Past First Friday Forums

September 7, 2007: "SUF Diversity Committee: Actions and Lessons Learned," Katherine Harkay, PhD, Group Leader, Accelerator Physics, APS Accelerator Systems Division

January 12, 2007: "Institutional Reformation: the WISEST Approach," Claudia Morrissey, MD, MPH, Director, University of Illinois at Chicago

April 7, 2006: Dr. Mary Ann Mason, Dean of the Graduate Division, University of California, Berkeley, “Life-Friendly Initiatives”

March 10, 2006: Dava Sobel, accomplished author of Galileo's Daughter and Longitude, Robert Vare Visiting Writer in Residence at the University of Chicago

February 2, 2006: Ka Ye Lee, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry and Bob Fefferman, Dean of the Physical Sciences Division

December 9, 2005: Holiday Luncheon

December 2, 2005: Adam Cohen, Argonne Chief Operating Officer

November 2, 2005: Sue Rosser

October 14, 2005: Suraiya Farukhi, Director, Communications and Public Affairs Division, "On communications and branding"

September 9, 2005: Discuss and brainstorm on our future endeavors.

August 5, 2005: Rick Stevens, Acting Associate Laboratory Directory, Physical, Biological, and Computing Sciences

July 22, 2005: Murray Gibson, Associate Laboratory Director, Scientific User Facilites

May 27, 2005: Alan Foley, Associate Laboratory Director, "Applied Science and Technology and National Security ALDship: Where Are We Going?"

May 4, 2005: Robert Rosner, Laboratory Director, "Thinking about Argonne"

April 1, 2005: Informal discussion and networking.

March 11, 2005: Elsie Quaite-Randall, "Intellectual Property at Argonne: Reporting it, protecting it and exploiting it".

February 18, 2005: A conversation with Argonne Board of Governors Ruzena Bajcsy and Daphne Preuss

January 7, 2005: Kirsten Laurin-Kovitz , WIST Initiator, "Resolve to Get Involved: WIST Opportunities 2005"

December 13, 2004: End of Year Luncheon

November 5, 2004: FFF Initiator Cristina Negri will lead a discussion on the future direction of the forum.

September 23, 2004: Catherine Westfall, the Argonne Historian, "The Big and Little of Fifty Years of Mössbauer Spectrocopy at Argonne"

August 13, 2004: a) Initial ideas and suggestions for the involvement of the Laboratory S&T women in the Laboratory Director search and b) Suggestions about FFF, its future direction, and possible new format.

June 6, 2004: Nancy Sullivan and Ellen Clough, "Women Advancing Bioscience"

May 7, 2004Petr Ostroumov "Heavy-ion Beam Accelerators for the U.S. RIA Project " by Dr. (ANL)
The Rare Isotope Accelerator (RIA) was announced as a highest priority project in the recent DOE 20-Year Science Facility Plan. RIA is a next generation facility for basic research with radioactive beams that utilizes both standard Isotope-separator On-line (ISOL) and in-flight fragmentation methods with novel approaches to handle high primary-beam power and remove existing limitations in the extraction of short-lived isotopes. The field of nuclear physics with exotic nuclei is both rich and diverse. In addition, there is also a number of important applications to medicine, industry, and other applied physics research. During the last five years an extensive R&D program related to the RIA accelerators has been evolved at ANL. A versatile primary accelerator, a 1.4-GV, continuous wave (CW) superconducting (SC) linac has been designed to simultaneously accelerate several heavy-ion charge states and provide beams from protons at 950 MeV to uranium at 400 MeV/u. The main innovative features of this project will be presented.

April 16, 2004 <>The new WIST Program Initiator and most of the Steering Committee Members were introduced. Each member was asked to tell us about him/herself, motivations and visions for his/her tenure as a member. We took this opportunity to thank the retiring Committee, and hear about their perspectives on their tenure.

March 5, 2004 "Nanoscale Confined Light: From Metal Nanoparticles to Nanoholes" by Dr. Stephan Gray
The computational modeling of light interacting with nanostructures such as metal nanoparticle arrays and nanoholes in thin metal films is discussed. These systems are of interest because they can exhibit localized surface plasmons and surface plasmon polaritons, which can be used to confine and propagate light on the nanoscale. The calculations are used to explain the origins of features in experiments being carried out at Argonne and to suggest new means for the manipulation of light on the nanoscale.

February 6, 2004, "Fabrication of Antiscatter Grids and collimators for medical imaging using x-rays from APS" by Olga V. Makarova, Cha-Mei Tang, Ralu Divan, Derrick C. Mancini.
Mammography image quality can be significantly improved by eliminating scattered x-rays by placing in front of the image detector an antiscatter grid that is highly transparent for primary radiation and opaque to scattered radiation. For nuclear imaging, a collimator is needed in front of gamma camera to select the appropriate gamma rays. Fabrications of ideal grids and collimators are challenging tasks because they require very high-aspect-ratio micro structures.
Deep x-ray lithography (DXRL) and electroforming is an unique method that allows production of high-aspect-ratio structures with a high degree of precision. We are developing DXRL/electroforming to fabricate freestanding, focused, two-dimensional antiscatter grid for mammography and collimators for nuclear imaging. The x-ray exposures were performed using hard x-rays from the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory. We will present the fabrication method and our progress in developing the grids and collimators.

January 16, 2004, “Tailoring polymers for sensing purposes" presented by Dr. Jyoti Dalvi, from Biosciences
Ionic conjugated polymers (ICP), polyions with electronically conjugated backbones, exhibit great potentials for a variety of applications ranging from separations to biosensors. Biosensor comprises of an analytical device in intimate contact with an appropriate transduction device, such as optical fibers. The most obvious advantage of optical fibers in medicine and bioanalytical sciences is the possibility of having access to otherwise inaccessible regions, be it as light- guiding system [as in laser surgery]. Detection of pollutants, workplace hazards, explosives, therapeutic drugs and drugs of abuse, and not to forget an onboard analysis in spacecraft, are areas where such a system may find its use.

December 11, 2003, End of Year Luncheon

November 7, 2003, "A Philosophical Look At Some Issues Related to Multi-laboratory Collaborations, And Some Things To Think About Next Time.”
Large science facilities of the future will doubtless be constructed by multi-lab partnerships due to their overwhelming political, cost, and technical advantages. This presentation includes a mostly-philosophical look at some of the issues, both human and technical, inherent in the use of multi-lab technical collaborations to construct large scientific facilities.
The speaker, Dr. Marion White (ASD-PHY), recently returned to APS after working for four years on the Spallation Neutron Source Project, a six-USDOE-laboratory partnership to construct a $1.4B world-leading neutron-scattering facility at ORNL.

September 12, 2003, "Out West They Talked About Cadmium!"
Maryka Bhattacharyya will provide a brief overview of her 25 years of research on the connection between cadmium exposure and Itai-Itai disease. You will hear how that research culminated in a magical journey to the Jinzu River basin, Toyama Prefecture, Japan during June of this year.

July 31, 2003, Presentations by Four Summer Students of Their Research Work at Argonne.
Mr. Micah Baquera (ET), Miss Zoe Paukstys (MSD), Mr. Arthur Reynolds (Physics), and Miss Monica Villar (CHM) have volunteered to present a summary of the work they accomplished during their Summer-03 internship at Argonne. These four enthusiastic young people will tell us about their experiences as ANL interns, their work, and their plans for the future.

July 11, 2003, Report on the WEPAN (Women in Engineering Programs & Advocates Network) National Conference.
The WEPAN 2003 national conference, held in Chicago June 8-11, was attended by approximately 300 executives and academic leaders. Five ANL employees participated in the conference. One of the conference goals was to address the challenge of declining numbers of engineers overall, as well as a decline in the number of women engineers, especially African American women and Latinas. The conference covered topics on student outreach programs, diversity training, mentoring programs, and retention programs in both industry and universities. ANL contributed two oral presentations and one poster. The July 11 First Friday Forum will give an overview of the WEPAN workshops and seminars, and will be presented by a panel of the ANL employees that participated in the conference.

April, 18, 2003, "WIST at Argonne: An Evaluation of its Past, Present and Future"
Maryka Bhattacharyya and Kirsten Laurin-Kovitz will summarize results of a newly-finalized report of the WIST Re-evaluation Subcommittee. At its 10th anniversary, the Argonne WIST Steering Committee decided to formally review the effectiveness of the WIST program and, based on this review, recommend program goals for the future. Members of the WIST Re-Evaluation Subcommittee carried out the following actions:

• Conducted a survey of S&T women at ANL to identify needs and concerns
• Compiled data on the number and grade level of S&T women to determine their status
• Reviewed and revised structure, mission and goals of WIST to address current needs and climate
• Generated recommendations for action by WIST and ANL management

The results of these efforts will be summarized.

April 4, 2003, “Career Management: Lessons from Women in the Legal Profession” by Ms. Susan Benton-Powers.
Although the Glass Ceiling Commission was founded in 1991 and three reports have issued identifying barriers to the advancement of women into middle and upper level management, little progress toward achieving these goals appears to have occurred in the legal profession. For more than 20 years, women have entered the legal profession in steadily increasing numbers, more and more women have risen to prominence in the profession, but a "glass ceiling" exists that prevents women from reaching the highest levels of the status and compensation in the law. Susan Bogart will offer her insights and experience as to how and why this "glass ceiling" in the law exists based upon 25 years in the profession over 13 of which have involved the representation of women in the middle to upper levels of all professions, observations which are applicable to all professions.

March 7, 2003, Review of “Survival Skills for Successful Women Scientists and Engineers.” by Dr. Kirsten Laurin-Kovitz

February 7, 2003, "Managing a $200 Million Project on Budget and on Time" by Ms. Denise Casalino
Ms. Casalino is the First Deputy Director of the Department of Construction and Permits of the City of Chicago. As the Project Manager for the Wacker Driver Viaduct Reconstruction Project, she managed a $200 million project that was completed under budget and on time. She talked about her experiences, problems, and successes during the project completion.

January 10, 2003, "Color Transparency in Nuclear Physics" by Dr. Hafidi, from the Physics Division and "Particle Physics in the Table Top: Exploring Symmetries in the Laboratory" by Dr. Schulte from the Physics Division

December 6, 2002, End of Year Luncheon

November 1, 2002, "Using Micro Sensors for Detecting Toxic Gases" by Laura Skubal, from the Energy Systems Division

October 4, 2002, "Driving the Standards Based Enterprise" by Ms. Mary McDowell from the Hewlett Packard Company

Sept. 6, 2002 Kirsten Laurin-Kovitz presented the results of a survey developed by members of the Women in Science and Technology Re-evaluation Subcommittee to learn the needs of women at Argonne.

• Survey results
• Detailed presentation of compensation information
• Cover memo with links to career level criteria
• Salary range table by position grade

April 5, 2002, "An Overview of the Site Visit by the American Physical Society Committee on the Status of Women in Physics" by Sue Morss (PBC) and Susan Strasser (APS)

March 1, 2002, “An Overview of the Spallation Neutron Source Project at Oak Ridge” byDr. Marion White

November 2, 2001, Introducing Eve Gohoure, Argonne Diversity Program Officer

October 2001 - no meeting

September 7, 2001, "Expanding the Pipeline: Women & Girls in Science, Engineering & Technology": Report on the conference held in Chicago and discussion led by Dr. Eliane Lessner

August 6, 2001, Stress Effects on Our Bodies - The Unique Female Experience, Dr. Jamie Stalker, ANL Medical Department

July 6, 2001 Informal gathering and discussion

June 1, 2001 Statistical report on Women in Science and Technology, prepared by the Statistical Subcommittee of WIST and presented by Dr. Natalia Meshkov

May 4, 2001: History of the National Labs: from Fission to the Manhattan (The Leo Szilard story) by Dr. Carole Szpuner

April , 2001: As usual there will be no FFF meeting during April, to recover from the SCSW01 conference on March 16.

March 2, 2001: Saturday Science at Argonne by Dr. Marcia Torres. Find out more about it at : www.dep.anl.gov

February 2, 2001: Presentation and tour of New Brunswick Laboratory by Dr. Margaret Tolbert, Laboratory Director

January 12, 2001: "From Jerry's Summer Party Until Now: Starting a Career at Argonne", by Dr. Laura R. Skubal

December 1, 2000: Report from WIST reevaluation committee and discussion on Grunder presentation

November 10, 2000: Report on "Women in Chemical Workforce" workshop, by Dr. Maryka Bhattacharya

October 6, 2000, Research Opportunities at the Advanced Photon Source (APS), by Dr. Liz Stefanski, APS

September, 2000: No meeting

August 4, 2000: Informal gathering

July 7, 2000: Informal discussion with Dr. Maria Iavarone, Maria Goeppert Mayer Distinguished Scholar, MSD

June 2, 2000: Breaking the Green Glass Ceiling: a Woman's Survival Guide to "This Man's Army, by Jill Morgenthaler, ECT

May 5, 2000: No First Friday Forum Meeting

April 7, 2000: How Vying for National Awards Assists Argonne's Tech Transfer Initiatives, by Shari K. Zussman

March 3, 2000: Introducing the new Diversity Officer Susan Pigott. Participants provided their input to Doug Harris from of Kaleidoscope Group for the DOE Diversity Stand-Down presentation.

February 4, 2000: Informal gathering and discussion on career advancement;

January 7, 2000: "Their Day In the Sun, Women of the Manhattan Project" - A book discussion by Dr. Caroline Herzenberg, co-author of the book. Caroline will bring copies of her book. More information on the book may be found at: www.temple.edu/tempress. Also see the Argonne News story.

December 3, 1999: Response to questions regarding Career Advancement at the Laboratory, by Carol Quinn

November 5, 1999: Open meeting with Dr. Kathy Harkay leading the discussion on profiling

October 1, 1999: Third Forum on Career Advancement at the Laboratory (Development of questionnaire)

September 3, 1999: Second Open Forum on Career Advancement at the Laboratory

August 6, 1999: Open Forum on Career Advancement at the Laboratory

July 9, 1999: Women in Chemical Technology Division, by Dr. Margaret Goldberg.

June 4, 1999: ANL Women in Science and Technology (WIST) Program: Moving Forward, by Dr. Marion Thurnauer

April 9, 1999: Snippets from 'the Long Way', by Margaret Butler
In this one-of-kind presentation, Margaret Butler explored the long history of women at the Argonne National Laboratory. Margaret joined the Argonne staff in 1948 as a junior Mathematician and continues to make her contributions to the Laboratory today. She has published numerous papers and received many awards for her accomplishments.

March 5, 1999: Changing Times for Women Scientists
To celebrate Women's History Month, we took a look at how the life and time of women scientists have changed over time. Marianne Schiffer and Carol Giometti from the Center for Mechanistic Biology, ANL, will lead the session featuring a video-taped conversation with Janet Rowley, Lasker prize winner and University of Chicago professor. More on Janet Rowley at: http://www.laskerfoundation.org/library/rowley/biography.html

February 5, 1999: Women in Division of Educational Programs, by Dr. Linda Washington

January 1999: No meeting

December 4, 1998: Women in Reactor Engineering and Reactor Analysis, by Dr. Laural Briggs

November 6, 1998: Women in Environmental Research Division, by Dr. Carol Rosignolo

October 2, 1998: Women in Plant Facilities and Services (PFS), by Vivian Kay Johnson

September 4, 1998: Overview of EEO laws at the Laboratory, by Teri Rodriguez

August 7, 1998: Women in Legal and Technology Transfer, by Carol Bernstein

July 10, 1998: Women in Chemistry Division, by Dr. Lin Xiang-Qun Che (CHM)

June 5, 1998: Women in Mathematics and Computer Science Division (MCS), by Dr. Lori Diachin

April 3, 1998: Women in Information and Publishing Division (IPD) by Kathryn Macal

March 6, 1998: Women in Electronic and Computing Technologies Division (ECT) by Mary Westbrook

February 6, 1998: Women in Environment, Safety, and Health (ESH) Division, by Carol Giles

January 16, 1998: Women in Accelerator Systems Division (ASD) and Experimental Facilities Division (XFD), by Dr. Kathy Harkay and Dr. Liz Stefanski