Research Conference Call - Summary
Research Conference Call
11/30/05
Facilities Overview
Nick Altiero reported that the St. Charles Campus Engineering facilities are in good shape and have been recently cleaned up. There is some minor damage, but faculty have been allowed back. A process is in place wherein faculty are instructed after they arrive regarding completion of loss inventory forms and related issues. Engineering faculty are expected to be returning gradually through January 2.
Gary McPherson reported that the Israel and Stern science buildings on the St. Charles Campus have been lagging behind. They are still without ventilation, although they do have electricity. During the mold remediation that is ongoing in the Stern basement a water line was damaged and as a result the water has been turned off until Thursday. The Israel building utilities are tied to those of the Stern building, and that is delaying the re-entry process there. Laura Levy wanted to be sure to communicate that the reason the Stern and Israel building are not yet fully functional is entirely due to the damage those buildings sustained, and is not because they are considered to have lower priority. The Stern basement had about eight feet of water that remained for an extended period of time and is therefore much like the School of Medicine building in terms of damage. Dr. Levy reminded everyone that they can place some uptown campus researchers in the JBJ building. There is also the possibility of placing some of those people in the Boggs building. Dr. McPherson reported that the NMR in the Coordinated Instrumentation Facility has been powered up and appears to be working fine.
On the Health Sciences Campus, the JBJ building is fully functional except for a recent problem with the steam caused by work going on outside the building. There are reports that the steam in the JBJ building may be out for a week to ten days, and Laura Levy will check on that situation, as it will affect the vivarium, autoclaves, and building heating system.
Beginning this Saturday, the JBJ building will be accessible to Tulane researchers on weekends from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. All entries to the building, however, must be made at 9 a.m., after which the doors will be locked because there are not currently enough security officers.
Repopulation of the Tidewater Building began last week and is proceeding smoothly, albeit with limited elevator service.
The School of Medicine Building is lagging behind, but recent estimates are that the “C” component of the building (the newest section) will be open in a couple of weeks. The “A” and “B” components of the building will not be ready for several weeks, possibly as many as 6-8. We are working on a plan for occupancy of the “C” component of the building. There are complications in doing this because of security issues and the need to restrict access to the other sections of the building.
Funding Opportunities
Laura Levy reported that the visit by the NIEHS Director last Monday went well and that NIEHS intends to issue a series of R03 RFAs covering a broad range of Katrina-related and environmental topics very soon. Dr. McLachlan reported that his group put together a presentation on their respiratory health initiative and that they are exploring the possibility of some sort of expedited funding mechanism because the regular grant cycle will take too long to allow researchers to capture some of the hurricane’s effects. He said that he felt the NIEHS staff were favorably impressed with Tulane’s capabilities and ability to pull together this sort of effort. Tulane has communicated the message to NIEHS that we need some sort of expedited review and award process in order to keep from missing research opportunities presented by the hurricane. The Mary Kay Ash Foundation recently announced a competition for grants in the area of ovarian, uterine, breast or cervical cancer. The announcement has been distributed to faculty via the Office of Research listservs. Also, NSF has recently issued its announcement for the Major Research Instrumentation Program.
Future Meetings
The next conference call will take place in two weeks. Laura Levy is seeking feedback from faculty as to the frequency and usefulness of these conference calls.
11/30/05
Facilities Overview
Nick Altiero reported that the St. Charles Campus Engineering facilities are in good shape and have been recently cleaned up. There is some minor damage, but faculty have been allowed back. A process is in place wherein faculty are instructed after they arrive regarding completion of loss inventory forms and related issues. Engineering faculty are expected to be returning gradually through January 2.
Gary McPherson reported that the Israel and Stern science buildings on the St. Charles Campus have been lagging behind. They are still without ventilation, although they do have electricity. During the mold remediation that is ongoing in the Stern basement a water line was damaged and as a result the water has been turned off until Thursday. The Israel building utilities are tied to those of the Stern building, and that is delaying the re-entry process there. Laura Levy wanted to be sure to communicate that the reason the Stern and Israel building are not yet fully functional is entirely due to the damage those buildings sustained, and is not because they are considered to have lower priority. The Stern basement had about eight feet of water that remained for an extended period of time and is therefore much like the School of Medicine building in terms of damage. Dr. Levy reminded everyone that they can place some uptown campus researchers in the JBJ building. There is also the possibility of placing some of those people in the Boggs building. Dr. McPherson reported that the NMR in the Coordinated Instrumentation Facility has been powered up and appears to be working fine.
On the Health Sciences Campus, the JBJ building is fully functional except for a recent problem with the steam caused by work going on outside the building. There are reports that the steam in the JBJ building may be out for a week to ten days, and Laura Levy will check on that situation, as it will affect the vivarium, autoclaves, and building heating system.
Beginning this Saturday, the JBJ building will be accessible to Tulane researchers on weekends from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. All entries to the building, however, must be made at 9 a.m., after which the doors will be locked because there are not currently enough security officers.
Repopulation of the Tidewater Building began last week and is proceeding smoothly, albeit with limited elevator service.
The School of Medicine Building is lagging behind, but recent estimates are that the “C” component of the building (the newest section) will be open in a couple of weeks. The “A” and “B” components of the building will not be ready for several weeks, possibly as many as 6-8. We are working on a plan for occupancy of the “C” component of the building. There are complications in doing this because of security issues and the need to restrict access to the other sections of the building.
Funding Opportunities
Laura Levy reported that the visit by the NIEHS Director last Monday went well and that NIEHS intends to issue a series of R03 RFAs covering a broad range of Katrina-related and environmental topics very soon. Dr. McLachlan reported that his group put together a presentation on their respiratory health initiative and that they are exploring the possibility of some sort of expedited funding mechanism because the regular grant cycle will take too long to allow researchers to capture some of the hurricane’s effects. He said that he felt the NIEHS staff were favorably impressed with Tulane’s capabilities and ability to pull together this sort of effort. Tulane has communicated the message to NIEHS that we need some sort of expedited review and award process in order to keep from missing research opportunities presented by the hurricane. The Mary Kay Ash Foundation recently announced a competition for grants in the area of ovarian, uterine, breast or cervical cancer. The announcement has been distributed to faculty via the Office of Research listservs. Also, NSF has recently issued its announcement for the Major Research Instrumentation Program.
Future Meetings
The next conference call will take place in two weeks. Laura Levy is seeking feedback from faculty as to the frequency and usefulness of these conference calls.
posted by Randall at 7:41 PM
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