the Energy I-Corps program is to increase the number of national laboratory-developed technologies that are transferred to industry, which is accomplished by training national laboratory researchers to better understand private-sector technology needs and potential pathways to market.

The deadline to submit an Intent to Apply for Cohort 11 is 4 p.m. CDT on Friday, Nov. 15, 2019. Teams that submit an Intent to Apply form will be notified by DOE whether they have been approved to submit full proposals. The deadline for full team proposals is 4 p.m. CDT on Monday, Jan. 6, 2020.

It is highly recommended that Argonne researchers leverage Argonne’s proposal writing support services; if you do, you must submit your draft proposal to David McCallum (ext. 2-4338), Argonne’s Energy I-Corps point of contact, by Dec. 20, 2019, to ensure it is ready by the deadline.

The Energy I-Corps program pairs teams of researchers with industry mentors for an intensive seven-week training course where the researchers define technology value propositions, conduct customer discovery interviews, and develop viable market pathways for their technologies. Researchers return to their laboratory with a framework for industry engagement to guide future research and inform a culture of market awareness.

Participation by Argonne researchers in Energy I-Corps promotes greater impact of Argonne research, and the skills the researchers gain are in line with Argonne’s efforts to sustain and grow a world-class community of talent.

An informational webinar will be held at 2 p.m. Central Time on Oct. 24, 2019 (Meeting ID: 398660800). Add to Your Calendar

In an effort to meet the demand for this training across new and blended technology areas, teams from any technology area will be considered for Cohort 11. Technologies submitted for consideration may be at any technology readiness level, but they should be at a stage in development that allows the team to identify potential partners within a target market.

Successful teams will be awarded up to $75,000. In the past, these funds have been used for salaries, travel to training programs and customer meetings, technology maturation, training materials, and commercialization support services.

Complete details on the call, including how to apply and application forms, can be found in the Cohort 11 Lab Call document. Note that Intent to Apply must be submitted on behalf of the team by Argonne’s Energy I-Corps point of contact. Additional information on Energy I-Corps is available at DOE’s Energy I-Corps webpage.

If you have questions, please contact McCallum.

Argonne National Laboratory’s Global Travel Office (GTO) will release an updated version of the International Travel Approval (ANL-1043) form on Nov. 1, 2019. This effort aligns with our goal of operational excellence and results from an external audit of Argonne’s controls surrounding international travel in multiple areas: computer/information security, traveler/personnel safety, and security and export control.

To assist with the transition to this new form, GTO will host three brown bag sessions in Building 201, Room 102.

• Friday, Oct. 25, 1 p.m.
  Add to Your Calendar
• Tuesday, Oct.  29, 1 p.m.
  Add to Your Calendar
• Friday, Nov. 1, 11:30 a.m.
  Add to Your Calendar

Employees may join the sessions on BlueJeans.

Meeting ID: 387 849 7081

Enjoy a legendary outing at a Chicago Bulls game with Argonne employees, family, and friends.

Share the excitement of Bulls basketball and the NBA’s leading entertainment experience as the team takes on the Pistons, Bucks, and Trailblazers.

Don’t miss out on exclusive savings. Purchase tickets at a discounted price now through the links below.

Chicago Bulls vs. Detroit Pistons
United Center, Friday, Nov. 1, at 7 p.m.
Order online

Chicago Bulls vs. Milwaukee Bucks
United Center, Monday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m.
Order online

Chicago Bulls vs. Portland Trailblazers
United Center, Monday, Nov. 25, at 7 p.m.
Order online

The discounted prices are:

• 100 Level (side corner): $81.20 (regularly $162.40)
• 100 Level (corner): $75.60 (regularly $151.20)
• 100 Level (baseline): $67.20 (regularly $134.40)
• 200 Level (corner): $50.40 (regularly $100.80)
• 200 Level (baseline): $47.60 (regularly $95.20)
• 300 Level, Rows 1-7 (corner): $33.60 (regularly $67.20)
• 300 Level, Rows 8-17 (baseline): $22.40 (regularly $44.80)

Note: Ticket prices do not include 12 percent city/county tax amusement tax.

Tickets are limited and subject to availability. Please use Google Chrome to access the offer. The special offer code is ARGONNE.

Rhonda Dixon (HRS) was the winner of the Guest House raffle at the 2019 Wellness and Safety Fair. Dixon guessed the exact count of autumn candy corn! She won lunch for two at the Guest House Restaurant.

Argonne’s Human Resource Services will host a benefits fair Tuesday, Nov. 5, through Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. each day in the Building 213 Cafeteria.

Employees can meet with benefit plan representatives from Blue Cross Blue Shield, Delta Dental, EyeMed, Cigna, Optum RX, Wageworks, Perspectives, Health and Employee Wellness and Human Resource Services – Employee Benefits.

All are welcome to join us on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2019, at 2 p.m. in Building 241, Room A323, for a presentation and discussion as part of Argonne’s artificial intelligence (AI) in science and engineering town hall meeting series, hosted by Physical Sciences and Engineering. Pierre Darancet (NST), will present “AI Engineering of Nanoscale Materials for A-la-Carte Topology and Transduction.”

Add to Your Calendar

View on BlueJeans

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.

Health and Employee Wellness has an additional 95 flu vaccine doses available and will be offering another flu shot clinic on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Sign in on Xink to reserve a spot at the clinic »

The flu vaccine is available free of charge to all medically eligible Argonne employees.

• Please note: Argonne Associates are not eligible for the flu shot.

Additional information on this year’s flu vaccine.

Ed Ryan

Former Argonne employee and recent Argonne Associate Edward Ryan died on Oct. 20, 2019.  Born in 1939, Ryan began his lifelong career at Argonne at the age of 21 and was still working part-time as an Argonne Associate, contributing to research at the IVEM user facility for which he led the design and construction 24 years earlier.

Ryan’s expertise included ion accelerators and electron microscopes, especially the combination of in situ ion irradiation in an electron microscope.

A memorial service for Ryan is planned at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019, at Trinity Lutheran Church, 1101 Kimberly Way, Lisle, IL (Kimberly Way & Rt. 53).

View the online obituary here.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) has issued a call for applications for Cohort 11 of the Energy I-Corps program.

The goal of the Energy I-Corps program is to increase the number of national laboratory-developed technologies that are transferred to industry, which is accomplished by training national laboratory researchers to better understand potential pathways to market and private-sector needs.

An information session will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2019, in Building 240, Room 1406/07. Add to Your Calendar

Energy I-Corps pairs teams of researchers with industry mentors for an intensive seven-week training course where the researchers define technology value propositions, conduct customer discovery interviews and develop viable market pathways for their technologies. Researchers return to their laboratory with a framework for industry engagement to guide future research and inform a culture of market awareness.

Participation by Argonne researchers in Energy I-Corps promotes greater impact of Argonne research, and the skills the researchers gain are in line with Argonne’s efforts to sustain and grow a world-class community of talent.

The deadline to submit an Intent to Apply for Cohort 11 is 4 p.m. Central Time on Friday, Nov. 15, 2019. Teams that submit an Intent to Apply form will be notified by DOE whether they have been approved to submit full proposals. The deadline for full team proposals is 4 p.m. Central Time on Friday, Jan. 6, 2019.

It is highly recommended that interested Argonne researchers leverage Argonne’s proposal writing support services for this call; if you do, you must submit your draft proposal to David McCallum (ext. 2-4338), Argonne’s Energy I-Corps point of contact, by Dec. 20, 2019, to ensure it is ready by the deadline.

Technologies submitted for consideration may be any technology readiness level, but they should be at a stage in development that allows the team to identify potential partners within a target market.

Successful teams will be awarded up to $75,000. In the past, these funds have been used for salaries, travel to training programs and customer meetings, technology maturation, training materials and commercialization support services.

Complete details on the call, including how to apply and application forms, can be found in the Cohort 11 Lab Call document. Note that Intent to Apply must be submitted on behalf of the team by Argonne’s Energy I-Corps point of contact.

If you have questions, please contact McCallum.

Employees who are new to using Box to collaborate with colleagues, or just want a refresher, are invited to register for these upcoming webinars sponsored by Business & Information Services.

Advanced registration is required and is available at training.box.com.  As an Argonne employee, there is no charge for the class if you use the code PROADMIN when registering.

Nov. 4-8

• Sharing Made Easy
  Monday, Nov. 4, 2019, noon
• Communicating and Editing
  Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019, noon
  
• Organizing Box Folders
  Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019, noon
• User Essentials
  Thursday, Nov 7, 2019, 3 p.m.
• Box + Microsoft
  Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, noon
  

Nov 11-15

• Sharing Made Easy
  Monday, Nov. 11, 2019, 2:30 p.m.
• Communicating and Editing
  Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019, 2:30 p.m.
• Organizing Box Folders
  Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019, 2:30 p.m.
• User Essentials
  Thursday, Nov 14, 2019, noon
• Box + Microsoft
  Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019, 2:30 p.m.

Nov 18-22

• Sharing Made Easy
  Monday, Nov. 18, 2019, noon
• Communicating and Editing
  Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019, noon
• Organizing Box Folders
  Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019, noon
• User Essentials
  Thursday, Nov 21, 2019, 3 p.m.
• Box + Microsoft
  Friday, Nov. 22, 2019, noon

Please register prior to the class to get the Adobe Connect connection details. The training is live and you’ll have the chance to ask the Box education specialist questions at the end.

Enter the code PROADMIN for the Box University training at no charge.

Work Planning and Control (WPC) and the Argonne Running Club are hosting a turkey trot on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019, at 11:30 a.m. Participants should meet at Building 203. All site employees and their guests are welcome. The run is 3.2 miles and the walk is 1.7 miles. Raffle and refreshments at the finish.

Please help us make an impact on a local homeless shelter by donating a non-perishable food item.

All participant earn 100 Virgin Pulse points.

Flyer

Add to Your Calendar

World-class talent deserves world-class recognition and rewards. We are excited to announce that the Argonne Pacesetter Award is now the Impact Argonne Award. A significant funding increase to this award program means you not only have more opportunities to achieve recognition through scientific and operational achievements, but also to receive potentially larger monetary rewards.

Much like the Pacesetter, the Impact Argonne Award will recognize and reward notable achievements of both individuals and teams across the laboratory throughout the fiscal year with a plaque and financial award. All employees and contingent workers are eligible to receive an Impact Argonne Award, though non-paid and contingent workers will receive only the plaque.

The significant increase in funding allows us to reward accomplishments based on their relative impact to the laboratory. The minimum individual award size is $250. The maximum individual award size is $5,000, with larger awards possible in some very exceptional cases with the lab director’s concurrence. Determination of that impact and award sizes will be made by directorate leaders in conjunction with their human resources managers. Awards will be paid on a monthly basis close in time to the achievement being recognized.

Notable achievements in one of eight categories achieved while modeling the Argonne Core Values, will be considered for an Impact Argonne Award. The eligibility criteria resemble those for the Pacesetter Award with some enhancements and refined definitions. Beginning today, Oct 25, 2019, any employee or contingent worker may complete an Impact Argonne Award Nomination Rationale (ANL-1253) and share it with their manager to review and advance the nomination through Workday. Managers/supervisors can find the Impact Argonne Award job aid in the new Impact Argonne Award application on their Workday home page.

Further details are available on the Impact Argonne Award Fact Sheet.

The evolution of the Pacesetter Award to the Impact Argonne Award allows us to better recognize the valuable impact your diverse exceptional contributions have on advancing our leadership in science and technology and our operational excellence.

Please contact your local human resources manager or Jill Rea (HRS), principal compensation analyst, at ext. 2-3011 if you have questions.

Seth Darling, director of Argonne’s Center for Molecular Engineering as well as the Advanced Materials for Energy-Water Systems center, and Doug Sisterson, long-time Argonne meteorologist and current Argonne Associate, will be part of a panel discussion titled “Great Lakes, Great Issues: Our Changing Climate” on Sunday, Nov. 3, at the Gorton Community Center in Lake Forest, Ill.

The event, which is part of the Lake Forest Open Lands Lecture Series, will also feature Tom Skilling, chief meteorologist for WGN-TV, Don Wuebbles, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Mary Gade of the Gade Environmental Group LLC.

The panel will discuss the science and effects of a changing climate on society.

Participation by Argonne researchers in this type of event enhances Argonne’s leadership in science and technology, promotes potential collaboration with organizations whose efforts could be complementary to Argonne’s, and fosters increased impact from Argonne research.

Admission to the event is free, but registration is required. To register, visit the event webpage.