Volume 2, Number 2, Summer 1994
John Gibbons: A Conversation, by Graduate Students Get the Scoop on Dirt, by Center Researchers Hitch a Ride on the Information Highway, by Make Less, Waste Less, by Staff Citings
InSites is a quarterly newsletter that highlights the personalities and projects of the Waste Management Research and Education Institute (WMREI) of The University of Tennessee. WMREI is an affiliate of the EERC.
WMREI was created in 1985 as a state-funded Center of Excellence. Research areas include solid-, hazardous-, and nuclear-waste management; waste minimization; and pollution prevention.
Biotechnology is the focal point of the institute's technical research, while issues
involving public attitudes and federal/state policies related to waste-management issues
are the primary concerns of the institute's policy research.
For additional information about InSites, or to be added to our mailing list, please write InSites, WMREI, The University of Tennessee, 311 Conference Building, Knoxville, TN 37996-4134, call 865-974-1156, or fax 865-974-1838. Or, if you prefer, e-mail Constance Griffith
cbgriffith@utk.edu.John Gibbons: A Conversation, by Graduate Students Get the Scoop on Dirt, by Center Researchers Hitch a Ride on the Information Highway, by Make Less, Waste Less, by Staff Citings
Last fall, Insites Editor Daniel Schaffer interviewed John Gibbons in his office in Washington. Gibbons, former director of the U.S. Congress' Office of Technology Assessment, currently serves as President Clinton's science advisor.
In 1973, Gibbons was appointed as the first director of The University of Tennessee's (UT) Energy, Environment, and Resources Center (EERC), now an affiliate institution of the Waste Management Research and Education Institute (WMREI). During the five years he served as director, Gibbons was instrumental in helping the EERC evolve from a small research center, with only two full-time employees and an annual budget of $50,000, to a multimillion-dollar operation.
What follows is Gibbons' account of those tumultuous, yet successful, early years. We can think of no more fitting way to celebrate the EERC's 20th anniversary, which takes place this year.
How did you become involved with EERC?
I had been a long-time employee of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, my career path began to shift from physics research to technical studies related to energy, environment, and economic development. I was concerned that people who understood science and technology too often failed to communicate with those well versed in policy and that the nation could no longer afford to have these groups behave like strangers.
At the time, some colleagues and I at the laboratory discussed the possibility of creating an interdisciplinary center that, in the tradition of a land-grant university, would focus on teaching, research, and public service. The natural environment and energy concerns would be studied, not just as issues related to science and technology, but as problems of economics and politics.
Management at ORNL, especially the lab's director, Alvin Weinberg, expressed interest in doing policy-related science and technology research, but it was difficult to pursue that kind of work in a national lab--especially then.
What were some of the obstacles?
ORNL had more than 2,000 researchers on staff at the time, but no more than four or five of the lab's projects were related to public policy research. As a result, only a few dozen staff members were assigned to such tasks. The critical mass necessary to do the interdisciplinary research that I had in mind simply was not available.
Then, there was a question of how comfortable Congress would be in having national laboratory researchers--who, after all, are paid with federal funds--pursue controversial policy issues. In fact, some members of the congressional Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, which had oversight responsibility for the national laboratories, did not think the labs should hire any staff who were not scientists or engineers.
For these reasons, I thought the university, especially a state-funded university with an explicit mandate for public service, would prove to be a better place to integrate the concerns of science, technology, economics, and politics. When I was offered the opportunity to head UT's newly formed Environment Center, I decided to give it a try. I took a leave of absence from the laboratory and came to UT in the spring of 1973. What kind of arrangement did the center have with the university? Basically, the university paid my salary, but money for support staff or projects had to be covered by "soft" money acquired through grants or contracts with outside agencies.
The center ended up running on 90 percent soft money, a much higher ratio than similar institutions elsewhere. Operating like this didn't give us much freedom to pursue new ventures, but the small amount of university money offered some liberty to pursue projects that we could not have pursued without it.
Meanwhile, the university's so-called "hard" money was particularly useful in launching small projects and leveraging funds from the outside. The wide range of activities that the center ultimately pursued in energy conservation would not have been possible without university seed funding; in fact, the center itself would never have gotten off the ground without it.
What were your responsibilities?
I remember spending a lot of time trying to court the interests of department heads and faculty because centers, at least at that time, were not tied to the traditional reward system of an academic campus. Tenure, for example, was not available to center staff members.
On the other hand, unlike a department with traditional ties to a single discipline, the center had a great deal of freedom to pursue complex socio-technical issues. It was a place where entrepreneurs were given license to do things. That's one reason I think the center tackled tough but challenging issues. I always enjoyed that multidisciplinary environment--people with various backgrounds all working together on these issues.
What were the early days like?
In a word, hectic. Like any organization, it took a while for us to get the center off the ground. We had to deal with all sorts of logistical issues that take time, from office space requirements to equipment hookups to personnel forms. We were making headway in setting up shop in South Stadium Hall when I received a call from the Nixon administration asking if I would be interested in organizing and heading the first federal Office of Energy Conservation.
Energy conservation was my first labor of love--the topic that had shifted my research focus from experimental physics to energy policy. It was an opportunity that I simply could not refuse. So, six months after arriving at UT, I took a leave of absence. In effect, I was on double leave--first, from Oak Ridge to UT and then from UT to Washington.
That stint in Washington proved valuable. Not only did it give me a solid grounding on the "ins" and "outs" of federal policy- making, but it also gave me a better grasp of how science and technology research could more effectively serve policy deliberations and decision making.
After 18 months in Washington, however, I was ready to return to the university. So back to Knoxville I came. I found my experience at Oak Ridge and Washington to be helpful in establishing the center, which by now had all of its housekeeping chores in order and could turn its attention directly to its research agenda.
What steps did you take at this point?
We began to spread the center's energy-related research agenda to a variety of agencies and to other departments within the university. In particular, I had great help during those critical months from Chancellor Bill Snyder, who then headed UT's department of engineering. As I suggested earlier, I was a potential ally and partner to university departments, but department heads and faculty also eyed the center as a potential competitor for funds and university overhead.
How did you address these concerns?
We tried to quell these suspicions by organizing graduate seminar courses that reached across several departments to engage both faculty and students in multidisciplinary issues of science, technology, and public policy. To fulfill our mandate to public service, we conducted a number of projects beyond the campus. For example, we helped the state of Tennessee devise a strategy to curb energy use in state facilities, and with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and ORNL, we examined potential energy savings from different kinds of heating and cooling systems. As part of this cooperative effort, we designed an experimental solar system for the "solar" house along Alcoa Highway near the airport.
The late 1970s was a particularly productive and lively time for the center. The staff, which was growing and now included part-time researchers such as Bob Bohm from the economics department, was working cooperatively with ORNL, TVA, state and federal agencies, and the private sector. I think most people who were doing research for the center found the work both rewarding and useful.
After a short respite, however, I found myself again traveling to Washington almost weekly to serve, for example, on committees for the National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Foundation. In effect, I was carrying two jobs, and it was increasingly difficult for me to handle internal center matters while attending to my obligations in Washington. Bob Bohm, who became the center's assistant director, helped a great deal in this regard by serving as "Mr. Inside." This allowed me to play the role of "Mr. Outside," promoting the center among potential funding sources in Nashville, Washington, and elsewhere. Still, it was a grinding schedule that permitted little time to assess where the center was headed. I knew this could not continue for long.
Then, in 1979, I was offered an opportunity to head the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), which conducts science and technology research for the U.S. Congress. The position would enable me to do on the national level what I was seeking to accomplish in Tennessee on a state and regional level. It was an offer I couldn't turn down and one I thought my work at UT had prepared me for.
So off I went to Washington again. But this time I agreed to remain as long as necessary in order to steer OTA along a path that would prove useful to Congress and the nation.
I began there in 1979 and left in 1993. Now that I look back, I find it hard to believe that I stayed 14 years. I guess it took that long for me to get it right.
What were the center's greatest accomplishments during your tenure?
The center may have been one of the few places on campus where teams of researchers, not just individual faculty, studied energy issues. That's no small accomplishment in a university setting, and it's a framework that proved particularly effective in addressing the nation's complex energy issues.
For example, I think the work the center did for the Knoxville World's Fair in 1982 was useful. And it was fun, too. The fair helped transform Knoxville--some say for better; some say for worse. I think for the better. The energy seminars that the center held in conjunction with the fair not only raised critical energy issues of national importance but also put Knoxville--especially the UT/TVA/ORNL axis--on the map as a major energy research center.
I also think linking the center with the governor's office and helping the lieutenant governor establish an energy office in Nashville was an important step that enabled the center to move beyond the campus and play an important role in an issue critical to the future well-being of the state.
Finally, research that the center did on the environmental impact of coal mining, and especially strip mining, had a telling effect on the way companies mine their coal. It also helped shape TVA's coal-mining and land-reclamation policies.
When the center began, we called it an environment center. Just before I left, the name was changed to the Energy, Environment, and Resources Center. I thought that was an important symbolic change because energy, environment, and resources--as our research in coal mining and energy conservation had illustrated--are so interrelated and multidisciplinary. As a result, I was glad to see that take place.
What advice would you give the center as it looks toward its next 20 years?
First of all, remember that, as Thomas Jefferson said, our laws and our institutions should change with time. I think the center has succeeded in broadening its focus from energy conservation to environment, especially waste management, as the focus of public concern has changed.
On the other hand, I think that the center has done a good job of sticking to its basic principles, which are as sound today as they were 20 years ago. The center may have altered its course over the years, but it has wavered from its primary goal to conduct policy-relevant, multidisciplinary research. That's where the strength of the center has resided and, I suspect, that is where its strength will lie in the future.
The need for university researchers to communicate both with officials and the public applies to every critical resource issue we face today. As some of our resource problems are solved and others emerge, the need for more effective communication among experts, public officials, and ordinary citizens remains. Research designed to reach a broader audience than fellow academics hopefully will help us make better decisions. While additional shifts in research focus are bound to occur, I think a common thrust of concern will remain: How do you use intellect and reasoning to enlighten and improve the process of governance? For this reason, I suspect that the center's future is likely to be as bright as its past.
by Linda Moist
In the fight against soil contamination, science has found a new, yet old, ally in Mother Nature. Scientists now know that there are chemical and biological processes present in soil capable of breaking down contaminants and rendering them harmless. The problem is that the soil's natural cleansing agents are difficult to detect and measure.
That's where the University of Tennessee's Center for Environmental Biotechnology (CEB) hopes to make a difference. CEB is the technical research arm of the Waste Management Research and Education Institute (WMREI).
It seems that CEB, in its war on contaminants spilled onto the earth, is intent on combining the self-cleaning force of Mother Nature with another invaluable resource--that of graduate and post-doctoral research assistants.
Unlike other science labs that rely almost entirely on the efforts of senior staffers holding doctorates and other advanced degrees, CEB has learned that graduate students tracking toward terminal degrees make qualified--and enthusiastic--researchers capable of driving forward the field of bioremediation.
Take Ray Stapleton, for instance. Stapleton, an ecology major and CEB graduate research assistant, is seeking to measure the amount and effectiveness of degrading bacteria in contaminated soils.
"By doing this," he says, "we'll be able to determine more precisely the presence of beneficial microbes and better anticipate their action."
In a similar effort, Bruce Applegate, a doctoral candidate in microbiology, is fusing the genes of contamination-crunching microbes to those from light-emitting bacteria to create genetically engineered microorganisms that can be seen at work. Think of microscopic miners equipped with video cameras and flood lights that would allow observers to watch them chisel the rocks beneath the Earth's surface.
Learning how these microorganisms do what they do is just one part of the puzzle; helping them do it better is another goal facing CEB's graduate research assistants.
Wally Hunt, a master's candidate in environmental engineering, is developing a process to produce surfactants or natural "cleaning fluids" from soil bacteria. Such cleansing agents would facilitate the cleanup of contaminated soils without requiring that the soil be excavated.
Projects like these are just a small part of CEB's work that is currently supported by the efforts of student researchers. "The lab is considered a leader among research institutions," says Applegate, "in large part because its efforts in bioremediation take place in an environment that encourages interdisciplinary work and supports the input of research assistants."
CEB's staff of lab research assistants come from a variety of disciplines ranging from chemical and environmental engineering to environmental toxicology, ecology, and microbiology. But regardless of their backgrounds, these researchers leave the lab with a broadened perspective on the issues affecting the field of contaminant remediation.
"Research assistants here don't get 'tunnel vision,' because they work with professionals trained in a variety of areas," says Applegate. "Scientists and engineers may have radically different approaches to the same problems and often can learn from one another."
Currently, CEB has 11 post-doctoral researchers, 38 students, and 11 research assistants, each with a different academic background and field of expertise.
According to lab director Gary Sayler, few labs in the United States are as large and fully integrated as CEB.
"We bring specialists in many different fields together," Sayler says. "The collaboration that we encourage allows our students to tap into other disciplines and learn from leading experts in the field."
Sayler's associate David White insists that the center's interdisciplinary approach and integration of graduate researchers is unique, at least for now. White, a medical doctor and scientist who divides his time between the university and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, says that more and more laboratories are taking their cue from CEB and boosting the ranks of their research assistants and post-doctoral staffers.
"They're discovering, as we have, that a functioning, multidisciplinary research lab is one of the best places for student researchers to get an education," White says. "At CEB, researchers and students are exposed to a broad range of approaches that more closely approximates the way they will work after graduation."
Because CEB receives funding from industry and has an industrial review board, students take an active role in preparing reports and grant proposals under deadlines, says White.
"The breadth of their experiences here at the lab gives students a leg up on the job market," he says. "And that's something every student--and every researcher--can appreciate."
For more information, contact Gary Sayler, director of the Center for Environmental Biotechnology, 10515 Research Dr., Suite 100, Knoxville, TN 37932, or call 865-974-8080.
by Linda Moist
Robb Scholten, a bookish historian and professional musician, is never happier than when he is surrounded by stacks of books, preferably history books. That's why he decided to return to the quiet corridors of the University of Tennessee's (UT) Hodges Library to earn his master's degree in library science. But when Scholten isn't sedately poring over scholarly texts, you'll find him traveling at warp speed along the information highway.
Scholten, like thousands of other scholars, is letting his fingers do the walking through computer cyber- space. From his terminal, Scholten serves as onsite team member for what UT refers to as the Model Scholar's Outpost on the Electronic Frontier. Uniting scholarly traditions with cutting-edge technologies, Scholten takes researchers on an electronic journey to libraries, worldwide, without ever leaving his desk.
"For someone who loves the written word and the feel of the page, electronic communication may seem unsettling," says Scholten. "But as a tool of communication, its advantages in speed and access are unsurpassed. I have no doubt that most researchers will learn that, although a computer terminal may not be as warm and satisfying as a good book, it can be a reliable and knowledgeable source of information."
Scholten's journey into cyberspace begins at a computer workstation located at UT's Energy, Environment, and Resources Center (EERC). Partially funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, the workstation--which is one of only four on the UT-Knoxville campus--allows faculty and students to access library holdings around the globe. The heart and soul of the workstation are CD-ROM discs that are similar to CDs played on stereo systems. But in this case, the discs may contain a complete set of data related to the release of benzine in the environment instead of the best of the Beatles.
Through an assortment of codes punched out on his computer, Scholten can sort through a series of data bases that contain a wealth of information--everything from the lifestyle of Napoleon to the latest breakthroughs in nanotechnology. The workstation even boasts a specialized environmental/energy data base to make environmental research easier and more comprehensive.
Equally important, the workstation is a researcher's electronic access ramp onto the Internet--one of the main arteries of the information highway now being touted by the Clinton administration. Internet is a passageway to untold electronic bulletin boards and cyberspace user groups. It also enables researchers to say "hi" to friends or relatives more quickly and for less money than a phone call.
The model scholar workstation offers more than just data base searching and information sharing, though. Once the text is located, whether it's across campus or across the country, it may be transferred, via interlibrary loan, to UT's Hodges Library. From there, couriers hand-deliver hard-copy to the researcher-- in effect, bringing the electronic impulses back down to earth.
"Because we combine searching capabilities with a delivery network and one-on-one librarian assistance, our computer research facilities are among the best in the country," says Scholten. "While onsite computer research is fast becoming the norm at many institutions, few others offer the complete service that we do.
"When a researcher needs a journal article, a microfiche copy, or a book from the shelf," Scholten adds, "Hodges Library holdings can be delivered within the hour. Inter-library loans usually take only about a week."
For all its advantages, this system does carry one drawback-- information overload. Most researchers admit that having access to too much information may be almost as bad as not having enough. In fact, the endless quantity of electronic information that is available can turn a computer search into a humbling--and confusing--experience. That's where Scholten's assistance is invaluable.
"Navigating the Internet productively can sometimes be more happenstance than method," he says, "Because I have used the system so extensively, I'm familiar with searchwords that make the journey a little easier."
The workstation has received glowing reviews from EERC staff. A steady stream of enthusiastic users has kept Scholten busy since the site opened in February.
Among them is, Jean Peretz, senior research associate. "Onsite research capabilities save both time and money, and Robb's help makes the search even more efficient," says Peretz. For example, Robb took only a day to locate several government documents that we had been unable to find for weeks."
Scholten believes that researchers will soon be able to meet 80 percent of their scholarly needs through electronic retrieval systems. The next big breakthrough for researchers will be total recall of text. Readers will not only locate information by computer search, but they will be able to retrieve, copy, and edit it on screen. Scanning of electronic texts, in fact, may become commonplace in a few years.
"I don't think that electronic text will ever completely replace the printed word," Scholten says. "Books have a spiritual nature that cannot be supplanted by the wizards of technology. But for researchers, physical texts are not the most efficient means of conveying information. Sites like the Scholar's Workstation will make their work much easier."
For more information, contact Robb Scholten at University of Tennessee, EERC, 311 Conference Building, Knoxville, TN 37996-4134 or call (423) 974-4251.
This past fall, the Center for Clean Products and Clean Technologies, a division of the Waste Management Research and Education Institute (WMREI), set its research agenda for the next two years with help from an independent advisory committee.
The advisory committee, composed of representatives from federal and state agencies, private industry, organized labor, and public interest groups, met for a day-and-a-half session at Brookhaven Farms near Knoxville in October to review the center's past achievements and comment on its future plans.
"The advisory committee supported the overall direction of the center and offered valuable insight concerning its mission and goals, specific research subjects, and potential areas for growth," says Center Director Gary Davis.
The center's agenda for the next two years is divided into three priority research areas, Davis says:
Evaluating products and processes for their life-cycle environmental impacts.
Developing and demonstrating new, cleaner products and processes.
Assessing and proposing government and market-based measures to encourage use of clean products and clean technologies.
Life-cycle assessment, a process that traces the total environmental impacts of manufactured products--from the mine to the landfill--will be a central component of the center's research during the next two years, Davis says. Particular attention will be given to streamlining methods for completing these complex assessments.
Environmental labeling also will get attention. Most countries outside the United States have some form of official labeling program to help consumers decide which products are environmentally superior, Davis notes.
Working with Green Seal, a non-profit environmental labeling organization, the center last year assessed various brands of household cleaners for their environmental impacts. This year, it will take a look at laundry detergents, Davis says.
A new policy area receiving attention this year will be "extended producer responsibility," Davis says. The idea is for manufacturers to assume responsibility for their products beyond the point of sale--for recycling the packaging or, in the case of automobiles, televisions, and VCRs, for example, of recycling and disposing of the products when they are worn out.
The center will explore the full range of options, from mandatory "take-back" requirements in use in Germany, to refundable deposits for proper disposal, to voluntary recycling programs. The project will include interviews with European policy-makers and an economic and environmental analysis of "take-back" requirements.
Other major programs that will receive emphasis this year include the ranking and scoring of various chemicals based on their potential environmental hazard; clean-product design; demonstrations of the advantages of cleaner products and processes; and safe chemical substitutes.
"The idea of solving many of our environmental problems at the source by creating and using cleaner products has taken root during the past two years," Davis told the advisory committee. "The idea has nurtured a revolution in environmental improvement and protection. While it won't replace regulation and enforcement, I believe it is the key to future environmental protection."
After listening to staff members describe the center's programs and plans, advisory committee members agreed to continue to meet annually to review progress and to offer advice along the way. The committee also asked to be kept informed on center activities and research results.
For more information, contact Gary Davis, Director, Center for Clean Products and Clean Technologies, University of Tennessee, 311 Conference Building, Knoxville, TN 37996-4134 or call 865-974-4251.
Gary Sayler has received the 1994 Procter and Gamble Award in Applied and Environmental Microbiology. This is the second consecutive year that a member of the University of Tennessee's Center for Environmental Biotechnology has won the award. Last year, David White received the honor.
Rural America: The Solid Waste Issue Hits Home, a video co-sponsored by UT's Energy, Environment, and Resources Center and TVA's Center for Rural Waste Management, will be distributed under a five-year license by the Video Project in Oakland, California. Other Video Project clients include the League of Women Voters, the National Wildlife Federation, and Discover magazine.
David Feldman is co-author of a recently published book titled Waste-to-Energy in the United States: A Social and Economic Assessment (Westport, Connecticut: Quorum Books, 1994).
Catherine Wilt presented "White Goods: An Assessment of State Management Issues and Solutions," at the Ninth International Conference on Solid Waste Management, November 1993.
Ralph Perhac presented "Public Policy and Risk: The Issue of Voluntary Acceptance," in Savannah, Georgia, at the Society for Risk Analysis annual meeting, December 1993.
William M. Park and Jeffrey E. Case published "An Analysis of Regionalization Scenarios for Solid-Waste Management in the Upper Cumberland Development District," Knoxville, Tennessee, November 1993.