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Today is the final day to access the UCARflex 2000 web site. The web site will be available until 5:00 p.m. If you wish to enroll in the Health Care Flexible Spending Account or the Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account or wish to make changes to your health care options for 2000, you MUST do so by 5:00 p.m. today. The web site address is http://www.my-benefits.com. Instructions on how to access the web site can be found in the 2000 UCARflex Bulletin that was sent to all employees November 2nd. If you have any questions, please contact Colleen Canfield at colleen@ucar.edu or Cyd Perrone at cperrone@ucar.edu.
For more information, contact Cyd Perrone at 8710, cperrone@ucar.edu.
(Posted Tue 30 Nov to Tue 30 Nov)
Tomorrow is the final day to access the 2000 UCARflex web site. The web site will be available until 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, November 30. If you wish to enroll in the Health Care Flexible Spending Account or the Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account or wish to make changes to your health care options for 2000, you MUST do so by 5pm, November 30. The web site address is http://www.my-benefits.com. Instructions on how to access the web site can be found in the 2000 UCARflex Bulletin that was sent to all employees November 2nd. If you have any questions, please contact Colleen Canfield at colleen@ucar.edu or Cyd Perrone at cperrone@ucar.edu.
For more information, contact Cyd Perrone at 8710, cperrone@ucar.edu.
(Posted Mon 29 Nov to Tue 30 Nov)
There will be a public review of the Millennium Infrastructure Network Technology - Foothills Lab (MINT-FL) Project on Tuesday, November 30th, in FL2 1022, from 2-4pm. We will review the MINT-FL Project purpose and logistics for interested staff. There will be time for open questions and discussion. Attendees may want to review the MINT-FL project web page before the meeting at: http://www.scd.ucar.edu/nets/projects/mintfl/
For more information, contact Marla Meehl at 1301, marla@ucar.edu. Or
see the web page at
MINT-FL Project.
(Posted Wed 24 Nov to Tue 30 Nov)
More revisions have been made to the UCAR Policies and Procedures Manual. Policies revised are: Employment Records and Release of Information (2-1-2) Visas (2-1-5) Scientific Leaves (2-4-3) Professional Development Leave Program (2-4-4) General Insurance (3-2-4) Delphi Service (4-1-2) There is also a correction to the 1999 Salary Ranges (Appendix 2-5-1A) and two new section preambles. Please click on "Recent Policy Updates" on the manual's web page for information about the latest changes. Hard copy versions of the updates have also been sent to all those designated to retain manual binders.
For more information, contact Valerie Friesen at 8626,
vfriesen@ucar.edu. Or see the web page at
UCAR Policies and Procedures Manual.
(Posted Tue 23 Nov to Mon 29 Nov)
By now, I hope that most of you have your 40th anniversary gift mugs from the President's Council - we apologize for distributing these too enthusiastically and running out - we have placed another order and will soon have enough for all staff! With this note, I would like to introduce to you Susan Foster who is the staff person working with an NCAR/UCAR/UOP committee to coordinate 40th activities. Through "Today at UCAR", Susan will keep you informed about the 40th and can be reached at x2108 or susanf@ucar.edu. To learn what's planned for the 40th celebration, please check out the new web site at http://www.ucar.edu/40th/. There are descriptions of several events coming up for staff and a section in which you can add to the historical record of NCAR, UCAR and UOP - please participate and enjoy! Cindy Schmidt - chair, 40th Anniversary Committee
For more information, contact Susan Foster at 2108, susanf@ucar.edu. Or
see the web page at
40th NCAR/UCAR Anniversary.
(Posted Tue 23 Nov to Mon 29 Nov)
Another reminder that the 2000 UCARflex web site will be available until 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, November 30. If you wish to enroll in the Health Care Flexible Spending Account or the Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account or wish to make changes to your health care options for 2000, you MUST do so by 5pm, November 30. The web site address is http://www.my-benefits.com. Instructions on how to access the web site can be found in the 2000 UCARflex Bulletin that was sent to all employees November 2nd. If you have any questions, please contact Colleen Canfield at colleen@ucar.edu or Cyd Perrone at cperrone@ucar.edu.
For more information, contact Cyd Perrone at 8710, cperrone@ucar.edu.
(Posted Tue 23 Nov to Mon 29 Nov)
Summary Notes UCAR Management Committee 21 October 1999 Damon Room, ML Present from UCAR: R. Anthes, E. Brennan, L. Carr, E. Comedy, S. Dickson, H. Dziewit, J. Fellows, S. Friberg, J. Maggert, M. Miller, N. Norris, R. Oliva, J. Pereira, J. Reaves, S. Sadler, C. Schmidt, K. Schmoll, S. Siders, T. Sorensen, L. Warner, D. Wilson, and T. Woods. Summary notes written by S. Montgomery-Hodge. Present from NCAR: R. Brasher-Alleva, T. Biter, M. Blackmon, G. Brasseur, D. Carlson, A. Cooper, W. Dabberdt, J. Dye, B. Foote, R. Harriss, A. Kellie, K. Kelly, M. Knolker, and R. Serafin. Present from UOP: M. Austin, M. Marlino, H. Mauriello, K. Sawyer, T. Spangler, and K. Strand. 1. 16 September UMC Summary Notes: APPROVED. 2. Draft Policy: J. Fellows gave the history of the draft policy on Scientific and Technical Data Dissemination. This policy's goal is to create a consistent data policy across all of UCAR/NCAR/UOP while supporting open scientific and educational communication. Fellows reviewed the Policy and Procedure Committee's recommendations. The UMC discussed the needs of different divisions and programs. Anthes summarized that UCAR's general policy is to share data as quickly as possible, consistent with sponsor and federal requirements, with as little cost as possible. The UMC agreed to come back to this issue, perhaps considering a simple, overall policy rather than trying to be too specific. 3. Negotiated Agreements: K. Schmoll explained that NSF has directed UCAR to charge negotiated agreements to the employee benefits pool, rather than to the entity's benefit pool as had been previously done. The new regulations went into effect 1 October. Because the costs are now charged differently and everyone is affected equally by their use, negotiated agreements must be scrutinized more closely. E. Comedy reviewed the Human Resources recommendations which were approved at the 17 September President's Council meeting. They are as follows: · Entity directors will provide an estimate of the cost of any expected negotiated agreements for each year, to be included in the benefits rate. · Criteria for negotiated agreements will be re-evaluated. · Negotiated Agreements and Early Retirement Agreements must be approved by both the division or program director AND the appropriate member of the President's Council. Final approval is granted by the President's Council in consultation with the Associate Vice-President of Human Resources and Employee Relations (AVP, HR/ER). · The AVP, HR/ER will provide the President's Council with a monthly usage/status report of negotiated agreements to assist them in the decision-making process. · No commitment should be made to an employee until the full approval is granted through the process. Two goals of this process are: (a) to accommodate both the employee and the institution, and (b) to treat everyone equitably. 4. Employment Process: T. Woods reviewed the need for revising and upgrading UCAR's employment process. With an increasingly competitive job market and increased costs to fill jobs, procedural changes such as increased use of the internet and advertising groups of jobs are being made to help divisions and programs recruit and retain the best employees. Woods' complete presentation can be viewed at http://www.ucar.edu/internal/umc/991021/jobs The new "UCAR Career Opportunities" website can be viewed at http://www.fin.ucar.edu/hr/employment/index.html . The UMC applauded the progress being made with these changes. 5. Prespending/Overspending: D. Wilson stated that, overall, the number of prespending and overspending requests are declining. However, a major concern is the significant increase in the number of high-risk projects, which puts the corporation at greater financial risk. High risk projects are defined as those for which there is NO assurance of funding within the time-frame needed, and a shutdown of the project is contemplated. Wilson stated that the average time it takes for a project, after its approval, to actually receive funding from the agencies is 70 days! UCAR has in the past covered this time period with prespending. We must do everything possible to get the money more quickly from the agencies once a project is approved. UCAR will also be more rigorous in sticking to formally-established spending limits. Under no circumstance should UCAR staff tell the agencies that UCAR can allow prespending or overspending on a regular basis - this encourages the agencies to delay sending the necessary funds to UCAR. (Wilson's complete presentation can be viewed at http://www.ucar.edu/internal/umc/991021/spend .) 6. Science and Technology Opportunity/Risk Mitigation (STORM) Fund: Anthes explained that the STORM fund was R. Serafin's idea to take some of the General Fund money and put it back into the divisions and programs that generated the fund, and use that money for scientific opportunities. STORM's primary purpose is to mitigate divisional/programmatic risk by helping to cover prespending and overspending (forms of scientific opportunity). Over time, if well-managed, the division or program fund will grow and can be used to take advantage of a variety of science and technology opportunities. As of 1 October 1999, 23% of the UCAR fee from FY99 will be set aside for divisions and programs and 10% of the UCAR fee will be allocated for NCAR and UOP. Applications must be made to the President's Council to spend the funds. A quarterly report of balances in the funds will be sent to divisions and programs. Wilson gave estimates of the funds available for STORM using FY99 fee amounts. He asked for comments and input from the UMC on the STORM fund procedures so that they can be finalized. 7. Intellectual Property: J. Reaves presented W. Rawson's original idea of revamping the technology licensing program for intellectual property. The President's Council agreed to the following proposal at their 17 September meeting. The divisions and programs will be responsible for identifying technology for possible commercialization as well as identifying the potential licensee who would turn the technology into a commercial product or service. The Intellectual Property office will still assist in the process and deal with third party claims and liability, and negotiate the final terms of license agreements. UCAR G&A will pay for patent prosecution. Licenses will continue to be issued by the UCAR Foundation (UCARF). The income from these technologies will be distributed differently than in the past. Ninety percent of the revenue will go to the division or program which developed the technology. The division or program will be responsible for paying for any royalties to individual inventors, in accordance with UCAR policy. Once the cumulative revenue for any given technology reaches $1 million in total, all future revenues, after royalty payments to individual inventors, would be divided equally four ways among the division or program that created the technology, NCAR or UOP (whichever one houses the division or program), the UCAR General Fund, and the UCARF. Although first right of refusal on any technology is not required to be given to WITI or any other UCARF spinoff, consideration for licensing to them should be made. NCAR and UOP Directors will become ex-officio members of the UCARF Board. Local business people will fill vacancies on the board. The UCARF Board will: · Manage UCARF assets, including equity holdings; · Be a resource to division and program directors seeking advice about commercialization of a particular technology; · Be a focal point for reporting technology commercialization activities to the UCAR Board of Trustees. Reaves stated that the intellectual property policy will be revised to reflect the above changes. 8. Board of Trustees(BOT)/Members' Representatives (MR) Meetings: Fellows gave highlights of the BOT and MR meetings held in Boulder, 11-13 October. He stated that these were the smoothest set of meetings in recent years, and he thanked everyone for their contributions, which made these meetings so constructive. Several UMC members also reported hearing comments on the professionalism of the meetings. Besides the excellent preparations, the discussions were lively and involved all of the MRs. The UCAR, NCAR and UOP reports were well received and demonstrated that we are aggressively working for the community. Advocacy was addressed with presentations from Trustee D. Skaggs and A. Burke. Both were well received. Elected to be Trustees were O. Brown, C. Kennel, R. Smith, R. McPherson, and M. Richardson. The Forum: UCAR 2000 was a big focus of the MR meeting, and gave the MRs opportunity to interact with one another and with the UCAR/NCAR/UOP staff. About 200 people had to be turned away from the visualization demonstration at NIST; the public is very interested in what we do here. 9. Foothills Lab (FL) Auditorium Remodel: J. Pereira presented the problems with the current configuration of the FL auditorium and then gave three proposals to revamp the facilities. The UMC encouraged Pereira to proceed with a small focus group to design a feasible reconfiguration that would meet the building codes, complete a budget for the process, and then come back with a proposal for UMC consideration. (Pereira's presentation can be viewed at http://www.ucar.edu/internal/umc/991021/remodel .) 10. Y2K Update: S. Dickson gave an update on the status of the division and program's Y2K preparations. (Dickson's presentation can be viewed at http://www.ucar.edu/internal/umc/991021/y2k .) 11. Federal Relations: C. Schmidt gave an update on the current status of the FY2000 appropriations bills which can be viewed at http://www.ucar.edu/ucargen/oga/appro00.html 12. Unstructured Discussion: Anthes distributed a draft survey to be sent to the community, which will solicit their input on divisions and programs with which they are familiar. Results from this survey will also be included in a BAMS article written a year from now, on the community positioning itself to best meet the challenges of the future. Anthes requested input from the UMC which will be incorporated into a new draft and discussed at the November UMC meeting. He also asked that divisions and programs submit three to six questions specific to their entity. K. Schmoll thanked Pereira and V. Ryan for their selection of the new furniture and furnishings which replaced the 30 year old pieces in the Damon and Chapman rooms. Comedy stated that the EAC still needs the UMC's assistance. Over two years ago, the UMC affirmed the importance of the EAC and their commitment to staffing it. She asked that each division and program submit one person to serve on the EAC. S. Sadler reminded the UMC that he provides, as a service, information on traveling to anywhere in the world. At the November UMC, he will be giving a presentation on travel hazards. L. Warner invited the UMC to view the new video on UCAR/NCAR/UOP in the remodeled theater on the first floor of the lobby. 13. Meeting Adjourned.
For more information, contact Susan Montgomery-Hodge at 1653,
montgoms@ucar.edu. Or see the web page at
UCAR Management Committee.
(Posted Tue 23 Nov to Mon 29 Nov)
Please plan to join us in celebrating the Holiday Awards Ceremony, December 10th from 3:00 - 6:00 p.m. at the Mesa Lab Atrium. The Fairview High School Choral Group, Excalibur, will begin the entertainment at 3:00 p.m. The Awards Ceremony and 40th Anniversary activities will immediately follow the entertainment. A more detailed schedule will be published the first week in December.
For more information, contact Joan Chiszar at 8908, jchiszar@ucar.edu.
(Posted Fri 19 Nov to Wed 24 Nov)
The Employee Activities Committee (EAC) sponsored Craft Fair will be held today at Mesa Lab Main Lobby Area from 11:30-1:30. A variety of crafts will be offered for sale by UCAR/NCAR employees as well as friends & family members of employees. In association with the Craft Fair, the EAC will also be selling 1998 sweatshirts (and a few long-sleeve T-shirts) at discount prices! The prices are an incredible deal at $5.00 for Adult T-shirts and $7.00 for Adult sweatshirts. Kid's sweatshirts and T-shirts are only $5.00! Come and get them while they last! 11:30 to 1:30 in the Mesa Lab Main Lobby!
For more information, contact Karla Edwards at 8881, karla@ucar.edu.
(Posted Fri 19 Nov to Thu 25 Nov)
The 2000 UCARflex web site will be available until 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, November 30. If you wish to enroll in the Health Care Flexible Spending Account or the Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account or wish to make changes to your health care options for 2000, you MUST do so by 5pm, November 30. The web site address is http://www.my-benefits.com. Instructions on how to access the web site can be found in the 2000 UCARflex Bulletin that was sent to all employees November 2nd. If you have any questions, please contact Colleen Canfield at colleen@ucar.edu or Cyd Perrone at cperrone@ucar.edu.
For more information, contact Cyd Perrone at 8710, cperrone@ucar.edu.
(Posted Fri 19 Nov to Thu 25 Nov)
The Library subscribes to 140 electronic journals which can be accessed by all UCAR staff at http://www.dir.ucar.edu/iss/lib/ejournals.html. Before subscribing to an online journal, staff should consult this Web location. If the title in question is listed, click on it for immediate access to the journal. We are currently in the process of adding additional online subscriptions for several of our most requested journals. If you do not see a journal listed on our page, please contact the Library, because we may be planning to acquire it soon.
For more information, contact Gayl Gray at 1183, gayl@ucar.edu. Or see
the web page at
Library's E-Journal Page.
(Posted Thu 18 Nov to Wed 24 Nov)
The four sections of THIS WEEK which are emailed on Thursdays (Calendar, Jobs, Menu, and Visitors) will not be published next week due to the Thanksgiving holiday. They will return the following week, on Thursday, 2 December. The daily Announcements will continue to be emailed as usual each working day, but posters are reminded to watch their "begin" dates carefully, to make sure their announcements start on a workday. Have a happy holiday!
For more information, contact Jacque Marshall at 8616,
thisweek@ucar.edu.
(Posted Thu 18 Nov to Wed 24 Nov)
When searching our online catalog (http://www.library.ucar.edu/) you can request that we send you materials you see there. When looking at the record of something you want us to send, select "request", then select "place holds"; tab to the user i.d. section, enter your employee number or library assigned i.d., then press return. For journals not located at your NCAR site or for items you don't see listed in our catalog, send an e-mail describing what you want to this address: ncarill@ucar.edu. Note: For urgently needed materials or any needs that have short time constraints, it is a good idea to phone the library reference desks: ext. 8505 or ext. 1180.
For more information, contact Leslie Forehand at 8505,
forehand@ucar.edu. Or see the web page at
Library Online Catalog.
(Posted Wed 17 Nov to Tue 23 Nov)
Join us in the cafeterias for our Thanksgiving Special on Thursday, November 18 starting at 11:30 a.m. We will have fresh roasted turkey (roasted portabello mushrooms as a vegetarian choice) and all the trimmings. The special includes stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, green beans like your mother used to make, harvest rolls and pumpkin pie dessert with whipped cream. Guests are welcome. Grill, salad and sandwich bar are also available.
For more information, contact Debbi Naugle at 1147, naugle@ucar.edu.
(Posted Wed 17 Nov to Fri 19 Nov)
Tighten up that tummy for the holidays! Trudy Zahler offers regular
floor classes in the Ron Fletcher movement system:
WHEN: 11am to noon
Tuesdays and Thursdays
WHERE: Foothills Lab fitness center
COST: $30 for 5-class punch card
$7 for one-time drop-in
Your first class is FREE!
ATTIRE: BARE feet. Exercise wear that is comfortable and form-fitting
is suggested.
TOWEL: Please bring a standard bath towel which we will use in class
for many of the exercises. (Towels will be available.)
Trudy Zahler is certified in both Pilates and the Ron Fletcher Work
and has 10 years experience in teaching and rehabilitation.
For more information, contact Jacque Marshall at 303-440-7148,
jacque@ucar.edu. Or see the web page at
The Ron Fletcher Work.
(Posted Tue 16 Nov to Mon 22 Nov)
Verifying the publisher, author, or complete title of a book can be done at your desktop using the electronic database WorldCat. All types of single items in library collections are described in this database. Because so many libraries are a part of the database, it is very likely to contain descriptive information on any single library title. To use it go to the NCAR Library Website (http://www.dir.ucar.edu/iss/lib/) and click on FirstSearch. WorldCat is one of the databases offered through the FirstSearch utility. You can learn publisher, publication date, complete title, authors, pages and other descriptive information about books. Journals, newspapers, sound recordings, videotapes, technical reports and maps are similarly described. Individual articles within journals and newspapers are not indexed in this particular database.
For more information, contact Leslie Forehand at 8505,
forehand@ucar.edu. Or see the web page at
Library Web Site.
(Posted Mon 15 Nov to Sun 21 Nov)
Did you know you can read the current day's copy of the Boulder Daily Camera newspaper from your desktop at http://www.bouldernews.com/? This online version covers about 90 percent of the hardcopy edition. Among its many features the online edition includes the top news stories, the classifieds, health and fitness, entertainment, and business. Besides today's news you can also find full text articles published within the current week. If you need an article published at an earlier date you can search the Boulder Daily Camera through Dialog@CARL available from the Library Web Site (http://www.dir.ucar.edu/iss/lib/). Click on the Info Resources button at the top of the screen. Click on Dialog@CARL and select Search Basic Collection. Choose the Boulder Daily Camera from the list of databases to search and print an article from 1995 to the present. A paper copy of the Daily Camera is kept at the Foothills Library for the current 2 months.
For more information, contact Leslie Forehand at 8505,
forehand@ucar.edu. Or see the web page at
Boulder Daily Camera Newspaper.
(Posted Thu 11 Nov to Wed 17 Nov)
WHEN: Saturday, 4 December 1999 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. WHERE: Mesa Lab Cafeteria This year's NCAR/UCAR/UOP Children's Holiday Party hosted by the EAC has been expanded to include some exciting NEW activities. In addition to the traditional visit, picture and present with Santa, face painting and holiday crafts (for an additional charge), there will also be opportunities to listen in on holiday storytime at 11:30, Noon, 12:30, and 1:00, learn to play dreidel (in honor of Hanukah) and also surf the World Wide Web at pre-bookmarked holiday sites! Parents need to bring a healthy holiday lunch food, snack or treat for all to share and enjoy! If you wish to attend with your family, please RSVP to Wendy Abshire by 22 November 1999. You need to provide the name(s) of the child(ren), their age and whether they are a boy or girl. Sign-up forms have been distributed to all divisions for this purpose and also reside at both the FL and ML reception desks. If you cannot find a form, please just send the information listed above to me.
For more information, contact Wendy Abshire at 8477, abshire@ucar.edu.
(Posted Thu 11 Nov to Mon 22 Nov)
A seminar introducing SuomiNet will be given on Wednesday, November 17, 1999 at 3:30 pm in Room 1001, FL2, by Randolph Ware, Director of the GPS Science and Technology Program,UCAR. SuomiNet is a proposed network of GPS receivers to be located at universities and other locations to provide realtime atmospheric precipitable water vapor measurements and other geodetic and meteorological information. The goal of SuomiNet is to make large amounts of spatially and temporally dense GPS-sensed atmospheric data widely available in real-time, for academic research and education.More information on SuomiNet is available via www.unidata.ucar.edu/suominet.
For more information, contact Randolph Ware at 8005, ware @ucar.edu. Or
see the web page at
SuomiNet.
(Posted Thu 11 Nov to Wed 17 Nov)
Your Employee Activities Committee (EAC) is sponsoring Craft Fairs at Mesa and Foothills Laboratories. The dates, times, and locations are as follows: Foothills Lab: Friday, 12 November 11:30-1:30, Cafeteria Atrium Mesa Lab: Friday, 19 November 11:30-1:30, Lobby Participation in the Craft Fairs is free and open to UCAR/NCAR employees, their families, and friends. If you wish to reserve a table to display/sell your crafts, please contact Joan Chiszar at x8908, jchiszar@ucar.edu, or Karla Edwards at x8881, karla@ucar.edu.
For more information, contact Joan Chiszar at 8908, jchiszar@ucar.edu.
(Posted Mon 25 Oct to Fri 19 Nov)