Fire danger: Low
Education Fair at Lab
Deborah Stungis Rocha, left, and husband, Louis Rocha, both
of Modeling, Algorithms and Informatics (CCS-3), talk to Esther
Catron, seated, of Training and Development (HR-6) at the learning@lanl
Education Fair last week in the Otowi Building. The fair was held
to provide information about degree programs and short courses
available to Laboratory workers. Standing at right is Jean Lamm
of the National Technological University in Fort Collins, Colo.
Training and Development will host another education fair from
10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Dec. 11 in the Otowi Building. Photo
by LeRoy N. Sanchez
Walter Goad, GenBank founder, dies
Walter Benson Goad died in Santa Fe, N.M. on Nov. 2, six days after suffering a stroke. Born Sept. 5, 1925 in Marlowe, Ga., Goad explored the world beyond the rural south at an early age and in 1942 he landed a job in Schenectady, NY as a radio station engineer. At his employer's urging he enrolled in Union College where he received his bachelor's degree in physics and was awarded the Baily Cup for overall achievement in 1945. After graduation he spent a year and a half in the United States Navy with the Pacific Fleet and then began graduate studies.
In 1950, while still a graduate student, Goad joined the staff of the Theoretical (T) Division at Los Alamos where, except for sabbaticals at the University of Colorado Medical Center and the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England, he would spend his entire scientific career. He received his doctoral in theoretical physics from Duke University in 1954 for studies in cosmic ray physics under Lothar Nordheim. From 1950 to 1965 Goad was a member of the team that developed the first and subsequent generations of thermonuclear weapons.
In the 1960s Goad was one of a small number of physicists who turned their attention to questions in molecular biology. Goad's vision and leadership, coupled with his knowledge of computers, mathematics, the physical sciences, and biology, resulted in the creation of the first nucleic acid database, GenBank. GenBank, in turn, would become a cornerstone in the revolutionary field of bioinformatics.
In 1970-1971 Goad spent a year with Francis Crick at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. Upon his return he devoted his full scientific efforts to biology, providing theoretical support to various experimental biology programs at Los Alamos. In 1974 George Bell created the Theoretical Biology and Biophysics (T-10) Group, which Goad joined. With the advent of methods to obtain the exact nucleotide sequences of genes, it became clear that sequence data would accumulate at a great rate. In 1979 a meeting was organized at the Rockefeller University to discuss how these data could be managed and exploited. Los Alamos scientists attended that meeting and upon their return talked to Goad who had been thinking about sequence data and how to analyze these data with computers. About this time, Goad began collecting sequences on a computer and writing software for the analysis of his pilot sequence database. Starting in 1979, Goad headed the Los Alamos effort to create a national data bank and analysis center for nucleic acid sequences.
In 1982 Goad's efforts were rewarded when the National Institutes of Health funded Goad's proposal for the creation of GenBank, a national nucleic acid sequence data bank. By the end of 1983 more than 2,000 sequences (about two million base pairs) were annotated and stored in GenBank. Today, approximately nine million sequences (about 10 billion base pairs) are in the database which can be accessed by scientists throughout the world.
For his work in sequence analysis and the creation of GenBank, Goad received a Los Alamos National Laboratory Distinguished Service Award. In 1987 the Laboratory bestowed its highest honor for scientific excellence on Goad, making him a Laboratory Fellow. Goad was also a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Goad is survived by his wife of 48 years, Maxine of El Rancho; daughters Marian Goad of El Rancho, Donna Goad and husband Paul Johnson and grandchildren Marshall and Dustin Johnson, all of Jemez Springs, N.M.; and son Christopher Goad and wife Donalda Speight of Astoria, Ore.
A memorial gathering will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3 in the Thunderbird Room at Bishops Lodge in Tesuque.
--Todd Hanson
New transportation plan will eliminate
need for road closures
The Department of Energy has approved a plan for transportation of potentially hazardous materials that will minimize or eliminate the need for road closures on Laboratory roads. "Rolling work zones" will allow for transport in a convoy consisting of lead and rear escort vehicles, equipped with flashing lights and signs instructing motorists to refrain from passing the convoy or inserting themselves into the line of official vehicles. The speed limit for a rolling work zone will be 45 mph.
"Usually we close the roads when we're transporting something that can't be packaged according to Department of Transportation requirements," said Shirley O'Rourke, Packaging and Transportation Program Manager for Materials Management (BUS-4.) "Since all roads on Lab property are maintained and controlled by DOE, the department has approved this alternative plan."
The new system will save approximately $1,200 each time a road closure can be avoided. "With the hundred or so road closures that we schedule each year , this will generate significant savings," O'Rourke said. "It will also keep traffic moving and eliminate the delays that have caused so much frustration for the public and for Lab staff."
O'Rourke said her staff is optimistic that travelers on affected roads will cooperate with the new procedures, but that the licenses of motorists who pass the rolling work zone convoys will be recorded. Government vehicles will be reported to Lab authorities, and private vehicles will be reported to the Los Alamos Police Department.
"If motorists can be patient while traveling behind these rolling work zones, we won't have to close roads to move some of this stuff," she said.
--Kay Roybal
ES&H Operational Emergency terminated
On Oct. 11, Emergency Management & Response, with the concurrence of Deputy Laboratory Director for Operations Dick Burick, terminated the environment, safety and health operational emergency that was put into effect on June 5 due to concerns about potential flooding and danger in the fire areas. Efforts to mitigate potential flood problems and removal of hazard trees near roads and trails has been completed. Caution should still be used when working in canyons during wet weather and also when working in areas that were burned in the fire.
Motorists should be alert for deer
That deer caught in your headlights just may be a real problem, warns Diana Webb of Ecology (ESH-20). "We are urging motorists to watch out for wildlife, especially at dusk. Not only are deer a hazard on Laboratory roads, but they're often spotted in the downtown area as well," she said.
Motorists are urged to use special caution on all area roads, as dawn and early evening are foraging times when deer, elk, and other wildlife are more likely to wander onto the road. "Each year we have a number of car accidents and 'near misses' involving area wildlife. We have to be especially alert for them during this time of year. After all, we are living in their back yard," Webb said. Photo courtesy of ESH-20
-- Fran Talley
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