Ames National Laboratory marks 76th year
The celebration was in tents. On May 16, staff celebrated Ames National Laboratory’s 76th anniversary with the traditional State of the Laboratory address presented by Director Adam Schwartz, and followed by a picnic. This year’s picnic was hosted outdoors under canopy tents.
Email retention requirements are coming soon. This is what you need to know.
Employees have been hearing about upcoming changes to Ames Lab email retention requirements. At minimum, what does everyone need to know?
Who: These changes will affect all ameslab.gov email accounts
What: Emails will be retained for seven years (based on the sent date). You are able to continue to manage your
inbox in whatever way works best for you, but messages will be retained for seven years on our servers even if they are deleted from your inbox. Once they age to seven years (regardless of whether they are still in your inbox), they will be automatically deleted. The same rigorous data protections which currently apply to Ames Lab emails will continue to apply to all emails throughout the seven year retention period.
Why: DOE changed the DOE Records Management Directive (O 243.1C) - A summary of the changes can be found here.
When: There are three key dates to be aware of:
- June 30, 2023 - Emails must be deleted by this date to avoid being captured by the seven-year Capstone approach implementation.
- July 1, 2023 - All email will be retained for seven years from the sent date on the email from this day forward.
- July 31, 2023 - All emails received with a sent timestamp seven years or older will be permanently deleted. This means all email with a sent date older than July 31, 2016 will be automatically deleted at implementation. This will happen ongoing from this point forward.
How: IT has configured the system to keep Ames Laboratory in compliance. You do not need to take any special actions.
More information can be found in the resources below. If you have any questions, please reach out to it@ameslab.gov and records@ameslab.gov.
Summary of Changes to DOE Records Management Directive (O 243.1C) (KB0016835)
Capstone Approach to Email FAQ (KB0016834)
Discover and Label Emails Older than 7 Years (KB0016832)
Download Individual Emails with the Gmail Web Interface (KB0016831)
Email Best Practices (KB0016833)
How to Determine Whether an Item is a Record (KB0015330)
Records Retention for Google G-Suite (KB0014572)
In memoriam: Vitalij K. Pecharsky
This month, IEEE newsletter featured a memorial to the late Ames National Laboratory scientist Vitalij Pecharsky, written by Ames Lab scientist Yaroslav Mudryk. Read the article HERE.
Ames Lab welcomes two new staff members to Finance
Margaret Dotts joined Ames Lab this month as an Accountant II in Accounts Payable. She will be paying invoices
as well as handling several reconciliations and reports.
Prior to coming to Ames Lab, Margaret held account payable positions in two agricultural based companies.
Margaret lives south of Nevada on an acreage with her husband Alan. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, biking, knitting, cooking, and spending time with her pets. She has two grown children and she enjoys traveling to visit them and their families.
Margaret looks forward to the new challenges and learning experiences that this opportunity brings.
Leslie Moen recently joined the Finance team as an Accountant II. She will be taking on a new role in Finance, combining both payroll and budget analyst duties.
Prior to joining the Laboratory, Leslie worked as a staff accountant at an Iowa CPA firm. She also has experience at General Mills and can share everything you may want to know about the creation of the Cheerio. She is a graduate of Mount Mercy University.
When not at work, Leslie enjoys spending time with her husband Erik riding bikes, learning pickleball, and hanging out with the kids, Madeline, Sam, Gunnar, and Eleanor.
We are excited to welcome Margaret and Leslie to the Ames National Laboratory team!
Ames National Laboratory Welcomes Summer Interns and Visiting Faculty
Beginning next week, Ames National Laboratory will be welcoming 27 SULI (Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships) students, four VFP (Visiting Faculty Program) participants, and one VFP-Student participant. The students and faculty will spend 10 weeks performing research under the guidance of laboratory staff scientists. Students in the programs will have the opportunity to attend professional development learning opportunities through Ames Laboratory and the ISU REU Program, and will present a poster of their research at the end of the summer. Thank you to the following mentors and co-PI’s for hosting a program participant this summer: Iver Anderson, Rana Biswas, Paul Canfield, Baozhi Cui, Mark Gordon, Larry Halverson, Wenyu Huang, Liqin Ke, Yaroslav Mudryk, Gaoyuan Ouyang, Durga Paudyal, Frederic Perras, Tanya Prozorov, Ryan Richard, Aaron Sadow, Tosaporn Sattasathuchana, Pranav Shrotriya, Julie Slaughter, Alex Travesset, Jigang Wang, Peng Xu, and Lin Zhou. For more information on WDTS (Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists) Programs, contact kbergman@ameslab.gov.
May IDEAs: Faculty & Staff FSAs, Culture & Climate Survey, & a fun fact
Faculty and Staff Associations (FSAs)
Did you know that Iowa State University has five active faculty and staff associations? These associations are intended to provide Iowa State University's and Ames National Laboratory’s faculty and staff meaningful opportunities for social connection, events, and networking opportunities within the university and laboratory community. They foster a welcoming, inviting atmosphere for underrepresented faculty, staff, and their families and supporters.
These groups are always looking for new members and all are welcome. Any faculty and staff member may participate in an association, whether or not they are a member of the FSA identified population. To join, contact the group's leadership team to be added to their email list. There are no obligations to take part in the activities.
The current Faculty and Staff Associations are:
- Asian American and Pacific Islander FSA
- Black FSA
- Chinese FSA
- Colegas - Hispanic and Latino/a/x FSA
- LGBTQA+ FSA
Contact information can be found on the university’s FSA website - https://www.diversity.iastate.edu/faculty-staff-associations.
Culture & Climate Survey runs through June 16
Check your email for the link to the Ames National Laboratory Culture and Climate Survey delivered on Thursday, May 18. The Lab is dedicated to providing a safe, welcoming environment that values diverse perspectives and offers equitable opportunities for success. The survey’s results serve as a tool to further enhance the employee experience and strengthen our position as a workplace of choice. Responses are confidential and participation is voluntary.
Fun fact: A sense of belonging matters
Research shows a strong feeling of belonging among employees resulted in a 56% increase in performance at work and reduced turnover risk by 50%. (Source: BetterUp, 2021)
Celebrate diversity every month
May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, an opportunity to acknowledge the AA and NHPI community’s diverse cultures and significant contributions to the success of our nation.
Also observed in May, Jewish American Heritage Month is a time to honor the contributions made by the Jewish community to our country’s history and culture. The Weitzman National Museum of Jewish History offers a virtual museum dedicated to more than 365 years of citizenship, cultural heritage, and innovation.
Save the Date for the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2023 Pride Month Celebration on Wednesday, June 21 at 12 p.m. ET. The theme is Looking Back and Moving Forward. Click HERE to join virtually.
Cardinal Women: applications being accepted for next cohort
Applications are being accepted through Thursday, June 15, 2023 for Cardinal Women*, a growth opportunity specifically for women who are Iowa State University Faculty and Staff. Participants will engage in discussions designed to foster leadership development, goal orientation and purpose in their personal and professional spheres. Participants can expect to be challenged to reflect on their own experiences and to listen to the experiences of others. An explanation of topics and time commitment is here. An application form is available here. You will be asked to provide demographic information and a brief statement of interest and commitment.
Applications Due: June 15, 2023
Selection announcements: July 7, 2023
Cardinal Women* Website: https://www.cardinalwomen.iastate.edu/
*This includes women who are cisgender, trans, of trans experience, etc. We also welcome individuals who identify as gender non-binary or gender queer who seek this community and would like to participate.
Announcements
Local municipal band season begins June 1
The Ames Municipal Band is pleased to announce its 2023 season. The band will present free hour-long concerts every Thursday, 8 p.m. at Bandshell Park in June and July. Each week the band will perform a different concert featuring popular music, light classical, hymns, marches, and music from Broadway and films. Each concert will have a vocal soloist and, at times, instrumental soloists and guest conductors.
All concerts begin at 8 p.m. and Bandshell Park is located at East Sixth and Duff Avenue. Concerts are free, fun, and family-friendly. Concertgoers are encouraged to bring blankets or lawn chairs.
Other local municipal band concert schedules:
Nevada Community Band - Season begins June 6; Tuesday night concerts at 7 p.m.
City Hall, 6th Street, Nevada, Iowa.
Boone Municipal Band - Season begins May 31; Wednesday night concerts at 7:30 p.m.
Herman Park Pavilion, Boone, Iowa.
Argonne Regional Field Office presents counterintelligence briefing June 7
The Argonne Regional Field Office will be presenting the Annual Counterintelligence Threat and Awareness Briefing to Ames National Laboratory personnel on June 7. The meetings will be held in 301 Spedding Hall at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and are expected to be 30 minutes in length. Counterintelligence officials will also be available to answer questions following each of the briefings.
Supervising for Success Workshop scheduled June 20
If supervising employees is one of your responsibilities at Ames National Laboratory, some of your greatest challenges may involve navigating recruiting and hiring hurdles, or working through performance concerns or employee issues that have legal ramifications. As a follow-up to the Ames National Laboratory online Supervising for Success course, we are excited to offer the Supervising for Success Workshop which focuses on scenarios designed to better equip you for success with these endeavors. Here is some recent feedback from participants who took part in this workshop:
“Fascinating to hear the thought processes and experiences of colleagues, and having expertise of HR staff to wrap up the discussions.”
“Learning about legal aspects of being a supervisor - this is new territory for me, and I appreciate the opportunity.”
“The small size and discussion format was great. The scenarios were relevant and applicable to supervisors across the Lab.”
Join us for this two-hour, interactive, in-person session facilitated by Ames Lab Human Resources on Tuesday, June 20 from 9-11 a.m. Sign-up is available in Learn@ISU. The completion of the online Supervising for Success course is a prerequisite to this workshop. Questions about the training can be directed to humanresources@ameslab.gov.