The week was consumed by the annual marathon session with the Associate Directors on Tuesday and Wednesday, finalizing the merit review process for all the research Staff. As always this was a grueling task - looking at everyone's accomplishments one-by-one - but important and it is always enlightening. I just wish that the pool of funds for raises was more than the measly 2 per cent that is in fact available. I understand full well that especially after the essential
non-existence of raises last year, that this is a hard pill to swallow. It has to get better next year...
I spent Thursday attending the DEES retreat up at the Thayer Hotel at West Point - this was exceptionally successful and very well organized, and will produce a valuable planning document that we all hope will justify DEES' justifiable requests for additional faculty lines.
ExCom was completed this morning in less than two hours (not quite a record for brevity, but close). The primary item was an important discussion about the crucial role that project scientists play within the Observatory.
Let us hope that BP's efforts to cap the well in the GoM meet with success soon.
Have a good weekend,
Mike