Today, November 11, is a palindrome in some formats. Moreover, it's the
last 'binary' date of the century (111111). The next binary date is
January 1, 2101 (010101). See you then.
Today is also Veterans Day. Many members of the Lamont community have served in the armed forces, or have family members who have served or are currently in uniform. This is a day to pay tribute to their contributions, their service and their sacrifices.
This week's highlight was the celebration of Tom Protus' more than four decades of service to Lamont. Wednesday's symposium in Tom's honor was a testament to his talents, his dedication and the down home decency with which he has helped generations of Lamonters fulfill their scientific dreams. There wouldn't be a Lamont as we know it without
people like Tom.
Paraphrasing Colonel Kilgore, I love the smell of paint in the morning, especially when applied to Lamont Hall. Pat O'Reilly is trying to get the exterior done before severe weather hits. There's a lot more that could be done to Lamont Hall, of course, but this will surely help in the short run.
John Mutter organizes an Earth Institute Post-Doctoral Fellows Symposium each semester, which turns out to be a good way to build a sense of community among the post-docs and their advisors across the different disciplines. We have similar issues here, so Kuheli Dutt will be organizing a Lamont PD Symposium sometime in the Spring. There are now
more than 35 post-docs on the Lamont Campus, so this will take some doing. Stay tuned.
The Obama Administration's science budget priorities are oriented around the links between basic and applied science and US strategic and economic needs. These priorities map into the various funding agencies in different ways. We'll be discussing this mapping in detail at upcoming OMG and Excom meetings, with an eye toward seeing how we can
use institutional resources to facilitate and enable our own people. The federal budgets are coming into clearer focus as well, so there will be much to discuss in the coming months.
This may be obscure to some of you, unless you are a fan of 'This is Spinal Tap': I hadn't thought about the connection until tickled by a story on NPR during the drive in this morning. Today is Nigel Tufnel Day:
http://nigeltufnelday.tumblr.com/
'in recognition of its maximum elevenness.'
Art