Newsmakers

The Laboratory-Directed Research and Development (LDRD) proposals season is upon us. There are basically three components, Competency Development (CD), Program Development (PD), and Individual Projects (IP), in the LDRD program. The due dates for proposals for these are staggered in order to allow maximum preparation time for individual researchers and sponsoring organizations. The CD proposals were due March 21, and the approximate due dates for PD and IP proposals are mid-June and mid-May, respectively.

For fiscal year 1998, the CD component was significantly enhanced, and it represents now almost 50% of the program budget. The CD proposals are generally large in scope, funded at levels up to about $1M annually, and supported multidivisionally. Each Laboratory technical division is allowed to submit a maximum of three "thrust" proposals that it views as most strategic and innovative for the Laboratory's core competency development.

This year NMT Division evaluated a total of six CD thrust proposals and submitted the three top-ranked proposals for further screening reviews by the appropriate program offices and the core competency teams. The three NMT Division-endorsed proposals are as follows: (These proposals have multiple investigators. The names in parenthesis after each proposal are the proposals' spokespersons.)
1. A New Paradigm in Separations: Molecular Recognition Membranes (Gordon Jarvinen)
2. Plutonium Aging: Investigation of Changes in Weapons Alloys as a Function of Time (Joseph Martz)
3. Direct Numerical Simulation of Microstructural Evolution in Metals (Janine Fales and Bryan Lally).
Announcement of thrust proposal winners will be made on May 16, 1997.

NMT's abundant talents-Two individuals became the latest from TA-55 to receive their Ph.D. degrees. Steve Yarbro received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering; his dissertation was titled "Modeling Interfacial Area Transport in Multi-Fluid Systems." Joel Williams received his Ph.D., also in chemical engineering. Williams' dissertation was on "Prediction of Heat of Melting and Heat Capacity of Inorganic Liquids by the Method of Group Contributions." These individuals are part of the Distance Learning Program, which is a cooperative arrangement between the Laboratory and the Department of Chemical Engineering at New Mexico State University. Congratulations to both of you!

The Actinide Research Quarterly has been recognized by the Kachina (NM) Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication with an "Award of Excellence" in the publications category. Designer Susan Carlson and writer-editor Ann Mauzy were named in the award.

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