scholarly journals Attracting and Retaining Top Scientists and Engineers at U.S. National Laboratories and Universities: Listening to the next generation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trent R. Northen ◽  
Nancy Haegel ◽  
Daniel B. Sinars ◽  
Johney Green ◽  
Dawn E. Wellman ◽  
...  

Traditional career models for U.S. national laboratory research staff and university professors are based on long-term career stability that enables the development of deep expertise devoted to solving complex scientific and engineering problems. However, generational transitions as well as changing dynamics of U.S. federal funding may cause major shifts in this traditional career model, which has dominated research since Vannevar Bush published, "Science the Endless Frontier". To explore career attitudes, expectations, and perceived barriers among the next generation of energy scholars, surveys were sent to 450 recipients of the U.S. Department of Energy Early Career Award (about half employed at national labs and the other half at universities) as well as nearly 200 students at the University of Washington Clean Energy Institute and Notre Dame Energy. The survey results are placed in the context of peer reviewed research on the performance and motivation of researchers and scientific organizations.

2021 ◽  

Jennifer Mitchell is a scientist at Redx Pharma and Board Member of the European Laboratory Research and Innovation Group (ELRIG). She completed her integrated undergraduate and master’s degree in biological sciences at the University of Liverpool and took on a graduate industrial role as an associate scientist at a biotech company. After 2 years in this role, she went back into academia to complete a PhD before moving back to industry. Jennifer began her involvement with ELRIG, a not-for-profit organization serving the life science and drug discovery communities, as a student volunteer in 2017 and she has been part of the ELRIG General Committee since 2018. She is also part of the ELRIG early career professional (ECP) workgroup, which aims to engage the ECP scientific community through career development workshops and outreach events. In December 2020, the Biochemical Society hosted a session on industry careers in the molecular biosciences as part of its Biochemistry Focuswebinar series dedicated to early career researchers. The Biochemist spoke to Jennifer, panellist on the day, to find out more about her experience working in industry and her broader contributions to the community.


Author(s):  
Don Jarrell ◽  
Daniel Sisk ◽  
Leonard Bond

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) scientists are performing research under the Department of Energy Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (NERI) program, to develop a methodology for accurate identification and prediction of equipment faults in critical machinery. The 3-year project, on-line intelligent self-diagnostic monitoring system (SDMS) for next generation nuclear power plants is scheduled for completion at the end of FY 2002. The research involves running machinery to failure in the Laboratory by the introduction of intentional faults. During testing, advanced diagnostic/prognostic sensors and analysis systems monitor the equipment stressor levels, correlate them with expected degradation rates, and predict the resulting machinery performance levels and residual lifetime. Application of a first principles physics-based approach is expected to produce prognostic methodologies of significantly higher accuracies than are currently available. This paper reviews the evolution and current state of the maintenance art. It presents a key measurement philosophy that results from the use of condition based maintenance (CBM) as a fundamental investigative precept, and explains how this approach impacts degradation and failure measurement and prediction accuracy. It then examines how this measurement approach is applied in sensing and correlating pump stressors with regard to degradation rate and time to equipment failure. The specifics are examined on how this approach is being applied at PNNL to cavitation and vibration phenomena in a centrifugal pump. Preliminary vibration analysis results show an excellent correspondence between the (laser) motor position indication, the vibration response, and the dynamic force loading on the bearings. Orbital harmonic vibratory motion of the pump and motor appear to be readily correlated through the FFTs of all three sensing systems.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document