SURA News Update, February 2003

Jefferson Lab Open House: The public is invited to tour the Jefferson Lab at the Lab's Science is Cool! Open House on Saturday, April 26, 2003. This popular event is an opportunity for visitors to grasp the scope of the nuclear physics research program and technology developments underway at the Lab. The accelerator, experimental halls, FEL, and several other major areas of the facility will be open for tours. Out-of-town visitors can reserve overnight accommodations at the SURA Residence Facility.

FY03 support for JLab: Senate concluded deliberations on a $390B omnibus appropriations package in late January that included the eleven remaining appropriations bills (including Energy & Water that covers the Department of Energy's Office of Science which supports JLab). A 2.9% across-the-board cut was included in an attempt to reconcile the more than $12B in additional spending attached to the bill. The bill is now in the House-Senate Conference with wrap-up not expected before the February recess. JLab continues to operate under a continuing resolution at the FY02 funding level.

FY04 budget support for JLab: HR 238 (Energy bill), which was not completed before the winter recess, was reintroduced this month and includes the higher authorization numbers for the Office of Science. The President's FY04 budget provides a 3.6% increase in funding for operation of JLab. While small, this compares with an increase of 1.4% for all DOE science programs.

SURA/JLab FEL Science Review: In response to a suggestion by DOE Office of Science Director, Ray Orbach, SURA and Jefferson Lab are taking steps to advance the long-term science case for the FEL program (beyond potential defense and industrial applications). A proposal for a science driven Jefferson Lab FEL facility has been made to a facilities panel of the DOE Basic Energy Science Advisory Committee (BESAC). Consideration is also being given to a SURA sponsored Workshop later in the Spring to develop further the science case for the FEL.

SURA/JLab - DOE relations: In SURA's meeting with the new JLab Site Office Manager, James Turi (from the Environmental Management side of DOE and most recently at Oak Ridge), Turi stressed the importance of being able to capture and relay physics success stories that establish linkages between federal funding for basic R & D (JLab nuclear physics program) and their economic and societal benefits. Turi's representation of the agency's position on basic science supports the Department's naming of the Task Force on the Future of Science Programs, chaired by MIT President Chuck Vest. Secretary Spencer Abraham has charged the Task Force "to examine science and technology programs across the Department and consider future priorities for scientific research." A report from the Task Force, which is a subcommittee to the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB), is expected in the summer.

Extended Jefferson Lab Committee: In fulfillment of the Board's resolution to restructure and strengthen the Jefferson Lab Committee, SURA has begun the process to populate the extended Committee, with June Matthews (MIT) agreeing to serve as Committee Chair. Alex Dzierba (Indiana University), Don Geesaman (Argonne), and Charles Glashausser (Rutgers, APS Division of Nuclear Physics Chair) have agreed to be members of the JLab Committee and therefore, serve as Trustees-at-Large from key external institutions involved in the Lab's programs. The JLab User Group Chair (currently Alan Nathan, University of Illinois) will serve as an ex-officio member of the Committee. Each SURA member will be given an opportunity to name an individual from his/her institution to serve on the Committee. The Committee will play a key role in monitoring, evaluating, and overseeing the management and operation of JLab, both its nuclear physics and photon science programs, as well as other SURA/JLab-related programs and in providing SURA leadership in developing JLab initiatives.

SURA/JLab Sabbatical Program: SURA is soliciting applications for the 2003-2004 SURA/JLab Sabbatical program. This program provides SURA support to qualified candidates to enable enhanced research opportunities for SURA member faculty through access to Jefferson Lab facilities and on-site interactions with JLab staff and users. Since program inception five years ago, ten SURA faculty members (including SURA Board members) have spent a year sabbatical at JLab.

SURA/JLab Fellowship Program: Fourteen applications have been received for the eight 2003 SURA/Jefferson Lab Fellowship awards for advanced training related to the theory and experimental research programs of JLab, including nuclear and related particle physics, accelerator physics, and associated scientific and engineering fields (one award is for basic or applied research or engineering related to the JLab FEL program). Since 1989, SURA has awarded 90 fellowships to graduate students from SURA member universities.

Information Technology

SURA participation in National Optical Networking: Following several months of interactions and negotiations with the SURA community, UCAID, National LightRail leaders, and commercial firms, the SURA IT Steering Group has recommended against SURA investing funds from its reserves in support of the National LightRail project. However, the work SURA has done and the relationships it has established through its engagement in these activities have brought about an opportunity to develop an alternative networking infrastructure plan for the SURA region and the rest of the nation. In particular, SURA and UCAID have received a Letter of Intent from AT & T (covered under a non-disclosure agreement with AT & T) to establish broadband services to the higher education community through an innovative cooperative agreement. Details are being worked with information being provided to CIO's from around the country who have signed an NDA with AT & T. SURA and UCAID continue to work with Mike Roberts, who addressed the Board at its last meeting, and legal counsel to develop an appropriate vehicle for the administration of these activities.

SURA Optical Networking Cookbook: A cookbook detailing ingredients required for optical networking and illustrating several examples of successful implementation of optical networking has been developed by SURA members as the follow-on to SURA's NSF-funded Optical Technologies Workshop a year ago. Drawing heavily on the advanced networking activities of the higher ed and research communities, this resource shares the knowledge, expertise and best practices gained in advanced networking by the academic, governmental, and industrial communities.

Bio-Informatics Grid Workshop: Over 60 attendees participated in the Bio-Informatics Grid Workshop in the Research Triangle the last week of January to discuss the possibility of a regional solution to the computing and information challenges posed by the genomics revolution. The workshop agenda allowed for discussion of the IT infrastructure needed to support world-class efforts in genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics and related sciences. Participants addressed the functionality, capabilities, and services of a bio-informatics grid, as well as the facilities, tools, and resources needed to provide the biological science community with such an infrastructure. This workshop was funded through SURA's grant from the NSF as a sub-recipient of the University of Kentucky for the Partnership for Advanced Computing Services (PACS).

ViDe: The ViDe Steering Committee resolved to formally organize ViDe under the fiscal sponsorship of SURA through an operating rules agreement. Since SURA's initial seed funding in 1998, the Video Development Initiative has become a vibrant program with an active community whose primary interest is to promote the deployment of digital video in the higher ed and research community. Under SURA's fiscal sponsorship, ViDe will be able to establish sustainable financial resources, enter into contracts for goods and services, hold and exercise rights to intellectual property, accept donations from private entities under favorable tax considerations, and serve as principal agent for grant-funded activities. Plans are underway for the 5th annual ViDe Workshop March 24-26, 2003, at the Georgia Center for Advanced Telecommunications Technology (GCATT) in Atlanta. In addition to a registration fee from participants, this workshop will be funded through SURA's grant from the NSF as a sub-recipient of the University of Kentucky for the Partnership for Advanced Computing Services (PACS).

Computational chemistry: Following the success of the two SURA-hosted Computational Chemistry workshops, the most recent of which was held at the University of Kentucky in October 2002, workshop planners are organizing the third gathering of this group to continue to look at the development and use of computational techniques in chemistry and material science for the new generation of terascale computers. At the last workshop, among the agenda topics that generated full discussions, participants (~35 on-site and another couple of dozen off-site conferencing in) focused on the topic of bridging the gaps among various Internet protocols being used to share information on developments and applications of quantum mechanics and molecular dynamics. This workshop is funded through SURA's grant from the NSF as a sub-recipient of the University of Kentucky for the Partnership for Advanced Computing Services (PACS). Additionally, the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) has contributed to support for speakers at both workshops.

NSF Middleware Initiative: Under an agreement with UCAID as a partner in this $12M NSF-funded project to design, develop, and deploy middleware (architectures, software, services) that will enable the next generation of network-enabled applications, SURA has begun its work with eight universities to develop and manage the NMI Integration Testbed program, offering real life testing and broad implementation of NMI middleware components. Testbed sites include the University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Georgia State, University of Florida, Florida State, University of Michigan, University of Texas at Austin, and University of Virginia. Four of these sites (UAB, UVa, UT-A, and Florida) are funded ($60K/per year) as sub-recipients to SURA of the NSF grant. A spring meeting is scheduled for testbed sites to present their implementation and evaluation experiences.

Cyber-security: The cyber-security working group, formed last year to promote the development and use of cyber-security policies, practices and technologies appropriate for research universities, and strategies to increase security and interoperability of communication networks, is considering the merits of conducting a survey of the best practices in SURA institutions with regard to cyber-security. The analysis of such data would reveal the extent to which higher ed is currently engaged to improve security and to use current best practices and successes to secure the IT infrastructures of SURA universities. The information could also serve as a resource base for the SURA region to compete for the $900M in federal security research dollars.

SoX (Southern Crossroads): SoX participation for CY 2003 has doubled in dollar value (now ~$4.0M total) compared to CY 2002 and includes services through Qwest, Cogent, Level3 and Abilene (UCAID). Membership has increased in the past year to twenty participants and budgets for the SoX activity continue to cover costs of operations.

MAX (Mid-Atlantic Crossroads): MAX now consists of 32 participants from higher ed, federal labs and agencies, and private non-profit organizations and anticipates another ten organizations. MAX continues to support and enhance services to its participants including the extension of high performance (OC48) connectivity to the Baltimore community and the provision of commodity Internet service through the Quilt consortium. MAX has collaborated on demonstration projects of high performance networking, providing segments of connectivity for experiments at the MIT Haystack Observatory and the U.S. Naval Observatory. Aligned with the initial intent to secure external (from SURA) funding, MAX leadership is pursuing grant opportunities to extend accessibility for its participants to leading edge networks and applications.

SURA/SGA IT relations: SURA met with the Commonwealth of Virginia Deputy Secretary of Technology, Eugene Huang, to discuss ways that SURA could support the SGA's e-Corridor Project, aligning it with the SGA's October resolution regarding a southern states high performance supercomputer network grid. The October resolution supports SURA's efforts to align state government and higher ed to ensure compatibility and complementarity of high performance computing and network technologies.

Coastal Research

SCOOP funding: Following several meetings with personnel from DOD's Office of Naval Research (ONR), from which the $1M seed money for SCOOP will come, the SCOOP vision was expanded to include the entire east coast (Florida to Maine) as well as the southern coast to the Gulf of Mexico. In anticipation of this expanded vision, SURA is seeking an individual who is a respected member of the coastal research community with experience in coordinating teams of scientists and engineers from industry, the Navy, academe, and oceanographic institutions to lead this effort, enabling the SURA region to maximize the seed funding to develop a major regional program with national ties.

SCOOP kick-off meeting: SURA Fellow for Coastal Research, Don Wright, organized a one-day SCOOP kick-off meeting to began discussions with the community on uses of the ONR seed money for SCOOP to address the IT infrastructure necessary to support the observing system on a super-regional and national level. About a dozen participants discussed available data systems (DODS/OpenDAP, SRB) and their operability with grid technologies. The group discussed SCOOP's near-term goals and the need to coordinate the SCOOP effort with OCEAN.US to begin serving as a leader in integrating observing systems.

Coastal research relations: On the relations front of the coastal initiative, SURA updated the Southern Governors Association (SGA) Resolution in support of SCOOP, passed initially at the SGA meeting last February. SGA Past Chair, Governor Mike Foster requested the update in order to resubmit at the 2003 SGA winter meeting for inclusion on the SGA's current agenda. The new version reflects SURA's initial steps of implementing an open-access network of distributed sensors, given the seed funding for FY03. The anticipated $1M seed money from Commerce is part of the FY03 Appropriations Omnibus bill currently under consideration by the Conference Committee. SURA continues to strategize to secure FY04 authorization and appropriations for SCOOP.

Tech Transfer and Commercialization

Tech transfer and potential partnerships: SURA is actively engaging the existing technology transfer community from our member universities, local and state economic development agencies, and private sector entities to promote dialog and formulate plans for SURA's technology commercialization programs. Partnerships with the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland and the University of Texas Option II MBA program are underway to facilitate the creation of market analyses and business plans for promising JLab technologies. Entrepreneurial networks, seed funding and venture capital networks, and business incubators from within and outside the SURA footprint are being tapped as SURA plans its commercialization path forward. SURA is also evaluating several potential business opportunities, including a formal SURA/ViDe relationship, potential partnerships with private partners for the SCOOP initiative, and intellectual property at the Jefferson Lab.

Optical Fiber Sensors Workshop: SURA is sponsoring an Optical Fiber Sensors Workshop, the joint effort of a working group that includes CNU, ODU and NASA, which will focus on photonic band gap fibers and other novel fiber sensors available at the NASA Langley Research Center. The workshop, open to all interested parties, is intended to disseminate new research results and attract research participation from other institutions and commercial entities.

Development Committee: Following up on the Board's agreement to revise the structure of and rename the New & Ongoing Projects Committee (see revisions), SURA is compiling a list of potential contacts for the new Development Committee. In addition to its goals of providing a venue for member university chief research officers to discuss and evaluate potential multi-member initiatives and to promote and advocate SURA programs, this Committee will play a key role in the technology transfer potential in the Jefferson Lab as well as in SURA member institutions as appropriate.

Executive, Management and Administrative

Draayer honor: SURA President, Jerry Draayer, will be honored at the Computational and Group Theoretical Methods in Nuclear Physics Conference to be held February 18-21, 2003 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. "The conference will be held on the occasion of the 60th birthday of Jerry P. Draayer, who has contributed so much to these areas of nuclear structure physics." Topics to be discussed include: SU(3) and Symplectic Models and their Applications, Pseudo-Spin in Nuclear Physics, Collective phenomena, Computational Physics and Large-Scale Nuclear Models, and Mathematical Physics.

SGA leadership: Following the November gubernatorial elections, West Virginia Governor Bob Wise was elected Chair of the Southern Governors Association (to replace ex-Georgia Governor Roy Barnes), Virginia Governor Mark Warner was elected First Vice Chair and newly-elected Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue was elected Second Vice Chair. The annual SGA meeting is scheduled for September 21-23 in Charleston, WV. The connection between SURA and the SGA will move forward aggressively given Governor Warner's ongoing involvement with SURA and his position as Chair of the Southern Technology Council.

SURA Board trustee appointments: In addition to the reappointment of fifteen trustees whose terms ended in December 2002, SURA member presidents have appointed the following new trustees to the SURA Board:

Tom Breslin, VP for Sponsored Research, Florida International
Jonathan Pote, Interim VP for Research, Mississippi State
John Gilligan, VC for Research and Graduate Studies, North Carolina State
Gerard Gilfoyle, Associate Professor of Physics, University of Richmond

SURA Executive Committee membership: Six positions on the Executive Committee are or will be up for election in CY2003. Incumbent chairs of the standing committees can be re-elected. Election of Executive Committee members (except for Council vice-chair) will be conducted at the Fall Board meeting.

Council Vice Chair. Effective immediately.
Board Vice Chair. Effective CY2004-2005.
Finance Committee Chair. Effective July 2003 upon Gill Cell's retirement. The Executive Committee can name an interim chair until an election is conducted.
Coastal Research Committee Chair. Effective CY2004-2006.
IT Committee Chair. Effective CY2004-2006.
Development Committee Chair. Effective CY2004-2006.

SURA member applications: SURA has received applications for membership from Baylor University President Robert Sloan, Jr. (Carnegie Classification-Doctoral Research Intensive) and Oklahoma State University President David Schmidly (Carnegie Classification-Doctoral Research Extensive).

SURA CFO: SURA Board Chair Don Lehman and Finance Committee Chair Gill Cell, along with other members of the selection committee for the SURA CFO position (Jerry Draayer, Matt Thomas, Elizabeth Lawson, AAAS CFO Phil Blair, Acting JLab CFO Mark Waite) have selected Peter Bjonerud from a strong field of over a hundred candidates to serve as SURA's Chief Financial Officer, and upon election by the Board, Corporate Treasurer.

FY02 financial audits: All fieldwork has been conducted for the FY02 financial audit and final report from KPMG is expected in a couple of weeks. A single audit (A-133) will be conducted in mid-February on FY02 expenditures on federal grants.