Note from ADEPS

---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: Note from ADEPS
From: "Susan Seestrom"
Date: Fri, June 26, 2009 5:32 pm
To: adeps-all@lanl.gov
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Colleagues,

Welcome Students!
We are delighted to have our students here for the summer - students
bring with them an atmosphere of enthusiasm, curiosity and vitality
that re-energizes us all.

LANL is a unique organization; since it's inception and the
world-famous Manhattan Project, this lab has been committed to
national security science and all that it requires.

The following quote sums up our contributions to national security quite
well:

"There is no group of people in this country whose record over the
last 20 years has been more pre-eminent in the service of their
country than all of you here in this small community in New Mexico.
We want to express our thanks to you. It is not merely what was done
during the days of the second war, but what has been done since then,
not only in developing weapons of destruction which, by irony of
fate, help maintain the peace and freedom but also in medicine and
space and all other related fields which can mean so much to
mankind..."
- President John F. Kennedy (1962)

Caution Students - Security is a big deal here!
A critical requirement for participating in national security science
is rigorous security. Many of the things your a accustomed to doing
at your universities with computers, iPods, cell phones, peer-to-peer
communications (like Skype) and other wireless devices will get you
in trouble here! Here are a few reminders:

Accessing pornographic or gambling sites is not allowed. Using LANL
computers for personal purposes should be limited to a few minutes a
day. There are specific policies and rules for bringing your personal
computer, camera, or other wireless devices behind on to lab
property. Think about what's in your vehicle and your pockets before
you enter lab property. Check with your mentor, first line manager or
group leader before bringing personal electronics to the lab.

I have attached a checklist that lists a number of security and
cyber-security issues. Each item tells you where you you can find
information or policies to address your concern- you can find them on
the internal lab web site. If you have questions, ask you mentor,
team leader or group leader.

and so is Safety!
So, be very careful. Make sure you understand what you're doing, that
you have had the right training and that your mentor or first line
manager has approved the work assignment before you begin working.

Students, I hope you have an interesting and productive experience here!

Senior Management Retreat for ADEPS
EPS division leaders Wendy Cieslak (MST), Doug Fulton (P), Toni
Taylor (MPA) and Kurt Schoenberg (LANSCE and LANSCE User Facility),
along with me, Pam French and Jean Elson participated in a retreat
focused on strategy and teaming. It was extremely productive and
perhaps the best I have ever attended. We hit the right balance of
"touchy-feely" (not too much ;-)) and strategic planning (lots).

I asked them to seriously consider the question, Why EPS? Are we just
independent divisions or is there a rationale and reason for us to
work together?

We talked about several topics that call for a "shared fate" view of
science in EPS and the Lab and we selected one to become our
overriding priority or rallying call for the next several months. It
is the successful approval of LANSCE-R CD1.

The history of LANSCE has been stellar and rocky. It's long been an
attraction for international collaborators, users, post docs and new
hires. Funding, however, has always been a rocky road and the LANSCE
Refurbishment Project is no exception. Our team agreed that this is
the most important item on our strategic radar for the next few
months.

Some may think that if LANSCE -R is not supported, there will be more
money for other LANL facilities and equipment - I don't think that is
the way it would play out. I strongly believe that high capability
user facilities are what distinguish us from other labs and that if
we were to lose LANSCE-R, we could jeopardize other facilities as
well. If we want to be successful in capturing MaRIE, we must first
successfully execute LANSC-R which, in my mind, is the first step on
the path to MaRIE.

Toni, Wendy and Doug were not sure there was a role for them and
their divisions in achieving this goal. After an hour of discussion,
we found many important responsibilities that all three division
leaders can and will take on to help move us toward achieving
LANSCE-R CD1 this fall. We must all work to demonstrate to both NNSA
and Office of Science customers that LANSCE-R is important to
national security science. We will do this by communicating examples
of important results from LANSCE experiments that have successfully
impacted program deliverables and decisions. We will also focus on
preparation for the upcoming reviews.

We created a draft vision and mission that we will publish once
finalized. I am sharing the draft VISION with you in the hopes of
receiving some constructive criticism. I will share the detailed
mission in a subsequent note.

EPS VISION
World leading people, facilities and experiments delivering
innovative scientific solutions, anticipating national security
challenges.

Regards,
Susan

--
Susan J. Seestrom, Ph.D.
Associate Director for Experimental Physical Sciences
Mail Stop A106
(505) 665-4454 FAX (505) 665-1293