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One-Week Field Trips
Each fellowship year, the ComSci Fellows take a one-week field trip within the United States to investigate academic, private sector, and government science, technology, and technology policy. Each ComSci class decides on the location of their field trip.
Class of 2004-2005 -- San Francisco, CA: May 16-20, 2005
Class of 2003-2004 -- The State of New Mexico: May 24-28, 2004
Class of 2002-2003 -- Portland and Bar Harbor, ME: June 9-11, 2003
Class of 2001-2002 -- San Diego, CA: April 22-26, 2002
Class of 2000-2001 -- Puerto Rico: May 7-11, 2001
Class of 1999-2000 -- San Francisco, CA: May 22-26, 2000
Class of 1998-1999 -- Hawaii: May 23-28, 1999
Class of 1997-1998 -- Seattle, WA: April 27 - May 1, 1998
2004-2005 -- San Francisco, California
May 16-20, 2005Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District
(San Francisco, California)
(May 16, 2005)Since 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District has served the public interest by operating and maintaining the world-famous Golden Gate Bridge across the entrance to San Francisco Bay. As part of U.S. Highway 101, the Bridge serves as a vital transportation link between the City of San Francisco and the vast Redwood Empire to the north.
The district manages the Bridge, which sees over 41 million vehicle crossings annually, and the Golden Gate buses and ferries, which transport over 11 million passengers each year. A Board of Directors governs the District operations and approximately 1,000 employees with 19 members from the surrounding six counties.
The Golden Gate Bridge is internationally renowned, recognized as one of the Seven Wonders of the World and distinguished as one of the greatest suspension spans ever built. A symbol of American progress and ingenuity, the Bridge itself was constructed entirely with local funding and no federal or state assistance. Because of its excellent design, a history of significant structural improvements and the highest quality maintenance, it is estimated the Bridge has a life of 200 years. However, if an earthquake of Richter magnitude seven or greater with a nearby epicenter occurs, the Bridge could fail.
Ms. Ewa Bauer, Deputy District Engineer for the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, hosted the ComSci Fellows’ visit to the Bridge. Following Ms. Bauer’s initial overview, the ComSci Fellows donned safety hats and jackets and toured the Bridge with engineers to witness the seismic retrofit project currently taking place at Fort Point Arch and Pylon S2. The job of retrofitting is complicated by requirements to keep the Bridge open to traffic and to preserve its original design and appearance.
The ComSci Fellows were awed as they stood high upon the Bridge and took in the surrounding views of the City of San Francisco.
For additional information on the Golden Gate Bridge, visit the website: http://www.goldengate.org.
Port of Oakland
(Oakland, California)
(May 16, 2005)The Port of Oakland was the second site visit for the ComSci Fellows during their week-long field trip to the San Francisco area. Their hosts, Mr. Joe Wong, Deputy Executive Director; Mr. Jerry Serventi, Director of Engineering; Ms. Roberta Reinstein, Manager of EH≻ and Mr. Robert Bernardo, Public Information Officer, gave a very interesting and detailed description of the Port’s business operations including their projects promoting a more environmentally friendly footprint. The presentation was followed by a driving and walking tour of the Port and their public area.
The Port of Oakland was established in 1927, and is now a world-class international cargo transportation and distribution hub. The first major port on the Pacific Coast to build terminals for container ships in 1962, the Port of Oakland is now the fourth busiest container port in the United States, behind Long Beach, California; Los Angeles, California; and Newark, New Jersey. Although depth and navigation restrictions in San Francisco Bay limited its capacity by the late 1970s, in the early 2000s, severe congestion at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach has resulted in some trans-Pacific shippers to move some of their traffic back to Oakland (especially, if the final destination is not in Southern California, but lies further east). Additionally, the Port is now reaping the benefits of investment in Post-Panamax giant container cranes (installed in March of 2005), dredging, and the transfer of military property, which the Port has used to expand its operations. The Port is serviced by two railroads, Union Pacific and Burlington National Santa Fe, as well as major trucking lines.
Since 1962, the Port has invested more than $1.4 billion to construct 1,210 acres of maritime terminals, an intermodal rail facility, and a maritime support area. This includes development of two new maritime terminals (for a total of 20 deepwater berths and 35 container cranes, 29 of which are Post-Panamax size), a new intermodal rail facility, deepening channels and berths from 42’ to 50’, and a new public park and wildlife habitat. Most of the landside projects have been completed or are nearing completion while the dredging program, which started in October of 2001, will take approximately five to six years to complete.
The Port of Oakland is very proud of their efforts to make the Port a more environmentally friendly location for wildlife and the public. They have two projects, the Middle Harbor Enhancement Area and the Middle Harbor Shoreline Park. The Middle Harbor will become an ecological reserve of shallow bay and shoreline habitats. Commercial fishery species, such as Dungeness crab, flatfish, anchovy, herring, and perch live and feed in these shallow waters, often using them as nurseries for their young. The 30-acre Middle Harbor Shoreline Park will have a mixture of new attractions – an educational center, shoreline walkways, fishing and picnic areas, a sandy beach, and the preservation of historic features; a scenic ten-acre peninsula separating the Port’s navigation channel and the Middle Harbor, will offer fishing, walkways, and an observation tower to take in the expensive bay views and watch birds in the shoreline marsh and newly-restored habitat area.
The Port of Oakland became a very distinctive landmark for the ComSci Fellows during the entire week’s stay as it is easily seen, thanks to the giant cargo cranes, from the entire San Francisco Bay area including the Bay Bridge and the downtown area.
Additional information about the Port of Oakland can be found at http://www.portofoakland.com.
University of California, Davis
Department of Viticulture and Enology
(Davis, California)
(May 17, 2005)“Wine is the most civilized thing in the world,” as quoted by Ernest Hemingway and it was a good quote to consider as the ComSci Fellows began their site visit to the Department of Viticulture and Enology at the University of California – Davis (UC Davis). Dr. James A. Wolpert, Department Chair and Marvin Sands Endowed Chair, and Cooperative Extension Viticulture Specialist, hosted the ComSci Fellows’ visit.
Dr. Wolpert joined the Department in 1985. He is responsible for applied research and grower education programs for Northern California. He has two focal points to his research: evaluation of wine grape clones and evaluation of rootstocks, which are critical decisions in vineyard establishment. Mr. Vincent Stewart, Director of Federal Government Relations, Department Government and Community Relations, accompanied the Fellows on their tour lead by Dr. Wolpert.
The Department of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis is a research and teaching institution with a goal to help improve the quality and value of grapes, raisins, and wine by utilizing new information and a better understanding of grape and wine qualities. One of their missions is to help grape and wine scientists throughout the world seek answers to questions that have no known or well-established answers. The faculty and staff contribute to a better understanding of grape-growing and winemaking through experiments both in the lab and in the field. These contributions cover fundamental science to problem-solving in vineyards and wineries.
Dr. Wolpert, in addition to answering the ComSci Fellows many questions along the way, briefed the group on the history of UC Davis and his Department. He told the group that on April 15, 1880, the California Legislature mandated the Regents of the University of California to establish a program providing for instruction and research in viticulture and enology. The current Department was established on the Davis campus in 1935 following the repeal of Prohibition. It was here that Dr. Wolpert quoted Thomas Jefferson when he said, "No nation is drunken where wine is cheap." This brought smiles to the group.
There are 13 faculty members who conduct laboratory research, teach, and engage in community outreach. Additionally, the Department has graduated over 1,000 students!
As the ComSci Fellows toured the labs, Dr. Wolpert pointed out that wine pre-dates recorded history and there are at least 4,000 to 8,000 wine grape varieties in the world. He further explained the basics of the winemaking process and the sciences that are involved. At UC Davis, microbiology, plant genetics, analytical chemistry, chemical engineering, food science, sensory science, and plant biochemistry are integral. There is both a science and an art to winemaking. UC Davis ensures the science and as much art as possible. The rest of the art is developed by the individual vintner/winemaker at their winery over the course of their careers. On a more serious note, Dr. Wolpert explained that the Department has to be sensitive to potential alcohol abuse on campus. Students can’t wine taste until they are 21 and there is lots of security associated with the wine stored there.
As the ComSci Fellows continued their walking tour, they learn about when to harvest the grapes, where to grow grapes, the fermentation process, the barrels, storage, irrigation, mechanization, government regulations, pests, “green chemistry,” genomics, economics, challenges, and the future of the viticulture and enology worlds. Some examples of the facts that Dr. Wolpert provided include:
-- Grape growing: It takes almost five years to get grapes into production and they are still trying to figure out the best places to grow the different wine grapes. Sunlight affects the color, pH, and sugar content of the grapes.
-- Fermentation process: There are different ways to produce white and red wines and there are two different ways to begin the fermentation. One can inoculate with a yeast to begin the fermentation or let any yeasts present naturally in the winemaking environment begin the fermentation naturally. There are also two types of fermentations: alcohol and malo-lactic.
-- Harvest time: The time is chosen based on the sugar and tannin contents of the grapes.
-- Barrels: Barrels are used for as long as they aren’t contaminated with something that affects the taste of the wine, which is ultimately a winemaker’s style issue.
-- Pests and “green chemistry”: Ninety percent of pests are controlled with a beneficial insect; they want to develop a green or soft chemistry that will only affect target pests. The glassy-winged sharpshooter is a bane to the industry as it spreads a bacterium that causes Pierce’s Disease that causes a strangulation effect on portions of the grape vines.
-- Economics: This is a $15 billion a year industry where 88 percent of wine is consumed by 12 percent of the population. The United Kingdom is believed to me the next big wine market.
-- Challenges: The next challenges are to grow a good wine in a higher temperature climate. Higher temperatures affect the acidity of the wine. In addition, new ways to control the new sharpshooters will be a challenge as they fly faster, are bigger, and feed year round.
-- The Future: Consumer genetic profiling may be the wave of the future as the industry will try to understand what people like about wines. They do this so that specific wines could be marketed individually. This would include some psychological components.
There is openness in the wine community regarding sharing techniques and best practices. This was surprising to the ComSci Fellows. Dr. Wolpert attributed this to winemaker, Robert Mondavi. There is also the California Enological Research Association (CERA) that was set up in the mid-1980s. CERA is a forum for the pursuit of research in the field of enology where winemakers can share their enological and viticultural methods.
Dr. Linda F. Bisson, Maynard A. Amerine Endowed Chair, Professor and Geneticist joined the ComSci Fellows during the latter part of the site visit. Dr. Bisson’s main area of research is the investigation of the utilization of carbon and energy sources in yeast, with a specific focus on how eukaryotic cells detect energy sources in their environment and prioritize use when presented with a mixture of substrates. Dr. Bisson answered additional questions regarding yeasts and gave a mini-tutorial on sensory science and wine making.
No visit to the Enology and Viticulture Department would be complete without tasting the fruits of their studies and labors. The ComSci Fellows were privileged to sample a Chateau St. Jean Pinot Noir, 1998; a Rare Blends (Davis vintage), 1998; a Bogle Petite Syrah, 2002; and an Oakville Experimental Cabernet Sauvignon (Davis vintage), 1995. As a parting thought, it was good to reconsider a statement Dr. Wolpert had made earlier. He said, “Great wines are made in the vineyard and preserved through the winemaking process.” At the end of the ComSci Fellows’ site visit, this statement was thoroughly demonstrated. Cheers!
Additional information about the research being done at UC Davis can be found at http://wineserver.ucdavis.edu.
Acacia Vineyard
(Napa, California)
(May 17, 2005)As the ComSci Fellows stepped off the van into a slight rainy mist, the sweet smell of nectar was in the air. The group walked excitedly past a sea of well-nurtured vines toward the main building where two smiling faces, that the group later learned belonged to Ms. Muriel Lambert, Director of Marketing and Special Events, and Mr. Michael Beguelin, Director of Hospitality and Sales. They greeted the group with bottles in hand. “Here to learn a little bit about the business?” the gentleman asked. Actually, the ComSci Fellows were there to learn about the business, but mainly the years of agricultural, horticultural, and chemical training and implementation that it takes to produce a $10 bottle of pleasure on aisle six. As the ComSci Fellows waited for the tour guide, master winemaker Mr. Anthony King, to find a stopping point in his duties, the group sampled a little of what has made this vineyard one the premier in the country. There was a Viognier, 2004; a Chardonnay, 2003; and their keynote product, a Pinot Noir, 2003. After a few sips and rinse regiments with the palate, Mr. King made his appearance and the group was on their way outside to the vineyard. The ComSci Fellows walked a short distance and stopped at one of the vines. Mr. King explained that the plants are actually grafted onto a durable root-stock. The grapes themselves have a poor root system for a vineyard setting so they take a more climate friendly and sturdy root-stock, grow that, and then graft the fruit producing plants onto it. This is his fourth year of harvest and the three acres of plants at which the group was looking, produce four to five tons of grapes per acre. He said that one of the main difficulties that they encounter is irrigation. There are irrigation issues for much of their land due to the lack of rainfall and water flow related to the landscape. They also have to battle the birds for which they use a system of patrolling falcons which scare away unwanted predators. Boric acid is also applied to the plants to combat fungus. Mr. King told the group that September is harvest time then in October and November, after only about one and a half months of harvesting, the leaves fall off. Another interesting item about the plants is that Acacia uses a particular bud/vine control system of pruning and shaping so that each of the grapes grows evenly and is mature at the same time. This happens between January and March. In mid-summer, the sugar comes. This means that at that time, the plants are producing on average 25 to 30 percent sugar and some times up to 50 percent. The Acacia method is all-natural growth, but not production process. This brought the ComSci Fellows to the next part of their tour, the processing plant. The grapes come in from the field and are put through a machine which shakes the grapes from the stems and then the grapes are weighed. The grapes are then put through a press. The smashed juice and skins are now ready for the rest of the process. This is where red and white wine diverge. For white wine, the skins are removed through filtering and only the juice goes on to fermentation. For red wine, the skins are left as part of the fermentation process. The fermentation process cleans the wine. Yeast is added periodically and acts as a catalyst for the fermentation, which turns sugar into alcohol. After about two weeks the process is complete.
Acacia, started in 1979, produces about 100,000 cases of wine a year. They employ 30 to 40 people full-time and have a total of about 100 acres.
Acacia Vineyard’s website is www.acaciavineyard.com.
United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earthquake Research Center
(Menlo Park, California)
(May 18, 2005)Geologist, Ms. Leslie C. Gordon, who hosted the ComSci Fellows’ visit to USGS, provided the introductory welcome and general overview.
The USGS is organized with a Headquarters and Eastern Region facility in Reston, Virginia. Central Region and Western Region offices are located in Denver, Colorado, and Menlo Park, California, respectively. Thousands of other USGS employees are working in every State in the Nation.
The mission of the USGS is to serve the Nation by providing reliable scientific information to describe and understand the Earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life.
Created by an act of Congress in 1879, the USGS has evolved over the ensuing 120 years, matching its talent and knowledge to the progress of science and technology. Today, the USGS stands as the sole science agency for the Department of the Interior. It is sought out by thousands of partners and customers for its natural science expertise and its vast earth and biological data holdings. The USGS is the science provider of choice in accessing the information and understanding to help resolve complex natural resource problems across the Nation and around the world.
The diversity of scientific issues that demand attention has prompted the USGS to focus its efforts into four major areas: natural hazards, resources, the environment, and information and data management.
Following Ms. Gordon’s briefing, Mr. Tom Brocher of the Earthquake Hazards Team spoke to the ComSci Fellows about earthquake research. Earthquake research is a primary activity as numerous fault zones run through California. Following several major earthquakes in the 1970s, USGS placed numerous seismometers around the region. These instruments are linked through microwave radio transmission to the Menlo Park facility. Seismic data is provided in real time via the Internet to disaster relief personnel, the media, the research community, and the general public.
Ecologist, Dr. Jan Thompson, spoke to the ComSci Fellows about the San Francisco Bay ecology and water quality. Additionally, the group was able to tour the Water Resources Laboratory where Dr. Thompson explained research being conducted in San Francisco Bay. This research offers a unique long-term data set on numerous physical, geological, chemical and biological parameters.
Two lectures followed the Water Resources Laboratory tour: (1) Mr. Eric L. Geist, Research Geophysicist with the Coastal and Marine Geology Team discussed tsunami research, and (2) Mr. Len Gaydos, a geographer with the USGS Geography Team presented information on geographic research and digital geospatial data.
The USGS offers an amazing gateway to rich data bases, manipulatable maps, newly acquired satellite images, real-time information, and a wealth of reports spanning more than a century of science. A geospatial-one-stop demonstration of the National Map was given by Ms. Christy Ryan, a Geographer with the Natural Science Network Team.
More and more, USGS information is available over the Internet and on CD-ROM. For additional information about the USGS, visit their website at: www.usgs.gov.
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
(Menlo Park, California)
(May 18, 2005)The ComSci Fellows’ visit to the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) was curtailed somewhat because of the ironic fact that this area of Menlo Park had suffered a power outage that morning. Nevertheless, the ComSci Fellows’ host, Dr. Neil Calder, Director of Communications at SLAC, was very eager to talk to the group anyway and provided an excellent briefing and tour.
SLAC is operated by Stanford University for the U.S. Department of Energy. This arrangement enables SLAC to recruit top-flight scientists through Stanford while the Government provides the funding. It began in 1962 and personnel there performed their first experiment in 1966. In general, SLAC is considered one of the world's leading physics centers and in particular, one of the most innovative.
In 1969, SLAC scientists identified and isolated quarks, which led to a shared Nobel Prize. (A number of scientists have received Nobel Prizes for their work at SLAC.) SLAC’s circular collider has also led to the discovery of the charm, two "families" of elemental physical particles. More recently, researchers discovered a third family of particle. These three families make up the "standard model" of physics.
Currently, the Babar particle physics experiment at SLAC involves 600 physicists looking at the collision between matter and anti-matter that occurred at the universe's birth. This experiment will end in 2008-2010.
SLAC scientists are also involved in research to understand what makes up "dark matter." Only five percent of the universe is accounted for in standard matter; the rest is dark matter that still mystifies scientists.
The accelerator itself is two miles long and connected to a circular particle path. Radio frequency waves accelerate the subatomic particles.
Recently, there has been a big shift to photon science. SLAC scientists analyze synchotron radiation in which x-rays are emitted. The relevant SLAC facility can be upgraded in modular thirds. There are now approximately 50 synchotron research labs around the world.
SLAC personnel are looking forward to using a new linear coherent light source (LCLS) machine. By approximately 2009, scientists will be able to make movies of chemical and biological processes at 10-15 second (femtosecond). This will help the pharmaceutical industry understand how to design more effective drugs.
However, particle physics in general has no practical applications at all now and is focused on conducting basic research on the nature of matter. In general, particle physics experiments tend to be very large and last many years. On the other hand, photon science experiments typically are much smaller and shorter in duration.
No military work has been done at SLAC in the past, but this may well change with the advent of the LCLS facility.
In the next few years, a proposed international linear collider (two straight lines of 20 miles each) could be built in the United States, Europe, or Japan. SLAC is not a contender for this facility because there isn't room on the Stanford campus and because of its proximity to the San Andreas Fault. Where this new collider is finally situated will have important consequences for the national educational base.
More information about SLAC is available at http://www.slac.stanford.edu/.
Agilent Laboratories
(Palo Alto, California)
(May 18, 2005)The ComSci Fellows finished their site visit on Wednesday afternoon at Agilent Laboratories, the central research organization of Agilent Technologies. Their hosts for the site visit were Dr. Darlene J. Solomon, Vice President and Director, and Dr. William R. Shreve, Director of External Research. Dr. Solomon’s responsibilities include developing the company's long-term technology strategy and overseeing the alignment of Agilent's objectives with its centralized research-and-development activities. Dr. Shreve’s responsibilities include partnering with universities and research centers to create technologies for use in Agilent products, and creating methodologies for extracting value from technologies developed at Agilent that do not become part of Agilent products.
Agilent, the world’s premiere measurement company, delivers critical tools and technologies that sense, measure, and interpret the physical and biological world.
Agilent's innovative spirit was ignited more than 60 years ago, when two engineers - Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard - invented the future in their garage. In 1999, Agilent was spun off from Hewlett-Packard (HP) Company after they outgrew HP’s garage, and they continue to support the values so important to the two visionary founders. They also continue to pioneer in the fields that are shaping the modern world. Agilent Laboratories has the purpose of powering Agilent’s future through breakthrough technologies. To accomplish this, the researchers will continue to innovate in the areas of Test and Measurement, Electronics/Computers, Communications/Internet, Biotechnology, and Bioelectronics/Nanotechnology. Some examples of Agilent Laboratories’ innovations are optical mouse navigation, DNA microarray platforms, HPLC-chip MS, and FBAR chips used in mobile phones.
In Dr. Solomon’s overview, she pointed out that Agilent’s focus is to innovate in the areas of communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis to make technological advancements that drive productivity and improve the way people live and work. Agilent is also the market and technology leader in the Test and Measurement, Automated Test, Semiconductor Products, and Life Sciences and Chemical Analysis businesses. She went on to point out that Agilent’s values are innovation and contribution; trust, respect and teamwork, uncompromising integrity (all values from Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard); and speed, focus, and accountability. Dr. Shreve also gave additional comments and answers to questions, as needed.
After the overview, the group was split into two different tours of four laboratories each – Tour 1: Life Sciences, and Tour 2: Measurements for the 21st Century, including Homeland Security.
Tour 1, led by Dr. Shreve, included mini-discussions of projects in the laboratories of the Gene Expression Array for Cardiovascular Disease presented by David Deng, Comparative Genomic Hybridization and Cancer Diagnostics presented by Alicia Scheffer, Systems Biology Studies: Diabetes given by Aditya Vailaya, Teho Sana, and Annette Adler, and Nanopore Technology for Ultrafast DNA Sequencing given by May Tom-Moy, George Yefchak, and Rick Pittaro.
Tour 2, led by Dr. Solomon, included mini-discussions of projects in the laboratories of the Sensor Networks/Distributed Imaging Measurements given by Rick Baer, Millimeter Wave Imaging given by Marty Neil, Micro-TOF for HLS given by Carl Myerholtz, and Finding Eyes for Drowsy Driver Detection and Other Applications given by Julie Fouquet.
The laboratory tours and associated projects were very exciting and there were the usual plethora of questions that the researchers eagerly and happily answered.
After regrouping, the ComSci Fellows’ visit to Agilent Laboratories concluded with a final, general question and answer session with Drs. Solomon and Shreve. The questions ranged from, was the idea to split HP into two companies a good idea, to does Agilent look outside its current key areas? For instance, a question was asked regarding how the researchers brainstorm to come up with new ideas for research. Dr. Solomon replied that there is both a bottoms up approach (e.g., discussions on the sand volleyball court, over coffee, or in the cubicles) and a top down approach consisting of a formal meeting of 10 to 12 researchers who get together for a few days with the incentive to innovate. A question was asked concerning how Agilent prioritizes ideas. The answer was that yes they prioritize, but they look at what has the most opportunities in the near-term (three to four years) and in the long-term. The bottom line is they look at what technology will benefit the company the most. Another interesting question centered on how/if Agilent rewards its researchers for innovation. Small cash awards for patents, the Barney Oliver Award (cash and sculpture) for outstanding technical contributions that demonstrate a level of creativity, innovation, technical depth, or business value and which leads to a useful technical or scientific result, and stock options are given to researchers to honor their novel research contributions.
As the visit concluded, it appeared that there may be potential application areas for some of the Agilent technologies at some of the ComSci Fellows and their agencies. There was mutual respect between the Agilent presenters and researchers and the ComSci Fellows. Overall, it was an enlightening site visit.
Additional information about Agilent Laboratories can be found at: www.agilent.com.
Perspectives from Start-up Founders, Marc Tarpenning and Martin Eberhard
(San Francisco, California)
(May 18, 2005)The purpose of the discussion with these two start-up founders in an informal setting was to get a good idea on their experience in starting up new companies and to know how to succeed in the marketplace.
Mr. Martin Eberhard, CEO, Tesla Motors, Incorporated, has formed two successful start-up ventures. Mr. Marc Tarpenning, Vice President, Digital Engineering, Tesla Motors, Incorporated and a software engineer by training, had background in the oil industry through his work career in Saudi Arabia before joining Mr. Eberhard in start-up ventures.
Both of these gentlemen were successful in launching e-book, which was a commercial success.
Mr. Eberhard spent a great deal of time in discussing his newest initiative (e.g., forming the company called Tesla Motors, Incorporated (http://www.teslamotors.com)). The aim of this company is to produce high-performance electric cars for the high-end market. He talked about key engineering specifications of this car. The energy consumption for this vehicle is projected to be about half of the maximum energy that is currently used in the auto industry.
Both Mr. Tarpenning and Mr. Eberhard discussed the business advantage for start-ups in the San Francisco Bay area. They talked about their interest in emerging technologies such as fuel cells, hybrid vehicles, and energy technologies.
The ComSci Fellows learned a great deal about the business acumen that is needed for initiating start-ups, the interaction needed with the venture capital community in different stages of financing, the need for developing a well thought-out business plan, and how to survive effectively in the marketplace.
Genentech, Incorporated
(South San Francisco, California)
(May 19, 2005)Dr. Paul Moran, Senior Research Associate, escorted the ComSci Fellows during their visit to Genentech, Incorporated. Dr. Moran began with an overview of the history of Genentech, beginning with its founding by Dr. Herbert W. Boyer and Mr. Robert A. Swanson. Before founding Genentech, Dr. Boyer was a professor at the University of California at San Francisco. In collaboration with Dr. Stanley Cohen of Stanford University, Dr. Boyer invented recombinant DNA technology (genetic engineering) – the “gene splicing” technology that allows the insertion of a gene of interest into the DNA of another organism. Mr. Swanson, a venture capitalist, was excited by the new technology, and requested a meeting with Dr. Boyer in 1976. Dr. Boyer agreed to a ten-minute meeting, but as a result of Mr. Swanson’s enthusiasm and belief in the commercial viability of the technology, the meeting lasted three hours and concluded with the formation of the first biotechnology company, Genentech.
The company, which is the leading biotechnology company, uses human genetic information to discover, develop, manufacture, and commercialize biotherapeutic proteins. Such recombinant products are advantageous because they avoid the human pathogens that are sometimes associated with proteins isolated from cadavers, as well as the immunological reactions that may be elicited by proteins obtained from non-human mammals. Genentech encourages good science and publishing of results, and believes that its informal, academic atmosphere encourages innovation. Its first products were two important hormones, human growth hormone and insulin (via Eli Lilly). However, Genentech has broadened its search for new therapeutics, and now has 13 products arising from three main areas of research – oncology, immunology, and vascular biology. Its cancer therapeutics includes recombinant antibodies to treat colorectal, breast, and other cancers. Genentech also markets two recombinant antibodies to treat psoriasis and asthma, both of which are diseases involving malfunctions of the immune system. Finally, Genentech markets three recombinant enzymes used to treat disorders of the vascular (blood vessel) system.
Dr. Moran showed the ComSci Fellows some protein structure diagrams produced by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and x-ray crystallography. Using these techniques, the Protein Engineering Department of Genentech may be able to identify new therapeutics or to improve known biotherapeutics so as to make them more effective, longer lasting, or more selective. Dr. Moran also showed the ComSci Fellows a small scale, ten-liter bioreactor and explained the difficulties of scaling up to the capacity necessary to manufacture biotherapeutics commercially. Purification is also difficult, because the proteins must be pure but active. Activity can be retained only under mild purification conditions. Accordingly, Genentech has developed a pilot plant to purify proteins using column chromatography. Scale up of manufacturing capacity is not easy, but Genentech leads the world in biotherapeutics manufacturing, with more than 250,000 liters of fermentation capacity at two United States’ locations.
Additional information about Genentech, Incorporated may be found at their website: www.gene.com.
National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center
(Moffett Field, California)
(May 19, 2005)As part of this site visit, the ComSci Fellows visited four facilities: (1) the “Columbia” Supercomputer, (2) the Robotic Education Facility, (3) the Space Shuttle Pilot Training Facility, and (4) the Air Traffic Controller Training Facility.
The “Columbia” Supercomputer is an integrated cluster of 20 interconnected 512-processors, making it one of the world's most powerful supercomputing systems. The team at the Robotic Education Facility works with grade-school children introducing them to the world of robotics to excite them into becoming future scientists. ComSci Fellows, Mr. Dan Speyer and Mr. Steve Garber were lucky enough to be picked to perform “mock” space shuttle landings in NASA Ames Shuttle Pilot Training Facility. As for the Air Traffic Controller Training Facility, NASA Ames works collaboratively with the Federal Aviation Administration, conducting research in air traffic management to make safer, cheaper and more efficient air travel a reality.
Additional information about NASA Ames Research Center may be found at http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames and http://moffetthistoric.arc.nasa.gov.
Intuitive Surgical, Inc.
(Sunnyvale, California)
(May 19, 2005)Dr. Chris Hasser, Director of Applied Research, hosted the ComSci Fellows’ visit to Intuitive Surgical, Inc. This company is a Stanford Research Institute (SRI) spin-off that was funded in part with DARPA and NASA money and has also received funds from NIST's Advanced Technology Program. Intuitive was founded in 1995, has approximately 300 employees, and has a presence around the globe.
Dr. Hasser discussed the three historical generations of surgery: open, minimally invasive (i.e., laparoscopic), and robotic. Intuitive Surgical’s main product is its DaVinci robotic system for surgery. This system has a surgeon's side console and articulated manipulator arms that hold surgical instruments on the patient side. The instruments are designed to be sterilized and reused approximately 10 to 20 times. A surgeon's hand movements can be scaled up or down on the DaVinci system. It is essentially an electronic "fly by wire" system.
The system has proved to be ergonomically advantageous for many surgeons, as it reduces fatigue. Currently, the DaVinci system is used when the patient and surgeon are both in a conventional operating room setting, but it holds significant promise for telesurgery.
Removing cancerous prostate tissue is a common procedure using the DaVinci system; some open-heart surgery is also performed with it. Criteria for robotic surgery include whether there is good access to the site (an obese patient would not be a good candidate for robotic surgery) and whether other known complications exist (if they do, surgeons would be reluctant to operate robotically). The DaVinci system isn't necessarily advantageous for some routine types of minor invasive surgery.
In the future, the DaVinci system could potentially be used for various other kinds of operations. More technologically sophisticated imagery such as CT scans and ultrasound overlays could also help guide future robotic surgery.
Stereoscopic vision is necessary for depth perception. There is force feedback on the master side, but currently it is too challenging to have this on the slave side. Typically, it takes 20 to 40 cases to train surgeons on the DaVinci system.
The system costs approximately $1.1 million and Intuitive has sold approximately 300 systems worldwide since 1999, when the first system went into place. In terms of the economics, sometimes patients pay out-of-pocket and sometimes surgeons use it even if they don't get fully reimbursed by insurance. It could become more cost-effective overall, as less invasive robotic surgery leads to shorter recovery times for patients.
Typically, health care providers find that if the same surgical team does at least one procedure per week, it's reasonably feasible in terms of cost. Some hospitals use their DaVinci systems up to six or seven times per week.
The proprietary software used for the DaVinci system was developed in-house. Special requirements in terms of quality assurance and redundancy were key.
Additional information can be found at Intuitive Surgical’s website: www.intuitivesurgical.com.
Bank of America Venture Partners
(Foster City, California)
(May 20, 2005)Mr. Jim Jones, Managing Director, and Mr. Eric M. Sigler, Director, explained that Bank of America Venture Partners was founded in 1995, and is now investing a $400,000,000 fund. Bank of America is the single limited partner providing the capital. They are comprised of seven investing partners, one principal and three associates. They take roles of active investors by leading rounds and taking board seats on a portfolio of 60 companies (40 percent software, 35 percent health care, and 25 percent hardware). Mr. Jones and Mr. Sigler explained they expect a 15 to 20 percent IIR and that it typically takes five years to see the return on investment.
They explained what a venture capital is and why it matters (e.g., 10.1 million jobs and $1.8 trillion in sales for 2003). They explained that General Partners manage the fund and get a 1 to 2 percent management fee. They explained that 20 percent returns profits, 40 percent returns capital, and 40 percent loses money.
Bank of America Venture Partners reach out to companies, read journals, attend tech transfer conferences/universities, and use the lawyers’ network to identify potential businesses. Once identified, they evaluate the business’ relative value proposition to the closest competitor as well as the time to market. They discussed that Sarbanes/Oxley has impacted the number of IPOs and making it difficult because of internal controls to investors. They estimated that it can cost $5 million to comply. They typically do not invest in mature industries or government end-markets; they also do not look at overseas because of their active oversight role. They discussed India’s increase in investment in the biotech area and the increase of venture capital groups in China.
Additional information about Bank of America Venture Partners may be found at www.baventurepartners.com.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
(Livermore, California)
(May 20, 2005)Set in the countryside, far away from any famous bridges or towering skyscrapers, is one the most sophisticated research facilities in the world. After going through a security process that would make the Department of Homeland Security proud, the ComSci Fellows were fortunate enough to have a glimpse inside of this brilliant world to visit three very impressive parts of the compound.
Stop 1 was the National Atmosphere Release Advisory Center. As explained by Mr. Ronald L. Baskett, Operations Manager, this Center is primarily concerned with the tracking, notification, and response process associated with the release of a deadly toxin or agent. The release could be terrorist or accident-related; air or ground associated, and could happen in any part of the country. Consequence management scenarios that incorporate the latest weather and other satellite information and simulation capabilities are run there.
Stop 2 was the Center for Accelerated Mass Spectrometry (AMS). The AMS process is what allows scientist to isolate Carbon 14 isotopes that are used to estimate the age of carbon-based material because its half-life is well-known. Some Carbon isotopes are physically heavier than others. This machine uses their weight in combination with natural gravitational effects to create a maze by which only Carbon 14 will be able to make the turns and the others will be filtered out as they crash into the walls of the AMS during a turn. This technology is used in many fields from Biomedical Research to Anthropology.
Stop 3 was the National Ignition Facility. With the advent of fossil fuel shortages and rising prices, one goal of this facility is to prove that the fusion process can actually work. They have built the world’s largest laser configuration that will be tested in the near future. They want to provide a proof of concept of the combining of atoms to produce more energy than was expelled to combine them, thus fusion ignition.
Additional information can be found at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s website: www.llnl.gov.
Class of 2003-2004 -- The State of New Mexico
May 24-28, 2004White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico
(May 24, 2004)Ms. Debbie Bingham, Public Affairs Officer at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), met the ComSci Fellows at the security gate and served as their escort to the visitor’s center. In the briefing room, she introduced Rear Admiral (Retired) Paul K. Arthur, Deputy Commanding General and Technical Director of WSMR, who gave a command brief overview of the test range. The mission of WSMR is to provide the Department of Defense (DOD) and its allies with high-quality services for experimentation, testing, and research. The missile range focuses on launching, operational detonations, and recovery testing, but doesn’t itself build or develop new missile technology. The range has provided these services since the first atomic bomb was tested at the Trinity Site on its grounds in 1945.
WSMR is ideal for testing due to its large surface area, 3,200 square miles with 2,343 square miles of leased land, which can be called up as needed. The leased land is allotted to local ranchers and requires a 72-hour notification to allow removal of livestock. Call-ups are limited to 12 in a year. The New Mexico climate is ideal for year-round testing with little or no rain and fairly constant temperatures, which creates a consistent testing environment.
WSMR tests a variety of technologies beyond conventional missiles, including the Army’s Patriot Missile System, MLRS, and HIMARS. The Air Force has tested programs such as the AMRAAM and the Airborne Laser.
WSMR receives $363 million in base funds and approximately $500 million from other organizations for its services. The WSMR work force of some 6,600 employees is a diverse group of military, government civilians, and contractors. The majority of the work force is civilian, which helps to maintain the WSMR corporate knowledge.
Holloman Air Force Base
Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico
(May 24, 2004)Following the interesting briefing at the White Sands Missile Range, the ComSci Fellows moved on to Holloman Air Force Base (AFB), home of the 49th Tactical Fighter Wing and the F-117 Stealth Fighter. The base is also the site of the German Air Force’s Tactical Training Center.
Led by Airman Vanessa LaBoy, the visit began with briefings and tours at the Physiological Training Center, which provides ground-based acceleration training and other aerospace physiology instruction, such as how to handle oxygen-related problems. Training began in 1988. The Air Force had been losing too many pilots and aircraft. The United States and its allies had been outmaneuvered by Soviet pilots who could pull “Gs,” or gravity forces, better. Rapidly accelerating, a pilot can experience “G lock,” a loss of consciousness.
It was pointed out that the training at Holloman AFB is harder than the actual flying experience. Pilots learn how to counteract “G” forces physically and mentally. A pilot must pass the training required in terms of handling the appropriate number of “Gs” for the specific fighter aircraft, such as the F-16. All Air Force tactical fighter pilots will come through the center twice in their careers. Some 27 countries have sent their pilots here for training.
The ComSci Fellows were able to watch a centrifuge spinning around with a pilot inside. The pilot’s physical reaction to the stages of rapid acceleration could be watched on a video screen outside the centrifuge.
The ComSci Fellows also sat in the Center’s altitude chamber, where pilots learn about oxygen deprivation, or hypoxia – how to recognize its onset and respond to it in time. This training would help a pilot facing conditions such as decompression sickness or the shutdown of the oxygen system in the plane. Pilots can suffer from both “G” stress and hypoxia.
Air Force fighter and cargo pilots undergo this training once every five years. Civilian pilots, such as emergency rescue personnel and commercial test pilots, also train here.
Holloman AFB is also home to a solar observatory, which is part of the Air Force Weather Agency. This unit, which calls itself the “solar patrol,” collects data on solar activity from both optical and radio telescopes, does analyses and then sends it all to a central forecast center. Major Cornicelli gave the ComSci Fellows both an electronic tour of solar activity and a physical tour of the facility, showing how the unit does it work.
Worldwide communications, space missions, satellite surveillance and GPS navigation can all be affected by solar emissions. Major Cornicelli pointed out that solar flares – ejections of gas into space caused by the sun’s magnetic dynamics – cannot be predicted. He also discussed the 11-year solar cycle. At solar max, there are more sunspots, more emissions and, therefore, more problems for the military.
This Air Force unit also provides training on how to be a solar analyst. Esteemed ComSci colleague Bill O’Clock successfully completed the solar analyst training at Holloman AFB as a prerequisite for his National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration assignment in Learmonth, Western Australia.
On the way out, the ComSci bus with Denny Sanchez at the wheel drove by the building that houses the 49th Materiel Maintenance Group, whose mission is unique to Holloman AFB. Deployed often, this group sets up Air Force bases in remote locations, such as Afghanistan.
The website for Holloman AFB is: http://www.holloman.af.mil.
National Solar Observatory/Sacramento Peak
Sunspot, New Mexico
(May 24, 2004)The National Solar Observatory/Sacramento Peak is located at an altitude of 9,200 feet in New Mexico’s Sacramento Mountains. New Mexico is an ideal location for observing the sun due to low pollution and an abundance of sunny days. Sacramento Peak is a member of the National Optical Astronomy Observatories.
The ComSci Fellows arrived at the Observatory and were given an overview of the facility by its Director, Dr. Stephen L. Keil. The Observatory is used to advance our knowledge of the sun by providing forefront observational opportunities to the research community. In fact, Sacramento Peak is the major provider of solar-observing assets to United States’ astronomers. The U.S. Air Force founded the Observatory in the 1940s to better understand the effects of the sun on its communication equipment. The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy acquired the facility in 1976. The Observatory and its three primary imaging facilities are run by approximately 32 NSF employees and 8 Air Force employees.
The Evans Solar Facility is used to observe the sun’s corona and any transient phenomena, such as solar flares, eruptive prominences and surges. A 16-inch lens is used to image the corona and is designed to block out the bright disk of the sun so that the scientists can study the faint corona, essentially simulating an eclipse. Currently, the facility is only run in the mornings by Air Force researchers. The ComSci Fellows were able to tour the facility and examine the instrumentation used by the scientists to conduct their research.
The Dunn Solar Telescope is the world’s foremost high-resolution solar facility. It is used to investigate granulation, sunspots, faculae, weak magnetic fields, filaments and solar flares. In fact, the facility is oversubscribed by a factor of three so that the Director can select and provide research time to only the best researchers. The facility has a 329-foot vacuum tube in which the image travels down to reach the primary mirror. Interestingly, the visible 136-foot tower is less than half the size of the telescope as the building has 228 more feet below ground. The massive 200-ton telescope is suspended from a container holding ten tons of mercury, which acts as a bearing. This allows the telescope to be easily rotated during research. According to Dr. Keil, the telescope has been “reborn” in the last year by incorporating adaptive optics into the facility. It appears that this facility will continue to be a prime source of solar research for years to come.
The Observatory’s website is: http://nsosp.nso.edu/.
White Sands National Monument
Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico
(May 24, 2004)The first day in New Mexico ended with a tour of White Sands National Monument. The Monument preserves a major portion of the world’s largest gypsum dune field, along with the distinctive plants and animals that have adapted in this harsh environment.
At the northern end of the Chihuahuan Desert lies a mountain ringed valley called the Tularosa Basin. Rising from the heart of the basin is one of the world’s great natural wonders – the snowy white dunes of New Mexico. These dunes rise to more than 60 feet and cover 275 square miles. They are composed of gypsum washed into the Tularosa Basin from the nearby San Andreas and Sacramento mountains. This gypsum was originally deposited at the bottom of a shallow Permian sea 250 million years ago. As the water evaporated, gypsum-bearing marine deposits turned to stone and were uplifted into a giant dome when the Rocky Mountains were formed 70 million years ago.
About 12 million years ago, the center of the dome began to collapse along fault zones associated with the Rio Grande Rift, dropping thousands of feet creating the Tularosa Basin. The remaining sides of the basin above the fault zones created the Sacramento and San Andreas mountains that ring the basin.
All material eroded from the two mountain ranges ended up on the floor of the Tularosa Valley, which has no outlet. Some of the gypsum dissolved from Permian rocks was redeposited in lake sediments and some remained in groundwater, which later recrystallized at the surface. From both lake deposits and surface crystals, extremes of temperature and howling winds break the crystals into sandy particles, which are picked up and borne by the wind, then deposited onto the dunes.
Desert plants and animals have difficulty surviving among the shifting sand dunes. A small number of plants, however, have made remarkable adaptations to avoid being buried by the moving sand. The Soaptree Yucca elongates its stem to keep the leaves above the sand, growing as much as a foot a year. Other plants anchor their roots on a part of the dune and continue to grow on a pedestal of sand after the dune has moved on.
The dunes support a limited range of wildlife, some of which has evolved white coloration to match the surroundings, and exist as species unique to this region, such as a species of mouse, the white sands prairie lizard and the bleached earless lizard.
While conducting a self-guided tour of the Monument, the ComSci Fellows stopped several times to walk through the dunes. Often there were no footprints ahead, just wind-created ripples and occasional lizard tracks. At the end of the day, the sands take on a reddish-pink hue and the surface patterns become more pronounced as the shadows lengthen. The group experienced an overwhelming sense of peace and stillness as the sun set in the late afternoon hours. It will be extremely difficult for the ComSci Fellows to ever forget “High Roller” Bill or “Angel” Anne.
Jornado Experimental Range
Las Cruces, New Mexico
(May 25, 2004)The ComSci Fellows traveled to the New Mexico State University campus in Las Cruces, where they were greeted by Dr. Joel Brown. Dr. Brown is a range scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), but is stationed with the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS). The agencies work collaboratively on research and technology issues of mutual interest. Dr. Brown introduced his colleague, Dr. Debra “Deb” Peters, an ARS ecologist, who opened the session by providing an overview of the history of the Jornado Experimental Range, as well as current and future research directions. Research objectives include:
- Identification of key ecological principles of arid lands;
- Development of monitoring and assessment methods;
- Development of remediation strategies; and
- Development of new technologies for rangeland livestock management.
Dr. Peters visually demonstrated through photographs and maps how grasslands disappeared over the period from 1858 to 1998, generally as a result of drought and cow grazing. The current focus is to understand what happens now and to go from here, as there was nothing sacred about the landscape in the 1800s.
Dr. Brown then reviewed the history of the NRCS. He discussed the concept of soil quality, the function of soil and its relationship to rangeland health. Dr. Brown explained that range management is the “second oldest profession,” which generated quite a bit of laughter on such a dry subject! He discussed the systematic approach to describing rangeland ecosystems, the Range Succession model, the Non-equilibrium model, Ecological Site Descriptions (ESDs), and State and Transition models.
Dr. Brown and the ComSci Fellows traveled to the field site – the Jornado Experimental Range. During the ride, he provided an enlightening overview of agriculture and common farming and irrigation practices in this area of New Mexico. The group arrived at the site, where Dr. Brown pointed out some of the items that he had discussed in the lecture. The ComSci Fellows explored areas of the site on their own, questioning Dr. Brown about things they found, as well as recommendations for good restaurants in Santa Fe.
Further information on Jornado Experimental Range can be found at: http://usda-ars.nmsu.edu/.
Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Socorro, New Mexico
(May 25, 2004)On a beautiful warm New Mexico day, the ComSci Fellows set off to visit the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), located in the floodplain of the magnificent Rio Grande River. The group started their visit with a walk around the visitor center and grounds. Numerous native habitats and gardens located around the buildings, such as the Desert Arboretum, provide opportunities to view lizards, birds, and other fauna and flora of special interest to visitors.
The mission of the Bosque del Apache NWR is to provide habitat and protection for migratory birds and endangered species and to give the public a high-quality wildlife and educational experience. The Bosque del Apache NWR is located at the northern edge of the Chihuahuan desert near Socorro, New Mexico, and covers 57,191 acres. The central portion of the Bosque del Apache NWR is moist bottomlands, with about one-third of it comprising the floodplain of the Rio Grande, and the rest, wetlands, farmlands and riparian forests created by water diversions. The remaining lands in the Bosque del Apache NWR are arid foothills and mesas extending to the Chupadera Mountains to the west and the San Pascual Mountains in the east. Most of these desert lands are preserved as wilderness areas. The diversity of habitats on the Bosque del Apache NWR is reflected in the animal and plant communities. Many species of mammals occur in the area, including coyotes, mule deer, and elk. Over 340 species of birds and many species of reptiles, amphibians and fish are found on the refuge. Various wetland native plants important to wildlife are found on the refuge including smartweed, millets, chufa, bulrush, sedges, cottonwood, and black willow.
Due to past human development in the area, native bosques, or woods, comprised of willow and cottonwoods have been destroyed and exotic plants, especially Salt Cedar or Tamarisk, introduced. Refuge managers work to maintain and improve habitat through the use of various land management tools, such as farming, prescribed burning, exotic plant control, moist soil management, and water level manipulation.
The visit concluded with a bus tour of the refuge in the company of refuge manager, Mr. Bernard Lujan. During the tour, numerous native birds were sighted, including the roadrunner, western grebe, coot, gadwall, red-winged blackbird, and the Chihuahuan raven.
The website for the Bosque del Apache NWR is: http://southwest.fws.gov/refuges/newmex/bosque/index.html
Sandia National Laboratories
Albuquerque, New Mexico
(May 26, 2004)The ComSci Fellows’ visit to Sandia National Laboratories was organized and hosted by Mr. Victor Chavez, Manager of the Office of Advocacy and Small Business Development. Sandia National Laboratories is a government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) facility. Lockheed Martin’s Sandia Corporation operates Sandia National Laboratories for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.
Originally, Sandia National Laboratories was known as “Division Z” of Los Alamos Laboratory. In 1949, it became the Sandia National Laboratories and assumed a critical role in carrying out stewardship of the country’s nuclear weapons. The Sandia Corporation has operated Sandia National Laboratories since 1993.
Sandia National Laboratories is primarily responsible for the upkeep, viability testing and care of the Nation’s nuclear weapons and for the non-nuclear components and subsystems of nuclear weapons. Sandia National Laboratories is also charged with maintaining involvement in non-proliferation policy and assessments and support of energy infrastructure assurance and homeland security.
The Laboratories have seven locations, including Livermore, with approximately 8,000 full-time employees of whom about 3,500 have Master’s and Ph.D. degrees. There are also between 1,800 and 2,100 contractors on-site utilized specifically for their specialized expertise and to handle workload increases as needed. Director and President of Sandia National Laboratories, Mr. Paul Robinson, has oversight for an operating budget around $2.3 to 2.4 billion annually.
Whereas Los Alamos focuses on basic science and research, Sandia National Laboratories specialize in the applied sciences and focus mainly on technologies involving electrical and mechanical engineering. This expertise makes them particularly successful with industry testing and development of prototypes. It also helps them to focus on transferring technology into high-tech business applications.
At Sandia National Laboratories, partnerships are essential to success, particularly when it comes to addressing its strategic objectives of responding to national security threats and commercializing technology. Scientists and engineers at Sandia National Laboratories accomplish their objectives by working closely with science and technology engineering foundations, as well as with industry and university partners. Sandia National Laboratories also actively teams up with Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore Laboratories on many projects.
Partnership activities that subsequently give access to leading-edge technology have led to many break-through successes. One such success is the development of decontamination foam that renders environmental contamination harmless. This technology was used in the Hart Senate Office Building and in the post office in Washington, D.C., that were contaminated with anthrax. Other successes include a “chemlab-on-a-chip” micro lab to be used as a biochemical micro-sensor, which could soon be used by first responders.
Sandia National Laboratories employs many mechanisms for technology partnerships including Memoranda of Understanding, Consortia, Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) and an Entrepreneurial Separation program, a unique model that allows scientists to start new technology businesses while on an employment sabbatical from their duties at Sandia National Laboratories. Employees can return to the lab after three years. Sandia additionally offers Small Business Technical Assistance (SBTA) services through a special relationship with the local Manufacturing Extension Partnership Center. The SBTA is the only program of its kind in the country.
Sandia’s use of CRADAs includes one of the largest ever ($350 million) to develop the extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) with Intel, Motorola, IBM, Livermore and Los Alamos. This endeavor created a whole new technology and required national laboratories and industry competitors to work together to achieve this major accomplishment.
Even though the majority of the work carried out at Sandia National Laboratories is classified, employees are able to file for patents – between 300-350 patent applications yearly with some 200-275 patents accepted through the process. All of the partnerships and collaborations have yielded Sandi National Laboratories 42 R&D 100 Awards, with 24 of the awards coming directly from industry collaborations.
Continued industry and academic alliances have allowed Sandia National Laboratories to recently announce the groundbreaking of a new Center for Nanotechnology, which will include a micro-systems computer simulation testing unit. This will offer a low-cost approach and improved performance in the production of a sensor with the ability to sense, think, act and communicate.
After the presentation, the ComSci Fellows visited several of the labs to see and learn more about the Standard Electric Microscope and Materials Characterization Analysis. At the Micro Analytical Systems Laboratory, the group saw a display board of the much-heralded micro-chemlab. In the Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory, a rapid prototyper, meso-machining apparatus that uses a computer-assisted design (CAD) laser system to extrude metal, which solidifies into an exact solid metal prototype, was seen.
Sandia National Laboratories’ website is: http://www.sandia.gov.
Intel Manufacturing Plant
Rio Rancho, New Mexico
(May 26, 2004)The ComSci Fellows were greeted by Ms. Leslie McNertney, Community Relations Manager, Office of Public Affairs, at Intel’s manufacturing plant in Rio Rancho. An overview of the plant was presented by Mr. Bruce Sohn, Fab 11X Factory Manager. Mr. Sohn informed the ComSci Fellows that Intel’s plant is listed as the top fabrication facility in Semiconductor Industrial Magazine. Dr. Gordon Moore, one of the founders of Intel Corporation, predicted that the performances of the transistors will double every 18 months, which is now referred as Moore’s Law. Currently, Moore’s Law is driving the development of semiconductor technology. According to Mr. Sohn, state-of-the-art lithographic limits are 90nm with gate lengths less than 50nm, thereby resulting in 90 million transistors on a chip. Intel plans to achieve 45nm by 2007. According to the ITRS Semiconductor road map, it will be possible to put 1.6 billion transistors on a chip.
Mr. Sohn further informed the ComSci Fellows that Intel came to New Mexico in 1980 and began operations with fewer than 25 employees. Currently, Intel employs more than 5,000 people, and is the largest private industrial employer in New Mexico. The site consists of two manufacturing plants, Fab11 and Fab11X, which are among the most advanced microchip-making facilities in the world. Intel’s technology roadmap has led to manufacturing on larger 8-12-inch wafers for more efficient manufacturing. Fab11 produces the full range of Intel’s product line, including flash memories which are used in portable electronic products, such as mobile phones and digital cameras; Intel® Celeron™ processors for basic computers; Intel® Pentium® II; Pentium® III Xeon™, and Pentium® 4 processors for high-end workstations and servers. The Fab11X plant began production in October 2002 and is Intel’s first high-volume 300mm or 12-inch, manufacturing facility. It is also Intel’s first fully automated factory. The facility includes complete integrated material scheduling and movement capability, fully Web-enabled decision support systems and remote e-diagnostic capability. The manufacturing takes place in a Class-10 clean room. Fab11X products will include next generation Intel® Pentium® 4 processors, Centrino wireless laptops and Itanium 2 servers with 1.8 billion transistors. Intel’s facility includes more than four million square feet of manufacturing facilities and office space.
Mr. Sohn further emphasized that Intel employees take their talent and dedication into the community, where they are actively involved in education and civic programs. After the presentation, the ComSci Fellows were given a short tour of the plant and were able to observe some of the operations in progress.
The website for Intel New Mexico is: http://www.intel.com/community/newmexico
Center for High Technology Materials
Albuquerque, New Mexico
(May 26, 2004)The ComSci Fellows arrived at the Center for High Technology Materials (CHTM) and were greeted by Professor Steve Brueck, the CHTM Director, and Professors Kirsty Mills and Luke Lester, both Associate Directors. Dr. Brueck gave an overview of the CHTM. The CHTM at the University of New Mexico (UNM) is one of five such centers in the United States and was established by the State of New Mexico in 1983. The objectives of the CHTM are to: 1) create a research education Center of Excellence at UNM in electronics and photonics materials, processing, and devices, 2) enhance interaction between UNM, Federal Laboratories, and industries, and 3) promote economic development within New Mexico. The CHTM has 60K square feet, clean-room laboratories, offices, and five MBEs (Molecular Beam Epitaxy). The most fascinating facilities are their two new crystal growth reactors, the Metal Organic Chemical and Volatile Deposition (MOCVD), situated in 3K square feet.
The CHTM is staffed by faculty from Chemical Engineering, Physics, and Materials, with research staff/faculty and graduate and undergraduate students. Research and education are focused in opto-advanced microelectronics and nanoscience, hardware layer of information technology, materials, fabricated devices, and sub-systems. The annual contract revenue is about $7.7 million, where 80 percent of the funds come from the Federal Government and 20 percent from industry. In Optoelectronics, the marriage of optics and electronics, the focus is on semiconductor laser sources, modulators, detection, microelectronics, and nanoscience and nanotechnology.
CHTM offers high-quality, advanced research capabilities, where, for example, a novel semiconductor device can be designed, fabricated and evaluated completely in-house (vertical integration). Vertical integration is a key to CHTM’s strong research capabilities. To create a useful semiconductor device, a clear understanding of device theory is necessary. CHTM faculty is experienced in the theory and practice of a wide range of photonics and microelectronics devices and they have access to powerful computing power when required for device simulation. The structure of modern semiconductor devices can comprise literally hundreds of individual layers that must be grown with a tight tolerance. CHTM boasts its two MOCVD reactors and five MBE systems for the materials growth of advanced epitaxial semiconductor structures. CHTM's clean room offers a full range of process equipment for the fabrication of advanced semiconductor devices. Characterization provides critical feedback at all stages of fabrication and CHTM laboratories are extremely well-equipped with electrical and optical test equipment for the evaluation of materials, devices and systems.
In terms of the CHTM’s funding, a large part (65 to 70 percent) of funding comes from the Department of Defense. The Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation are also supporting the CHTM. In addition, the State of New Mexico, industry, and the University of New Mexico co-fund the center.
Dr. Brueck gave an organizational chronology on CHTM from 1983 to date. The major research “products” of the CHTM are: Vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers, High-power semiconductor diode laser, Semiconductor manufacturing metrology, Nanoscale fabrication, Quantum well and quantum dot physics, Visible light-emitters and lasers, and Ultrafast and ultra-high spatial resolution spectroscopies. The CHTM’s interdisciplinary core competences are: Semiconductor materials, Dielectric materials, Lithography, Modeling, Lasers, Optical and Electronic Devices, Spectroscopy, Scanning Probes, Electron Microscopy, Non-linear Optimization, Biomaterials, and System Studies. Dr. Brueck also described two initiatives: 1) National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN), which is funded at $14 million per year for ten years; and 2) the Department of Advance Research and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) funded OptoCenter. He summarized some of the CHTM’s accomplishments: more than 114 M.S. and 125 Ph.D. students have graduated from the CHTM/UNM, over 900 journal articles have been published, and 53 patents have been granted. In addition, five companies were spun off from the CHTM center, and over $105 million in grants and contracts have been awarded.
After this overview, Drs. Mills and Lester gave the ComSci Fellows a laboratory tour. They visited several laboratories, including CHTM’s new MOCVD reactor, the state-of-the-art model P75 (manufactured by VEECO of New Jersey) used for the growth of III-nitrides for HBTs, UV LEDs and other advanced III-N device structures in CHTM research programs. They also visited one of the five MBE (Molecular Beam Epitaxy) systems for the materials growth of advanced epitaxial semiconductor structures.
The CHTM website is: www.chtm.unm.edu.
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos, New Mexico
(May 27, 2004)Day four of the ComSci field trip began with a scenic one-hour drive from Santa Fe along Highway 4 to the township of Los Alamos, which resides on the Pajarito Plateau and is overlooked by the Jemez Mountain range. Upon arrival in Los Alamos, Mr. John Rhodes, Director of the Bradbury Science Center, became the ComSci Fellows’ host and treated the group to a very candid and extremely interesting discussion on the history and mission of the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).
Mr. Rhodes began his presentation focusing on the history and geological makeup of the surrounding area. He informed the group that, in the early 1900s, Los Alamos was basically a ranch school for boys, which provided a hardy atmosphere for learning basic academic skills, as well as engaging in many outdoor activities. By 1930, the Los Alamos Ranch School had an enrollment of approximately 45 students and offered a six-year program. During the 1930s, a visitor rode over the mesas on a pack trip that would later have great portent for the future of Los Alamos. This visitor was Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer who had a summer home across the valley in the high mountains at the headwaters of the Pecos River, east of Santa Fe. Mr. Rhodes emphasized that Dr. Oppenheimer would remember Los Alamos upon being confronted with the overwhelming task of assisting the Corps of Engineers in establishing a secret laboratory site that would be known as the Manhattan Project.
On December 7, 1942 (one year after the attack on Pearl Harbor), the U.S. Government acquired the land on which the Los Alamos Ranch School resided. On January 1, 1943, the University of California was selected to operate a new laboratory using the ranch school buildings, and a formal nonprofit contract was established with the Manhattan Engineer District of the Army. Though there were many factors that went into selecting Los Alamos as the site to develop the atomic bomb, such as land already owned by the government, easy control access for security and safety, infrastructure in place, and a location far from both coasts, Mr. Rhodes provided some fascinating, yet possibly unsettling geological information. He revealed that one of the main geological features in the region was a volcano, and it had been hotly debated by various geologists as to whether it was an extinct volcano or merely a dormant one. Mr. Rhodes pondered the question why anyone would want to build a nuclear manufacturing or testing facility near what could be an active geological fault. This question was basically answered by more than 30 years of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research. This research showed strong evidence that the volcano is actually a caldera – a volcano that has collapsed on itself after spewing all its insides out. In other words, the volcano is now considered extinct and non-active.
The current LANL is governed under the Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration and its director is appointed by a Board of Regents. The annual budget for LANL is approximately $2 billion. Mr. Rhodes again emphasized that the LANL is still managed by the University of California, but a new open contract is being developed that allows for the possibility of new management. Mr. Rhodes pointed out that the average age for a LANL employee is 42 years old and one-third of the laboratory personnel can presently retire. He also candidly pointed out that the laboratory employees are mostly Caucasian, and that the lab has to provide some solutions concerning equal opportunity issues. LANL started in what is now downtown Los Alamos. Only a few of the original Manhattan Project buildings still remain. Los Alamos County currently covers approximately 40 square miles and employs 18,000 people. About half of the employees live in the Los Alamos area, while the other 50 percent live in Santa Fe. LANL is one of the major economic engines in northern New Mexico.
With tongue in cheek, Mr. Rhodes described LANL as 1,000 programs joined by a common janitorial service. He then provided some information on three critical areas that highlighted just what LANL actually does. First and foremost, the laboratory has a nuclear weapons mission. This mission began in 1943 and centers on the idea that weapons in the United States’ nuclear stockpile will perform as described. The last nuclear weapon made entered the stockpile in 1989. The task to ensure that the United States has a functional nuclear arsenal is challenging, especially in light of international treaties that have banned above and below surface nuclear testing since 1992. Mr. Rhodes strongly emphasized that LANL is not a storage facility for nuclear weapons; it is a place where theoretical and design-level management for nuclear weapons occurs. Secondly, LANL has a threat reduction program that focuses on homeland security and weapons of mass destruction. Training personnel in determining where supplies of non-United States’ nuclear materials are stored, such as in Russian stockpiles, and understanding the possible methods that these same materials could find their way into the wrong hands are primary concerns within this program. Lastly, LANL has a strategic research program that looks into a variety of disciplines, such as scientific computing, genetic investigations, deep space astronomy, energy and material science.
The remainder of the visit consisted of a 30-minute bus tour conducted by Mr. Rhodes. He pointed out various historical landmarks that still remain from the Manhattan Project and facilities that were not accessible because of their highly classified operations. He also covered a variety of other topics that ranged from the devastating fire that destroyed over 400 homes in the region a few years ago to the enormous number of PhDs that live in Los Alamos.
The LANL website is: http://www.lanl.gov.
Bandelier National Monument
Los Alamos, New Mexico
(May 27, 2004)The ComSci Fellows arrived at Bandelier National Park, and were given an introduction to the history of the area by Ms. Chris Judson, a ranger at the park. She told the group that for thousands of years hunters and gatherers have occupied the American southwest, including this part of north central New Mexico. These people had formerly been referred to as Anasazi. However, that term has been replaced with the more accurate term – ancestral Puebloans. This is because the people who occupied this land are direct descendants of the current Pueblo Indians. As the ancestral Puebloans learned to farm, they became less nomadic and built pueblos such as those found in this area. It’s estimated that this settlement took place in the 1100s. By this point, the ancestral Puebloans had already mastered basket weaving.
Some characteristics that define these ancestral Puebloans included the cultivation of crops, such as corn, squash, and beans; the use of clay pots to store food and water; the domestication of dogs and turkeys (the latter for the wearing of feathers); the hunting of deer and elk for meat and leather; and the use of basic tools, such as arrowheads. The area was occupied up until the mid-1500s, after which they moved to the more open valleys, to what are now the Cochiti and San Ildefonso Pueblos.
The large canyon of Bandelier is known as Frijoles Canyon, which was formed after a huge volcano erupted in what is now north central New Mexico. The canyon proper is the result of the ash being carved out by the elements over many years. The widest part of the canyon is approximately one-quarter mile. Daylight at the bottom of the canyon is limited, but still enough for growing vegetables.
When the ancestral Puebloans moved into this canyon, they took advantage of the pockets of eroded ash on the cliff faces, which they often enlarged to make them habitable. They also built dwellings on the valley floor. As best can be determined, there was no particular advantage to being in one place or the other (i.e., in a cliff dwelling or in a dwelling on the valley floor). And since they had a very egalitarian society, it’s not clear what determined where one lived. In the case of the cliff dwellings, they often built a house in front of the cliff pockets to provide more room.
After 11 generations, the Puebloans left the area, probably because they needed a critical mass for their ceremonies and they wanted a more reliable water source. The Cochiti Pueblo is along the Rio Grande. That said it is not known how many people actually lived in the valley at any one time.
The Spanish arrived in the area in the middle of the 1500s and kept meticulous records of what they saw. This helped immensely to understand the ways in which the Puebloans lived. Many years later, in the 1870s and 1880s, Adolph Bandelier was living with the Cochitis in their pueblo, which is about 20 miles due south of Frijoles Canyon. In October 1880, they took Adolph to Frijoles Canyon and he is believed to be the first European descendant to see the pueblo. Following this, there was a big push to create the national park as a means of preserving the archeological features. Consequently, the park is named after him. Bandelier National Park is 50 square miles, and the elevation ranges from 5,300 to 10,000 feet.
Trade occurred over a very vast area for many centuries, as seen in the artifacts found throughout the pueblo. People carried most items, though occasionally dogs carried items too. Materials found in the canyon cover the area from the Pacific coast to the Gulf coast. Likewise, obsidian from this area has been found all throughout the region and a copper bowl from Mexico was found here. In fact, it is estimated that the Pajarito Plateau was more populated during the times when this canyon was inhabited than it is today.
The Puebloans spoke eight different languages. It is believed that their standard of living was probably about the same as the serfs, or common people, who lived in Europe at about the same time.
One of the main sites on the tour was the Big Kiva (a Hopi word). A kiva is large, nearly circular dugout depression, approximately six feet deep. This particular kiva is quite large; most are usually one-third the size of this one. Features of the kiva include a ventilator shaft to bring fresh air in, plastered smooth floor and walls, a mud roof, and a hole in the roof to provide access via a ladder. The kiva served a major role in the society – it was a place where traditions were passed down and ceremonies were held. It had rectangular holes in the floor, but it’s not clear what purpose they served. A kiva also has a hole in the bottom center called a Sipapu, which served as an access to the spiritual world below.
A second major site on the tour was Tyuonyi – a major housing development built on the valley floor. As apparent on the tour, many ground floor rooms are very small and were probably used to store food. It is believed that they usually stored enough food to last five years. This enabled the people to live through droughts. Rooms are not interconnected and access is mostly through the roof.
Over the course of the years, many archeological features have been taken from the Puebloans. However, since Congress passed the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, many artifacts have been returned.
The Bandelier National Park website is: http://www.nps.gov/band.
Sparton Electronics, Inc.
Rio Rancho, New Mexico
(May 28, 2004)A tour of a local small manufacturing enterprise (SME) took the ComSci Fellows to Sparton Electronics, the New Mexico branch of the Sparton Corporation, which is headquartered in Jackson, Michigan. The Sparton Corporation was founded more than 100 years ago as a manufacturer of buggy whips. Today Sparton Corporation is a publicly traded company and leader in the electronic design and manufacturing service (EMS) industry. The company specializes in manufacturing electronic assemblies. The Rio Rancho plant primarily supplies custom assemblies to the regulated gaming, telecommunications, and defense industries.
Mr. William E. Smith, Director of Operations at the plant, and Mr. Bruce Bryson, Quality Manager, explained that Sparton Electronics specializes in contract manufacturing. Most of the electronic assemblies they manufacture are contracted by original equipment manufacturers (OEM) for casino slot machines. Sparton Electronics is one of the largest suppliers of electronic boards for licensed gaming machines used by companies in Reno and Las Vegas and is a licensed gaming organization to maintain its integrity in the industry.
With several locations throughout the United States, Sparton’s main competition is other local companies that serve similar industries. In New Mexico, Sparton Electronics has carved out a very successful niche with its local customers. There are 2,000 people in total that work at Sparton’s various locations, with about 150 people working at the Rio Rancho plant.
Sparton’s market niche is approximately 70 percent gaming industry and 10 percent medical. The other 20 percent includes the defense industry for which Sparton Electronics manufactures sensors that are used on the United States border to detect intrusion. The company focuses on customers that need highly custom jobs with low volume. Sparton’s niche is its flexibility and the customers that are interested in limited economy of scale.
Sparton Electronics sought out the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) because of the success that the corporate division in Florida had with the Florida MEP. Mr. Smith explained that the biggest impact felt at the Rio Rancho plant since bringing MEP onboard has been the cultural change within the work force. The change has made all the difference in the employee’s commitment to the improvement process.
The ComSci Fellows toured a meeting room where a Kaizen event reviewing Sparton’s customer returns process was being held. A Kaizen event, described by Mr. Ronald L. Burke, the MEP Project Manager, is an exercise by which employees map out the current steps in a process and then brainstorm how to streamline that process by incorporating a method that pinpoints specific problem cause and effect areas. The Kaizen event for customer returns showed how, with the employees’ input, process time could be reduced from 3 hours and 20 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes.
The concept of “5S” was explained as a method to Sort, Straighten, Sweep, Standardize and use Self-Discipline to increase productivity in the plant. Sparton Electronics line managers explained that they used 5S everywhere possible, including the supply cabinet. Maintaining self-discipline, they acknowledged, is the hardest part of the 5S concept.
A key indicator of success resulting from MEP’s involvement in helping with Kaizen events and 5S is evident in Sparton’s recent awards received from Technology Forecasters, Inc. and Circuits Assembly Magazine, which included the Highest Overall Customer Satisfaction Rating for 2003 and 2004.
Kirtland Air Force Base
Albuquerque, New Mexico
(May 28, 2004)At Kirtland Air Force Base (AFB) in Albuquerque, the ComSci Fellows had an opportunity to visit three different facilities – the Space Vehicle Research Laboratory, the Directed Energy Directorate, and the Large Optics Laboratory.
The Space Vehicle Research Laboratory has a wide portfolio of research projects. It is developing imaging systems for space applications that depend on a “dilute aperture” mirror, consisting of several individual mirrors that together constitute the primary mirror and can be calibrated at the nanometer scale. This approach avoids the problem of launching very large primary reflectors into space. The Laboratory also conducts vibration acoustic testing of space components to investigate the stability of equipment in a launch environment and develop technologies to dampen vibrations. The Laboratory does a great deal of work with composite materials, especially carbon fiber materials, looking at both new fabrication methods and testing tension/compression characteristics of materials using a three-dimensional tester, one of the few of its kind.
The Directed Energy Directorate has 600-700 projects at any given time and an annual budget of about $250 million. It is the largest laboratory in the Department of Defense. Much of the work focuses on high-energy lasers and the platforms that make deployment feasible and accurate given the high-energy requirements and standards needed to aim them. In addition, low-energy lasers are developed to track targets and calibrate/correct optical distortions. In addition to lasers, the laboratory works with non-lethal microwaves. The laboratory provided an impressive demonstration for the ComSci Fellows, firing a carbon-dioxide laser that is used to investigate how the shape and composition of different objects affect their failure when subjected to high-energy beams.
The last stop was the Large Optics Laboratory. The ComSci Fellows saw some ongoing work on a flexible polymer mirror that would greatly reduce the weight and, hence, the cost of deploying optical instruments in space. The challenge is how to calibrate and conform polymer mirrors to nanometer specifications – the sensitivity necessary for modern applications of high-resolution optics.
The website for Kirtland AFB is: http://www.Kirtland.af.mil.
Class of 2002-2003 -- Portland and Bar Harbor, Maine
The field trip to the State of Maine provided us with a clear perspective of the relations between science, technology, government policy and economic development. In the 19th and early 20th Centuries, Maine had a vibrant economy based on diversified manufacturing and its diverse natural resources, including extensive forests and fisheries. As the 21st Century begins, the state’s manufacturing base is much smaller, and, as we found out, a lot of what is left is threatened by global competition. Service industries, such as tourism, government, and retail trade make up an increasing proportion of the state’s economy, and the state is among the poorer in the Union. Its per-capita income ranks at 36th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia and is 88 percent of the national average.
Planners in Maine look to science and technology as important tools for economic development, and, indeed, we were able to see world-class research and manufacturing facilities, even in this rural state. At the same time, tourism is driven by the visitors’ appreciation of the scenic beauty of the state, which is under some stress in places. Clearly, Maine faces significant challenges in guiding economic development in a way that preserves natural resources and the natural environment that sustains much of its economy.
U.S. Coast Guard Group, Portland
Monday morning started off with a visit to the Coast Guard station in Portland. Despite cloudy skies and a light rain, we were able to tour the Fore River Basin and view Portland from a marine perspective.
The morning meeting began with an overview from Lieutenant Paul Wolf, Coast Guard reservist and a Drug Enforcement Agency employee for 19 years. Portland is part of the Coast Guard’s 1st District, with a commander based in Boston. The Coast Guard’s overall jurisdiction is the navigable waters of the United States -- both salt and fresh, and including the Great Lakes, rivers, and east and west coasts -- where commerce, recreation, and other uses are policed. The motto of the Coast Guard is Semper Paratus ("always ready"). Its main activities are search and rescue, law enforcement, and maintaining aids to navigation -- mainly harbor buoys. A separate command in Portland is concerned with marine safety and environmental protection (a contractor, the Marine Spill Response Corporation, handles spills), commerce (fishing, vessel safety), drug interdiction, and illegal migrant interdiction. If compared with other militaries, the Coast Guard would be the world’s 12th largest navy, the 5th largest air force, and the world’s largest and most effective maritime agency.
We came loaded with questions as always, from the impacts of the organizational switchover to the Department of Homeland Security (possible changes in funding), to its interaction with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, to local drug problems, to the use of Para jumpers in The Perfect Storm (they were Air National Guard), to who takes care of the lighthouses that dot the Maine coast (many of the houses are now privately-owned and managed, but most of the lights are managed by the Coast Guard). Group Portland does between 150 and 250 search and rescue operations each year where the biggest killer on the water is hypothermia. Crews are still trained in manual navigational techniques in case the "black box" and several backup systems go down.
We were given a tour of the yard and an introduction to the boats, which included a fully submersible 47 footer that can handle up to 50-knot winds and 30-foot seas. A "fully submersible" is not a submarine, as it turns out, but a surface ship design to be watertight and survive being complete submerged by heavy seas. Thankfully, those were not the conditions seen that day in the harbor, but during our cruise around Portland Harbor on a buoy tender, we did see a huge movable oil platform as well as many commercial vessels, navigational aids, and the still lively commercial scene on and around the wharves of Portland.
Portland Fish Exchange, Inc.
The Portland Fish Exchange was established in 1989 and is America’s first all-display fresh fish and seafood auction. The Exchange offers a fair and open marketplace bringing together fishing vessels (sellers) with seafood wholesalers and processors (buyers). Fresh fish and seafood products are unloaded from fishing vessels daily and displayed for buyers to make purchasing decisions (in a very frosty 38° showroom). The auction is conducted at mid-day. Products purchased are destined for restaurants, markets, and processing plants within hours of vessel landings.
The Exchange off-loads up to four vessels at once, and offers ample berthing space. The 22,000 square foot refrigerated facility holds up to a half-million pounds of fish, with numerous shipping bays for fast, convenient loading and transport of products. At the time of our visit, 140,000 pounds were on-site for auction. Exchange staff provides impartial services such as sorting (culling), weighing, labeling, re-icing and displaying fish and seafood for that day’s auction. Products are segmented from one to 1,200 pound lots depending on the size of the vessel’s catch. On the day of our visit, some of the fish available for auction were cod, haddock, pollock, hake, and wolf fish.
A daily auction is held Sunday through Thursday and we were able to witness the beginning of the auction. Products are sold by an independent auctioneer who controls the bidding process and sale transactions, assisted by a computerized, real time auction tracking system that displays product sale information during the auction process. Buyers have the ability to purchase as many or as few products as desired. The auction is conducted in order of species and size. The auctioneer accepts the highest bid for any given product. The buyer winning the bid chooses as many lots of the product as desired for that price. Sellers have the option to decline any bid price. When a bid is refused, the seller may ship their products to another market or elect the following day’s auction for sale.
The Exchange acts as a financial intermediary, providing payments to sellers and collecting payments from buyers. Sellers receive payment for their catch within 24 hours of product sale at the Exchange. At the close of each auction buyers receive invoices for products and services received as a result of that day’s auction purchases, with 14-day payment terms.
A non-profit organization owned and managed by the City of Portland, Maine, the Exchange is recognized throughout the seafood industry as a leader in innovation, quality, and integrity. The Exchange’s fish handling fees are the lowest of all the major regional auctions. Approximately 200 sellers supply over 20 million pounds of fish each year to 25 registered buyers. In 2001, the Portland Fish Exchange handled approximately 90 percent of Maine's -- 20 percent of New England’s -- total catch of regulated multispecies groundfish.
SAPPI Fine Paper North America, Westbrook Facility
South African Pulp and Paper Industries, or SAPPI, is a global market leader in coated free sheets and claims to be the originator of almost all fine paper innovations. They run 20 pulp and paper mills, and 7 research and development facilities, distributed across three continents -- North America, South Africa, and Europe. SAPPI realized almost four billion dollars in revenues in 2002, with 18,000 employees globally. The enterprise has been one of the most profitable pulp and paper industries in the world. SAPPI’s strategy includes focusing on readiness, leading market positions, and efficient use of its capital.
SAPPI Westbrook is located near Portland, Maine. It is the site of the first coated paper facility in the United States. SAPPI’s three major product lines include specialty release products, number two and number three coated text and covers, and coated bag papers. Its products can be found in items such as shoes, clothing, flooring, furniture, and upholstery.
Coated paper varies in its texture due to processing type. The use of softwood (long fiber) affects the strength of the paper. Hardwood (short fiber) affects the uniformity or appearance of the paper. Fillers (pigment) are used for brightness and opacity. The base sheet process starts with the wood. The wood is debarked then goes through a wood chipper and a screening process to make uniform chips. A digester cooks the substance before it goes through the bleaching process and finally the refining stage. In the coating laboratory, materials are used to characterize the brightness and opacity of the paper. Materials include clay, calcium carbonate, titanium dioxide (pigments), latex, starch (binders), alginate (thickener), TSPP (dispersant), and stearate (release agent). SAPPI's analytical group diagnoses any products or processing problems experienced by SAPPI, its customers, or sales representatives.
The focus of SAPPI’s environmental department is on air emissions, discharges to rivers, and solid/hazardous waste. Sources of air emissions include boilers and paper coaters. The focus of water discharges is on wastewater treatment plant outfall, sand filter backwash, and non-contact cooling water. For solid wastes, treatment plant sludge, wastepaper, and boiler ash represent challenges. Fluorescent light bulbs, old chemicals, and lead paint debris account for the hazardous waste focus. Monitoring is the primary mechanism used by SAPPI to address these potential pollutants.
Doug Daniels
Vice President and Mill Manager
SAPPI Fine Paper North America, Somerset OperationsMr. Doug Daniels (just retired from the Somerset Operations of SAPPI Fine Paper North America) provided a current perspective on the paper mill business in the United States in comparison to the paper mill business twenty years ago. Unfortunately, it’s worse. Mr. Daniels stated that paper manufacturing is a volatile business and cited, as an example, a Canadian mill that set record earnings in 1987 and was bankrupt by 1991. As of last year, the imported paper from countries like Finland, Japan, and Germany far exceeded the demand for the paper produced in the United States. More ominously, the technological roots of the industry -- equipment manufacturers -- are no longer to be found in North America; they’re in Finland, Japan, and Germany.
The main challenges for the paper business in the United States, said Mr. Daniels, are high equipment costs, very restrictive environmental regulations, extended depreciation for equipment, and the high cost of health insurance, labor, and workmen’s compensation. Overall, there is high cost per employee in comparison to the cost in countries like Austria and Finland. There is also a need for new equipment technologies to make them more cost-effective and lower maintenance. Moreover, the state and local taxes in Maine are much higher in comparison to other states. States in the United States such as North Carolina and Louisiana are providing several concessions to the local manufacturing plants and building highways for easy access. Because of high taxes, insurance, and the cost of raw materials, the selling price of the United States' paper is 35 percent higher than imported paper. So bad is the differential, said Mr. Daniels, that although his Somerset Mill is perhaps the lowest-cost mill in the United States in operations, the company’s plant in Austria still can make the same product and ship it to Chicago for less than Somerset can. As a result, the demand for the United States' paper is declining. The high shipping and distribution costs are also affecting the price of paper.
Mr. Daniels concluded that for the United States paper business to be profitable in Maine, there is a need for affordable insurance for the paper industry, a legislative change for equipment depreciation, and more affordable workmen’s compensation.
Bath Iron Works
Bath Iron Works (BIW), the largest private employer in the state of Maine, has been in business since 1884, and has been producing ships for the U.S. Navy since 1890. BIW was acquired by General Dynamics in 1995. Currently, about 98 percent of its business comes from contracts with the U.S. Navy. The shipyard built 82 destroyers during World War II (more than that built by the entire Japanese empire), and built destroyers and guided missile frigates during the postwar period. Its last commercial ship was delivered in 1984. Currently, BIW is the lead designer and builder of the Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers (DDG), and is designated as the "Blue Team" in a shipbuilding alliance with Ingalls Shipbuilding ("Gold Team") to competitively design the "DD-21" new land attack destroyer.
We were provided an overview presentation by Mr. Chris Crabtree, followed by a tour of the shipyard led by Mr. Robert Dionne. The program concluded with a presentation of the Engineering and technical design capabilities of the shipyard, presented by Mr. Steve Adams and Mr. Art Dresser.
The warship-building industry is specialized and has few competing companies. Due to ship design and construction being an extremely large venture, each company employs hundreds of workers. These businesses, as with BIW, are typically located in a town whose population is dependent upon the shipyard as the main source of employment and economic prosperity. With the U.S. Navy being the primary supplier of business to BIW and its other major com