| |
ULFP met for about an hour almost every 2nd Friday of the month in Rm 114 Scripps Admin. Bldg.
- At the start of every meeting, the status of the SIO Analytical Facility (SAF) instruments was discussed. Some of the major changes in SAF instrumentation were:
1. An Itrax x-ray microscope/microprobe was set-up at SAF. The instrument was on loan to SAF by a Swedish manufacturer for testing; the SAF prepared the instrument room.
2. A new high-resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) was acquired in December, 2000, using funds from NSF, SIO Directors Office, and SAF Depreciation Account. The instrument has been set up and analytical methods for routine solution chemistry currently are being perfected.
3. A laser ablation system attachment for the new ICP-MS was funded separately by DOE, and has been hooked-up to the instrument. The laser ICP-MS method is still being tested and evaluated.
4. Fund to replace the DNA sequencer was funded through NSF MRI Program.
5. There was a lot of problem with the electron microprobe, as it is very old and thus, most of the spare parts are no longer available. The instrument was decommissioned.
6. The IR-IV eventually also has to be replaced sooner than later (~12 years old).
7. The XRD has been down for several months.
8. A new EDS system was attached to the SEM and a new software package was installed in the XRF.
9. W. Fennicals former student donated an Agilent HPLC mass spectrometer to SAF and was accepted by ULFP. The mass spectrometer will be delivered and set up by an Agilent engineer, also courtesy of the donor.
10. A proposal to purchase a stable isotope mass spectrometer was submitted to NSF.
11. Proposals to acquire a new environmental SEM and a new generation NMR are being prepared.
- News on SAF personnel:
1. Charles Graham had a car accident and will not be able to work at SAF anymore; he is still on official leave until January 02.
2. Charles Lim is on an extended medical leave and may not go back to work at SAF.
3. Rodolfo Figueroa was hired temporarily until January 02 to help Kevin run SAF.
4. Evelyn York is interested in working temporarily for SAF; she will apply for the position in late October, 2001.
- In early 2001, ULFP created a committee to assess the current state and formulate long term plans of SAF. The committee solicited ideas from ULFP members and prepared a summary to be presented to Dir. Charles Kennel. On 9 March 2001, ULFP members and SAF users including students, met with C. Kennel, W. Hodgkiss, T. Collins, and K. Melville from 11:00 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. Castillo and Walda presented the purpose, history, and current state of the SAF. A long discussion followed, focusing on how to modernize and improve the current instrumentation and how to make the Facility financially secured in the years to come. Dir. Kennel made the following suggestions to ULFP:
1. shorten the depreciation time for instruments, so that they can be replaced in a timely fashion
2. find ways to get additional, much needed instruments
3. find ways to add technical support to the Facility, given that we may have more modern, replacement instruments (#1 above) and additional, more complex instruments (#2 above) and that financial support is not feasible in the current Scripps budget.
- After consultation with students and scientists using SAF, Pat Castillo, Kevin Walda, and Ginny Dobias met with Bill Hodgkiss and Ken Melville in Old Scripps Library on May 5, 2001 to discuss ULFPs response to Director Kennel's suggestions. The responses are the following:
1. The depreciation age of SIO Analytical instruments had been reduced to 10 years starting fiscal year 1998.
2. SAF does not purchase instruments on its own. Since its formation in the 60's, the number of Facility shared instrumentation has grown in number and complexity through acquisition by several groups of SIO faculty and researches using funds cost-shared by SIO and outside funding agencies. As the number of SIO scientists and students needing new types of instrumentation grows, it is totally up to them to organize themselves and find funds to acquire the instruments they need. The Facility will only assume the responsibility of running and maintaining instruments that benefit large groups of SIO students and scientists.
3. SAF has 3 full-time employees. They teach new users - particularly students - how to run instruments, assist old users during analysis, maintain instruments, trouble shoot minor problems, and supervise major repairs. Currently, they are at full capacity - addition of any major, new class of instrument will require additional technical support. ULFP requires that anyone at SIO proposing to acquire such shared instrumentation must include in their proposal to ULFP a clear and detailed plan on how to augment the current Facility employees to support the new instrument. For example, a part-time technician for a new instrument can be hired on a recharge basis or through support coming from other UCSD departments.
4. Also discussed at the meeting was the fact that the 2 original SAF positions were provided by the state: (1) FTE in General Funds (19900) to Ron LaBorde and (1) FTE in Opportunity Funds (07427A), under the Organization code of the Analytical Facility, to Roy Fujutai. The administration of the salary of these 3 positions was transferred from the extinct SIO Earth Science Department to the present SIO Graduate Department. In 1984 the SIO department exchanged the FTE in Opportunity Funds (07427A) to General funds (19900A) with the SIO Department Organizational code. In 1993 when Ron LaBorde retired from Principal Dev Eng., the department made open provisions of Sr. Dev. Eng. and Staff Research Assoc (i.e., 2 positions were created from the allotment of the original FTE for Ron LaBorde). The salary support for the Facility employees is a huge fraction of the current Graduate Department budget. It is extremely important that Analytical Facility users be fully cognizant of this situation.
- The administration of SAF was transferred from the SIO Graduate Department to the SIO Director's Office in late summer, 2001.
- Pat Castillo stepped down as ULFP chair. M. Kastner and A. Dickson are currently ULFP co-chairs.
Pat Castillo
1999-2001 ULFP Chair
|
|
SCRIPPS OVERVIEW
|
RESEARCH OVERVIEW
|
SUPPORT SCRIPPS
|
DIRECTORIES & MAPS
|
EMPLOYMENT
