Staff Highlights
NSD staff at PNNL featured in NNSA News and information
Ted Bowyer, Frank Greitzer and Steve Mladineo were featured in NNSA News and Information for their leadership across scientific domains at PNNL. Bowyer's membership on the National Academy of Sciences Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty panel, Greitzer's invitation by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to participate in and present a workshop on Usability, Security and Privacy of Computer Systems at NAS, and Mladineo's election as a Fellow of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management were featured. More..
Steve Mladineo Named Fellow of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management
Steve Mladineo, National Security Directorate, joined Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in 1993 and has managed the Nuclear Arms Control and Nonproliferation Product Line, has been the PNNL account manager for DOE Nonproliferation Offices and has also provided technical support to nonproliferation programs at DOE Headquarters. He is currently senior advisor within PNNL's Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Programs Sector and provides technical support to the Office of National Infrastructure and Sustainability within the Office of International Material Protection and Cooperation at the National Nuclear Security Administration. More...
Ted Bowyer Appointed Member on National Academy of Sciences Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Panel
With the Obama Administration already pushing for Senate ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), the National Academy of Sciences has again convened a panel to study technical issues related to the treaty. The 10-member NAS panel, chaired by University of Maryland physics professor Ellen Williams, has been tasked by the National Nuclear Security Administration and the State Department to update the 2002 NAS study on the CTBT. The CTBT bans all nuclear explosions in all environments for military or civilian purposes. More...
PNNL Researchers Praised by Regional Responder Agencies
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Seattle staff Steve Stein and Ann Lesperance of the National Security Directorate were recently thanked by regional emergency response organizations to support emergency management and public safety at the local level. More...
Frank Greitzer Invited to Present at the National Academies Workshop on Usability, Security, and Privacy of Computer Systems
Frank Greitzer, National Security Directorate, was invited to be one of six "provocateurs," selected internationally by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), to participate in planning of, and present to a National Academies workshop on Usability, Security, and Privacy of Computer Systems Workshop held July 20-22, 2009 in Washington D.C. The workshop was organized by the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB) of the National Research Council of the National Academies. More...
PNNL Staff Invited to Showcase Explosives Detection Capabilities at DHS Workshop
On September 1 and 2, 2009, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) staff presented research results at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate's Counter-Improvised Explosive Devices seminar. The seminar showcased innovative approaches to detecting and mitigating explosives threats, with participation from a number of government agencies, national laboratories and academia. More...
Jim Thomas Receives Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation 2009 Homeland Security Award
Jim Thomas, NSD, was recently awarded the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation 2009 Homeland Security Award. This significant honor recognizes his international leadership and outstanding scientific achievements in establishing the growing science of visual analytics and the numerous associated technologies that aid in detecting, predicting, preventing, and responding to acts of terrorism. More...
Sandy Thompson Selected to Participate on the National Academy of Sciences Committee
Sandy Thompson, NSD, has been selected to participate on the committee for persistent surveillance: a critical tool for the counter-Improvised Explosive Device (IED) mission for the National Academy of Sciences... More
Marvin Warner Selected to Attend the 2009 U.S. Frontiers of Engineering Symposium
Marvin Warner, NSD, was one of the 88 engineers selected to take part in the National Academy of Engineering's (NAE) 15th annual U.S. Frontiers of Engineering symposium. The participants—from industry, academia, and government—were nominated by fellow engineers or organizations and chosen from approximately 240 applicants... More
Recent Journal Issues Highlight DHS-Funded NVAC and RVAC Research
Two special volumes of prominent visualization journals highlight DHS-funded visual analytics research. The publishing of these articles indicates that the technical community recognizes the high quality of the VAC enterprise's work and contributes to a key success measure for the impact of VAC research. The May/June issue of IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications is a special issue on Visual Analytics Evaluation, edited by Catherine Plaisant, Georges Grinstein, and PNNL's Jean Scholtz. The issue features articles on "Generating Synthetic Syndromic Surveillance Data for Evaluating Visual Analytics Techniques" by researchers at the Purdue RVAC and on "Recovering Reasoning Processes from User Interactions" by a team from the UNCC RVAC. Computer Graphics and Applications articles are available online.
Rob Farber: Validation is Essential to Finding Truth
Rob Farber, National Security Directorate, wrote a column for the May issue of Scientific Computing magazine on the importance of validating computational results.
Deb Frincke Discusses Cybersecurity on Podcast
Deb Frincke, National Security Directorate, lead scientist on PNNL's Information Integrity and Infrastructure Initiative, shared her thoughts on cyber security and four key areas for research and development during a Gov Info Security podcast last week.
Jerry Posakony Named Recipient of the 2009 IEEE Honorary Membership
Jerry Posakony has been named the recipient of the 2009 IEEE Honorary Membership "for pioneering contributions in ultrasonic techniques for medical diagnosis and nondestructive evaluation." Jerry received the honorary membership in IEEE at the award ceremony on June 25. The event was televised and is available to view on IEEE.tv via the web... More
Jon Schwantes Published in Analytical Chemistry
Jon Schwantes, NSD, recently wrote an article that was published in Analytical Chemistry. The article titled, "Nuclear Archeology in a Bottle: Evidence of Pre-Trinity U.S. Weapons Activities from a Waste Burial Site," encompasses the finding of plutonium at a Hanford waste trench. "State-of-the-art instrumental analyses, reactor model simulations, and investigative science techniques were used to provide insights as to the origin of this unknown sample, a process collectively termed as nuclear archeology." View the full article.
Rob Farber Published in CIO India
Ron Farber, NSD, wrote an article that was published in CIO India. The article titled, "Solid State Drives: Coming to a Data Center Near You," encompasses a 2007 story about solid state drives. "Solid-state devices such as flash drives can use a RAID striping technique to achieve high streaming bandwidth—just like [hard] disk drives—while also maintaining very low latency for random access," says Farber. "This is a very exciting combination." View the full article.
David S. Smith Elected ASCE Fellow
David S. Smith, NSD, was elected Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The ASCE Fellow award is a prestigious honor held by fewer than 6 percent of its 75,000 regular members and another 60,000 associate, affiliate, or student ASCE members. Smith was recognized for being an outstanding "practitioner, educator, mentor, and most of all leader." The ASCE is a non-profit organization dedicated to having engineers positioned as global leaders who strive toward building a better quality of life.
Linda Fastabend receives American Red Cross Hero Award
Linda Fastabend, NSD, received the Hero Award from the American Red Cross for her volunteer efforts for "The Every 15 Minutes" program. This program is designed to dramatically instill teenagers with the potentially dangerous consequences of drinking alcohol. Based on statistics, every 15 minutes someone in the United States dies from an alcohol-related traffic collision. The program challenges students to think about drinking, personal safety, and the responsibility of making mature decisions when lives are involved.
Fastabend's daughter was killed by a drunk driver in 2006 and since then she has dedicated her life to speaking to others about drinking and driving, hoping her words will save the lives of others. She helps the local police and fire departments with "The Every 15 Minutes" program that is given at the local high schools to graduating seniors. Fastabend's part is to help get the message out by telling the story of her loss to alert them of the ramifications of drinking and driving.
The event includes the participation of the local police and fire departments, high school staff, local hospital, video production crew, community officials, the District Attorney's Office and a wide cross-section of the community at-large.
IEEE Officers elected for 2009
The following NSD staff have been elected as the 2009 officers for the IEEE Richland section and associated chapters:
IEEE Richland Section Officers:
- Section Chair: Hong (Amy) Qiao
- Professional Activities (PACE) Chair: David McKinnon
IEEE Richland Computer Chapter Officers:
- Computer Society Chapter (C 16) Chair: Patrick O'Connell
- Computer Society Chapter (C 16) Secretary: Kim Ferris
IEEE Richland Sensors Chapter Officers:
- Sensors Council Chapter (SEN 39) Chair: Megan Lerchen
- Sensors Council Chapter (SEN 39) Vice Chair Administration & Programs: Morris Good
- Sensors Council Chapter (SEN 39) Vice Chair Technical Operations & Conferences: Kayte Denslow
IEEE is the world's leading professional association for the advancement of technology. Most IEEE members choose to add value to their membership by joining one or more IEEE societies. The benefits include access to current information, opportunities to network with peers, and enhancement of the worldwide value of their profession.
John Schwantes
Discovery Channel interviewed Jon Schwantes, National Security Directorate, regarding techniques enlisted to prevent plutonium retrieved from chemical separation from being used for weapons purposes.
Heather Colburn and Jon Schwantes Selected as 2009 Young Observers to Attend the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry General Assembly and Congress Meeting
The U.S. National Committee (USNC) sends U.S. Observers under the age of 45 from industry, academia, and national laboratories to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) World Chemistry Congress and General Assembly, held every two years. The IUPAC will hold its 45th General Assembly and 42nd Congress in Glasgow, Scotland in August 2009... More
Leonard Bond Succeeded to the Position of Director, IEEE Region 6 (Western USA)
Leonard Bond, Laboratory Fellow, National Security Directorate, has succeeded to the position of director, IEEE region 6 (Western USA). In this position he has leadership of the nearly 60,000 members of IEEE in 12 western states. He also serves as a director for IEEE (09-10), the world's largest technical society with near 400,000 members worldwide and on the board of directors for IEEE-USA, the U.S. IEEE Regions... More
University of Washington Collaborators Share Honors with PNNL
PNNL's scientific partnership with the Center for Information Assurance and Cybersecurity (CIAC) at the University of Washington has secured its spot as one of the first centers in the United States to be designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Research by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security... More
Changing Paradigm of Data-Intensive Computing Makes Journal Cover
A PNNL-authored article by Richard Kouzes, Gordon Anderson, Stephen Elbert, Ian Gorton, and Deb Gracio on the "Changing Paradigm of Data-Intensive Computing" was selected as the cover feature for the January IEEE Computer Society journal.
The article describes PNNL's leading-edge research to develop new classes of software, algorithms and hardware to provide timely and meaningful analytical results from an exponentially growing tidal wave of complex scientific, energy, environmental and national security related data in the new information-dominated age. Technical leadership in data-intensive computing is a cornerstone of our strategy for growing major new National Security programs in information analytics and decision support.
Wayne Martin Recognized as One of America's 2008 most accomplished African American Engineers
Wayne Martin has been recognized as one of America's 2008 most accomplished African American Engineers by the Black Equal Opportunity Employment Journal. Dr. Martin is a manager for the Chemical, Biological & Nuclear Surety Product Line, which provides a broad suite of science and engineering products and solutions... More