February 2012 - Neams-pmt - mailman3.cels.anl.gov

Re: [Neams-pmt] Setting up telecon with NRC
by David E. Bernholdt 14 Feb '12

14 Feb '12

On 02/14/2012 01:01 PM, Steven L Hayes wrote: > it's also the week of the NE-7 R&D Summit > and I'm afraid we might not get the attention of Keith and the feds > during this time? Given that, I just added time slots in the following week to the poll. If you've already filled it out, you should be able to edit your entry, or just make a new one and I'll remove the old one. Thanks -- David E. Bernholdt | Email: bernholdtde(a)ornl.gov Oak Ridge National Laboratory | Phone: +1 865-574-3147 http://www.csm.ornl.gov/~bernhold | Fax: +1 865-576-5491

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Setting up telecon with NRC
by David E. Bernholdt 14 Feb '12

14 Feb '12

Short summary w/ action items: We're scheduling a telecon with the NRC to begin figuring out our long-term engagement strategy. We're targeting the week of 19 March, and on the NEAMS side we need the following people to participate: * Someone to present a programmatic overview (Keith or a fed?; I could do it in a pinch) * Fuels IPSC lead or alternate * Reactors IPSC lead or alternate So I would appreciate it if those people could complete the poll at http://www.doodle.com/wuiiimr2gsy6pmq4 to indicate your availability by COB FRIDAY in order to keep the process moving. I would like to present the NRC with as many different time slots as possible, since they are trying to wrangle even more people than we are. So please list your maximum availability. Other members of the PMT will be welcome to join the telecon once it is scheduled. The whole story: Jim Peltz and I have been talking to Brett Rini, who is the technical assistant to the head of NRC's Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research with the goal of figuring out how to most effectively engage with them. We've been told repeatedly by our stakeholders that we need to make sure that NRC is not "surprised" by what we're doing, or how we're going about it. My expectation going in is that we'll develop some plan of periodic technical briefings/updates, matching up elements of NEAMS with appropriate branches/groups within NRC. Of course this is just a strawman, so we first have to get agreement that this the "right answer", or come up with another approach. If it is the right answer, then the job is to figure out the right connections, the frequency of discussions, etc. There may also be opportunities for/interest in technical collaboration as well, but those are secondary considerations in this discussion, and we have to be careful about anything that would (appear to) compromise their regulatory independence. To kick-off this "match-making", we've agreed to setup a 1.5 hour teleconference/webinar session. We want to present a technical overview of the entire NEAMS program, and then dive a little deeper on our two primary IPSC areas, Fuels and Reactors. The primary audience on the NRC side will be the technical assistants to the various divisions or branches of the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research. These folks have broad awareness of the activities and interests in their branches, and will play a key role in helping us find the right set of folks to interact with on an on-going basis. Our overview should should be designed to introduce the overall approach, focusing (I think) on how it is different from past practice, and also briefly introduce the other elements of the program, so that the NRC technical assistants can identify other areas of NEAMS that may warrant deeper dives with smaller, more focused groups. Obviously, we'll also have to spend some time in advance of this meeting preparing presentations. I think the message in this case is a little different from our usual presentations. Thanks -- David E. Bernholdt | Email: bernholdtde(a)ornl.gov Oak Ridge National Laboratory | Phone: +1 865-574-3147 http://www.csm.ornl.gov/~bernhold | Fax: +1 865-576-5491

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Anyone know about $25k funding for NEUP review support
by Mark Miller 09 Feb '12

09 Feb '12

Hi All, My understanding is that last year, each laboratory got a small amount, $25K, to support the review activities associated with NEUP process. At LLNL, these funds are nearly exhausted and someone here is asking me if I know whether or not (and when) such funds will be made available for FY12. Does anyone in NEAMS PMT know whether or not there will be some funds made available for NEUP review activities for FY12 and if, so, when those might be coming? Mark -- Mark C. Miller, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory ================!!LLNL BUSINESS ONLY!!================ miller86(a)llnl.gov urgent: miller86(a)pager.llnl.gov T:8-6 (925)-423-5901 M/W/Th:7-12,2-7 (530)-753-8511

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06Feb12 NEAMS-PMT teleconference notes
by Mark Miller 06 Feb '12

06 Feb '12

Here's my notes from today's PMT telecon -- Mark C. Miller, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory ================!!LLNL BUSINESS ONLY!!================ miller86(a)llnl.gov urgent: miller86(a)pager.llnl.gov T:8-6 (925)-423-5901 M/W/Th:7-12,2-7 (530)-753-8511

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Updated: NEAMS PMT Telecon
by Herrera, Jessica C. 06 Feb '12

06 Feb '12

[cid:[email protected]] PMT Teleconference: Date: February 6, 2012 Time: 1:00 PM EST Contact Information: (800) 857-1810; passcode 80655 AGENDA: Item Lead Roll Call Bradley NEAMS FY12 Baseline Versluis Hydride Modeling Workshop Summers Added Items PMT

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NEAMS PMT Telecon
by Bradley, Keith S. 06 Feb '12

06 Feb '12

PMT Teleconference: Date: February 6, 2012 Time: 1:00 PM EST Contact Information: (800) 857-1810; passcode 80655 AGENDA: Item Lead Roll Call Bradley NEAMS FY12 Baseline Versluis Added Items PMT

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NEAMS PMT Telecon
by Herrera, Jessica C. 06 Feb '12

06 Feb '12

[cid:[email protected]] PMT Teleconference: Date: February 6, 2012 Time: 1:00 PM EST Contact Information: (800) 857-1810; passcode 80655 AGENDA: Item Lead Roll Call Bradley NEAMS FY12 Baseline Versluis Added Items PMT

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Monday's PMT call
by Bradley, Keith S. 04 Feb '12

04 Feb '12

All, Please send your topics for the call to myself and Jessica. She will send an agenda Monday morning. Thanks, ~Keith ******************** Keith S. Bradley, Ph. D. -- (925) 321-5790 (m); (630) 252-4685 (o)

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Role Clarification - A Work in Process
by Larzelere, Alex 03 Feb '12

03 Feb '12

Everyone, I understand that there is some confusion out there about my role for NEAMS and AMSO (NE-71). This is not surprising, because things are not exactly clear in my own mind. Just to reiterate what I said at the January PMT face-to-face, here are a few things that are clear. * Back in the later part of December, I came to the realization that I was spreading myself too thin, was doing too much, and not doing any of it too well. This included taking care of my health. * That prompted a bit "soul searching" on my part and I came to a few conclusions. Here are some of some of them: o The thing I really want to do is to make the NE Hub (CASL) very successful. So far they have done a marvelous job, but there are some challenges ahead that will require somebody's attention. These include the transition to a new administration (be it an Obama #1 or New Guy #1). There is also the issue of the process for the continuation to a second phase and the relationship of the NE Hub to the other Hubs and a few other things. o The thing I do not want to do is to be the "official" Office Director for NE-71 (AMSO). It is no surprise that there are a lot of expectations for the person who holds that job (quite appropriately) but that is not where I want to spend my time and energy. o On the subject of NEAMS, after reflect on the last four years of trying to build the program that my original vision was not appropriate. This is fine because things change and it would be silly to expect that they would not. On the other hand, given a change was needed, it was not clear to me that I was the right one to lead that. NEAMS has gathered a very capable staff over the last year (Trevor, Rob, Dan, & Jim) and I believe they are fully capable of leading the efforts to "reinvent" NEAMS. So - this the thoughts above are what has prompted my decision to make some changes in my role for NEAMS, NE-71 (AMSO), and CASL. In my mind the end points are pretty clear. The thing that is not clear is the process by which we get there. That is still being developed and we should have some better ideas shortly. Sorry for not being able to draw "black and white" lines on an org chart at this time, but I believe if I did they would likely to be wrong. Thanks to everyone for their patience with me. I, and I alone, prompted these changes and I know they have added a lot of uncertainty to the system. That being said, I will look to Jim Stewart and Laura Swiler to quantify that. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments or me and I will make sure I update you as things develop. Have a great weekend! Regards, Alex ________________________________________________ Alex R. Larzelere Office of Nuclear Energy (NE-71) U.S. Department of Energy 202-586-1906 Alex.Larzelere(a)nuclear.energy.gov<mailto:[email protected]>

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