The EPAC welcomes your suggestions. Meetings are open to all PHS Engineers, and those outside the Washington, D.C. metro area may attend via conference call.

CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 1:05 p.m. ET at the National Institutes of Health's Natcher Center, Conference Room 'B' in Bethesda, MD. Substantive comment was solicited for the October 29, 1999 meeting minutes, no further corrections were required, and the October meeting minutes were approved. The next meeting will be held Thursday, January 27, 2000, at 1:00 p.m. ET in the Twinbrook Building in Rockville, MD. To attend via conference call, contact CAPT Cris Kinney at (301) 443-1046 to receive the conference call number.

SPECIAL PINNING CEREMONY
RADM Bob Williams led a special pinning ceremony for CAPT (select) Gladys Rodriguez. His remarks follow:

"I am privileged today to be able to recognize one of our own - the first female officer in the Engineer Category to be promoted to the rank of Captain - Captain (select) Gladys Rodriguez.

For those who don't know her, Captain (select) Rodriguez continues her distinguished career with the Food and Drug Administration. She graduated in the 70's from New York University with a Bachelor of Engineering. As a regulatory officer, in the early 80's, her work with FDA centered on medical and industrial x-rays and then moved to ultraviolet and mercury vapor lamps. In the 90's her focus was lasers. She is now the Deputy Director of the Division of Enforcement III in the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), where she ensures the effective and efficient operation of the division.

Today is a momentous occasion, a point in history.

Do you realize that in 1893, only one women had graduated with an engineering degree in the U.S. She was Elisabeth Bragg who graduated from UC-Berkeley with a Civil Engineering degree. By 1933, 90 women had graduated from schools of engineering in the U.S. Now about 10% of the engineering workforce are women and this year, for the first time, one of the foremost "women's colleges" - Smith College in Massachusetts announced the initiation of an engineering major.
Today is equally important for the USPHS and women - as CAPT (select) Rodriguez is recognized for her promotion - a first for engineers in the USPHS.

Today - we celebrate the women of engineering in the past - who were groundbreakers for CAPT (select) Rodriguez and other women

Today - we celebrate the achievements of our first female CAPT engineer - and how it measures a strengthening of our Corps

Today - we launch the dreams of some young women who will be PHS engineers in the future

Many years ago, the Greek mathematician - Archimedes - said "Give me a place on which to stand, and I will move the earth." When he was challenged, he used pulleys and levers to beach a large ship using only his unaided strength.

A career of commitment and dedication earned CAPT (select) Rodriguez her place to stand today, and may our celebration of her achievement, be an equally remarkable move of the men and women engineers of the PHS into the 21^st Century."

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Office of the Chief Engineer: RADM Bob Williams reported the following:

Welcome: RADM Williams stated that his holiday wish is for you and your families and loved ones to have the happiest of holiday seasons - to stay safe and find peace. He also wished to see all back healthy and invigorated in the New Year. Happy Holidays!
EPAC Chair: RADM Williams extended his thanks and appreciation to CAPT Tom Bedick. He stated that CAPT Bedick has been a pleasure to work with as Chairperson of EPAC. RADM Williams noted that he has found him to be outspoken in support of engineers and architects, energetic in response to any request, and one darn fine engineer.....thanks Tom!
Engineer Newsletter: RADM Williams issued a reminder to send articles to the Engineer Newsletter. He stated he would like to see technical and special interest articles as well as EPAC Subcommittee news. The dates for submission are January 31, April 30, July 31, and October 31.
Engineer Category Logo: RADM Williams stated his belief that the Engineer Category needs a logo; therefore, as will be announced in the next Engineer Newsletter, the Office of the Chief Engineer will sponsor a logo design contest. The originator of the best design will get a stipend for travel to a conference of their choice (for example, the Commissioned Officers Association annual meeting). More details will be forthcoming.
SAME Awards: One reason for developing the logo is to help the Awards Subcommittee in their design of the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) awards for USPHS officers. SAME will have up to three awards they will present to USPHS officers at their annual meeting each year. RADM Williams emphasized that he would like the Awards Subcommittee to begin brainstorming on the SAME awards issue.
Engineer Awards: RADM Williams expressed his thanks to everyone who submitted nominations for the USPHS Engineer of the Year, OPDIV Engineer of the Year, and NSPE Federal Engineer of the Year.
Engineers Week: We are planning the Engineers Week celebration. CDR Griffith is coordinating the Luncheon (where Engineers of the Year will be recognized). RADM Williams asked that the Information Subcommittee handle exhibits (booth) in the Parklawn Building and other areas. Most of the activities will be on Thursday and Friday of Engineers Week (February 20-26, 2000).
Chief Engineer Quarterly Conference Call: As one of RADM Williams' efforts to stimulate discussion with junior officers and younger engineers and architects, he will be initiating quarterly conference calls in February. These calls will be open discussions with him and will give junior engineers and architects an opportunity to ask questions, register complaints, and express innovative ideas.
Commissioned Corps Bulletin Article: The Engineer Category will be featured in the Commissioned Corps Bulletin in April 2000, with a March 2000 deadline for submitting the article. RADM Williams requested the Information Subcommittee develop this article. He suggested the article focus on the Healthy Building Initiative or other topics that can be related to the Surgeon General's priorities.
SAME Article: The SAME has asked the Engineer Category to develop an article for a special issue of the Military Engineer magazine, with a deadline of January 4, 2000. CAPT Rodenbeck and Ms. Hayes will be contacting CAPT Brodt and CAPT Kinney for ideas and words (Healthy Building and IHS Response efforts) to develop this article.
USPHS Engineers Slide Show: RADM Williams stated that he would like to develop a slide show briefing on USPHS Engineers in Action. This will be discussed more in January, however, if you have pictures and information (stories, write-ups, news reports) on USPHS engineers and architects you can begin sending them to CAPT Rodenbeck now. He stated he would like the briefing to be about 30 minutes and include something on each Operating Division (OPDIV) and external agencies where USPHS engineers and architects are doing great work. Your ideas are appreciated!

2. EPAC Chair: CAPT Bedick reported the following:

End of Watch: CAPT Bedick thanked the EPAC members, and especially the subcommittee chairs and the Executive Secretary, for their efforts in making his tour as EPAC chair so successful. He mentioned the Engineer category e-mail list and the development of a mentoring program as examples of accomplishments by the EPAC subcommittees. CAPT Bedick noted that many PACs meet only infrequently and accomplish relatively little when compared to the EPAC. Finally, he suggested that RADM Williams poll the Engineer category to determine what they want from the EPAC.
Subcommittee Member Awards: CAPT Bedick asked the subcommittee chairs to provide a bulleted list of the accomplishments of the subcommittee and its members' contributions to help in the determination of possible awards for the members.

3. DCP Liaison: LCDR Cheryl Wiseman reported for CAPT Dermanoski:

Promotion Process Review: A comprehensive review of the entire promotion process for temporary and permanent grade promotions may be performed in the near future. It is planned that any changes to the promotion system will be implemented in Promotion Year 2001.
DCP Y2K Compliance: The Division of Commissioned Personnel (DCP) systems have been Y2K compliant since December 1998.
Deputy Director, DCP: CAPT Robert (Skip) Miller is the new Deputy Director, DCP, effective November 15, 1999.
OPF Documentation: Officers should ensure all documentation to be submitted to DCP for their Official Personnel Folder (OPF) is faxed to (301) 480-1436 or (301) 480-1407.
DCP Website Access to OPFs: The Officer Development Branch (ODB) is helping officers use the DCP website to access their OPF. Approximately 2000 promotion-eligible and 3800 new officers will be the first to have access.
Orientation Program: This past summer the ODB assumed responsibility for the Orientation program. A PowerPoint presentation has been developed. Schedules are planned to be finalized early next year, and eventually may be on the website.
Curriculum Vitae Submission: Many officers attached their continuing education (CE) summary to their curriculum vitae (CV). While this is acceptable, please be aware that the CE summary should also be submitted for scanning in the CE section of the officer's file.
COERs: Currently PSB has more than 4,750 Annual Commissioned Officers Effectiveness Reports (COERs) entered with approximately 300-350 more that have been entered but must be verified. As this is completed, OPDIV Heads will receive a list of missing COERs for their respective OPDIV.
Promotion Year 2000 Material: Officers eligible for promotion in Promotion Year 2000 are faxing in material for scanning, and the fax server is working well. File room staff members are scanning and indexing all incoming papers that are sent to the file room, e.g., curricula vitae, awards, licenses, and continuing education. None of these are being filed in the officers' Official Personnel Folders once scanned. However, they are being kept temporarily as backup.
Promotion and Assimilation Process: Preparations for the promotion and assimilation process are on schedule. Letters announcing promotion eligibility, along with Promotion Information Reports, were sent to officers on October 15, 1999.
Commissioned Corps Leave: DCP will implement an automatic leave tracking system which will be available via the Web. The projected date of completion is FY2001. DCP will forward a request to Dr. Satcher to change the CC leave policy. The change will be that leave approval will require only one signature. This change is to assist in streamlining the system.

4. CCRF Liaison: CAPT Sven Rodenbeck reported the following:

CCRF Officer Unavailability: The CCRF has asked that all officers identify any particular dates for which they will be unavailable. The CCRF is attempting to maintain an accurate on-call listing, so those that may be unavailable for a period of time should notify the CCRF so that their name can be temporarily removed.
CCRF Website: Officers are reminded to check the CCRF web page ( http://oep.osophs.dhhs.gov/ccrf/ ) frequently. Any changes in procedures and other announcements will be posted on the web page.
CCRF Deployments: CAPT Rodenbeck met with CAPT Kathleen Downs (Office of Emergency Preparedness) to discuss how CCRF deployments are determined and how engineers can be better utilized during deployment. A good exchange of information and ideas occurred during the meeting. The information will be given to the EPAC Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee so the Subcommittee can provide better information to OEP and PHS engineers.

5. COA Liaison: CDR Kathy Poneleit reported the following:

COA Board Working Session: The Commissioned Officers Association (COA) Board held a working session during the summer, and addressed the following issues:

6. Job Vacancies: The PHS Engineers web site has links to vacancies within all the DHHS OPDIVs at http://www.usphsengineers.org/joblists.htm , and also maintains a list of vacancies at http://www.usphsengineers.org/vacancy.htm .

ATSDR: The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) in Atlanta, GA is currently seeking a junior (entry-level) engineer. Interested parties should contact CAPT Rodenbeck by e-mail at svr1@cdc.gov .
ESO/Dallas: The Engineering Services Office located in Dallas, TX will soon be seeking a mechanical engineer at the GS-7/9/11 level.
IHS: There are approximately twenty to twenty-five engineering openings in the Indian Health Service.
COSTEPs: The deadline for application to the Commissioned Officer Student Training and Externship Program (COSTEP) is December 31, 1999.
NIEHS: The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, NC will soon be advertising for a GS-11/12/13 mechanical engineer.
NIH: The National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD is currently advertising an Senior Executive Service position as the Director, Division of Engineering Services.

OLD BUSINESS

Healthy Buildings Initiative: The Building Design and Construction Subcommittee conducted a break-out session on Healthy Buildings at the Biomedical Leadership Conference held at the NIH on November 1-2, 1999 which was the most attended of the break-out sessions held at the Conference. Following the Conference, the Subcommittee drafted a memorandum to the Surgeon General, which was distributed to the EPAC, recommending a Healthy Building Initiative and emphasizing the Initiative's relationship to the Surgeon General's Healthy People 2010 goals. The draft memorandum has been provided informally to the Deputy Surgeon General (DSG), ADM Moritsugu, and to ADM Blackwell in the Office of the Surgeon General. It was decided that the memorandum would be changed to be addressed to the Surgeon General from the Chief Engineer, that it be in the form of an action memo, and RADM Williams agreed to issue it.
Mentoring Subcommittee Status: Following discussion at the last meeting of the conversion of the Mentoring Ad Hoc Subcommittee to a standing mentoring Subcommittee, discussions with the Career Development and Mentoring Ad Hoc Subcommittees were unanimous in their opinions that the Mentoring Subcommittee should be converted to a standing subcommittee. This proposal provided for a change in the EPAC bylaws eliminating the responsibility for mentoring from the Career Development Subcommittee and incorporating the responsibilities of the Mentoring Subcommittee. The conversion of the Mentoring Subcommittee to a standing subcommittee was approved by a vote of the EPAC.

NEW BUSINESS

Engineering Category Strategic Planning Session: In March, the Office of the Chief Engineer will convene a strategic planning session. The purpose will be to revisit the visioning session that developed the current Engineer Category Strategic Plan. The current plan covers emergency response, environmental, facilities, leadership/professional development, and research and evaluation topics. There is a need to revisit these and develop benchmarks to measure our progress. RADM Williams envisions a one day workshop where former Chief Engineers and senior and junior engineers and architects will work on the Strategic Plan, and looks forward to EPAC's support and assistance with this task. Engineers interested in participating in this session should contact Mitch Williams ( william7@niehs.nih.gov ).
Expansion of Influence of Commissioned Corps Engineers: RADM Williams received a well-written letter from two IHS engineers. They wrote of various projects, e.g., the Colonias Communities, Appalachia Region, USDA Rural Utilities, that could benefit from the expertise of PHS engineers, particularly those with sanitary facilities construction experiences. The letter demonstrated how an initiative to expand the utilization of USPHS Engineers supported the Engineer Category Strategic Plan and the new Vision of the Corps. It also contained recommendations on exploring and further developing this initiative. The recommendations included contacting the Corps of Engineers and looking into opportunities, establishing an EPAC Review Team that could visit rural development projects and meet with program managers to gain ideas, and to begin publicizing the good works of those engineers who currently are working in sanitary facilities construction. RADM Williams stated his belief that this is an initiative worth pursuing and would like EPAC's assistance as we move forward.
OPDIV Design and Construction Information and Budgets for SAME: Following the President's submission of a budget to Congress, the SAME annually provides a CD-ROM containing the President's proposed design and construction projects. Additionally, the CD-ROM contains information on the offices and points of contacts administering these projects. It was decided that each OPDIV must be approached about releasing this information once the President's budget is released, anticipated for January 2000.
Junior Officer Initiative Status: Junior officers have recently undertaken to represent their needs to the Surgeon General and others leaders within the Public Health Service. The DSG recently recommended that the PACs and Chief professional Officers reach out to the junior members of their categories, and to investigate methods used in the past to provide input to junior professionals, both commissioned corps and civil service. A resolution was passed at the COA meeting held in June 1999 asking that the OSG commission a junior officer PAC, and as a result an ad hoc working group was formed to determine if there is a need for input by junior officers, and what avenues are available for this input. The EPAC wishes to begin the process of ascertaining how the EPAC can address the needs of junior engineers, in coordination with the recent efforts made toward the representation of junior officers to the OSG . Toward this end, a motion was made and approved to include an ex officio member of the EPAC involved with the OSG initiative to reach junior officers. LT Sean Boyd was asked to serve in this capacity.

SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

1. Awards: CDR Maurice West reported the following:

Engineer of the Year Awards: The Awards Subcommittee has recommended the Engineer of the Year award nominees to the Chief Engineer. A special thanks was expressed to members of the Awards Subcommittee that worked over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend to evaluate the nominees for this award.
Literary Awards: Twenty-six applicants for the Engineering Literary awards were received, with competition in all categories. Reviewers knowledgeable of public health engineering are being sought, and interested parties should contact CDR West at myw4@cdc.gov .
Next Meeting: The next meeting of the Awards Subcommittee will be December 16, 1999 at 1:00 p.m. ET.

2. Building Design & Construction: No report other than contained within the old business was provided.

Next Meeting: The next meeting of the Building Design & Construction Subcommittee will be January 11, 2000 at 1:00 p.m. ET.

3. Career Development: Ms. Lisa Hayes reported the following:

Welcome Package: E-mail messages have been sent to all EPAC members who are asked to make welcome calls to engineers who joined the PHS in the second quarter of FY99. Please make your calls and report back to LT Sean Boyd. Welcome calls are assigned to EPAC members based on the geographic and/or OPDIV location of the new engineer.
2000 Engineering Symposium: A planning session conference call for the 2000 Engineering Symposium was held on December 7. The agenda is really beginning to take shape. The theme for the symposium will be "Emerging Roles for Engineers in the New Millennium." The agenda is broken down into four parts. The first part will be short (~15 minutes) presentations by 4 or 5 speakers on what engineering roles are emerging in their OPDIVs. The next part will be technical presentations with focus on some of the emerging roles for engineers. These presentations may be identified through abstracts submitted to the COA call for papers, literary award winners, or recruited by EPAC members. The third part of the agenda will focus on counter-bioterrorism, with presentations possibly by the Phoenix fire fighters academy and a PHS representative. The fourth part of the agenda will be papers recruited by EPAC members and will focus on the theme of emerging roles for engineers in the new millennium. Anyone interested in making a presentation or who knows of someone who would have an interesting topic to speak on should contact Ms. Hayes or CAPT Joe Cocalis.
Next Meeting: The next meeting of the Career Development Subcommittee will be December 14, 1999 at 2:00 p.m. ET.

4. Emergency Preparedness: CAPT Rodenbeck reported the following:

CCRF Training Materials: The Subcommittee continued to work on developing the training materials for CCRF engineers. At the Subcommittee's request, RADM Williams sent a memo to OEP inviting them to participate in planning a technical session for the 2001 Water Environment Federation Conference. The session will discuss chemical and bioterrorism.
Next Meeting: The next meeting of the Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee will be January 6, 2000 at 3:00 p.m. ET.

5. Information: No report this month.

6. Mentoring: Mr. Mitchell Williams reported the following:

Mentoring Handbook: The Subcommittee was received a number of comments on the mentoring Handbook, and following their incorporation will be posting the Handbook on the EPAC Mentoring program web site the week of December 27, 1999. Once the web site is running, the Subcommittee will forward a draft e-mail message to RADM Williams for his distribution soliciting participants for the program.
Next Meeting: The next meeting of the Mentoring Subcommittee will be December 14, 1999 at 11:00 a.m. ET.

7. Recruiting and Retention: CDR Eric Crump reported the following:

Recruiting Documents: The three recruiting documents are essentially done, and will be transmitted to the Office of the Chief Engineer (OCE) shortly.
Subcommittee Membership: The Subcommittee will be losing members over the next year, and is in need of new members, particularly junior engineers, with fresh ideas on recruiting.

8. Rules: CAPT Cris Kinney reported the following:

EPAC Members for 2000: The Subcommittee is still awaiting approval by the OSG of the members recommended for the EPAC for the year 2000.
EPAC Subcommittee Goals: Each subcommittee chair is requested to provide the goals of its subcommittee for the year 2000 to CAPT Kinney by January 6, 2000. CAPT Kinney will be contacting each subcommittee chair during the second week of January to review the subcommittee's goals.
EPAC 2000: CAPT Kinney is planning at least two meetingsoutside of the Washington metro area, possibly Window Rock, AZ on the Navajo reservation and Atlanta, GA in October. Additionally, a combination career development and engineering management training seminar is planned if support among the OPDIVs exists. Finally, CAPT Kinney will be discussing the goals of the EPAC and OCE.
 

Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 3:15 p.m. ET.
 

EPAC Meeting Participation

Participants (Members in bold, with alternates attending matched by number to the members absent):
CAPT Thomas M. Bedick (NIH), LT Sean Boyd (FDA), CAPT Terry L. Christensen (NIH), CDR Eric L. Crump (EPA), CAPT James A. DiNovo (FDA), CDR Robert W. Faaland (FDA), CDR Jo Ann Griffith (EPA), Ms. Lisa Hayes (At Large), Mr. Kyung Kim (NIH), CAPT E. Crispin Kinney (IHS),CDR Louis A. Lightner (HRSA), LCDR Kenneth R. Mead (CDC), LCDR Jacqueline Parker (IHS), CDR Kathleen Poneleit (Ex Officio), CAPT Larry Reed (CDC), CAPT Sven Rodenbeck (At Large), CDR Maurice C. West (ATSDR), Mr. F. Mitchell Williams (Ex Officio), RADM Robert C. Williams (Ex Officio), LCDR Cheryl Wiseman (DCP)¹, LCDR Anthony T. Zimmer (NIOSH)²

Members Absent:
CAPT Kevin S. Chadwick (IHS), CAPT Joseph Cocalis (CDC), CDR Kevin R. Dermanoski (Ex Officio)¹, LTJG Alan R. Fogarty (IHS), Mr. Anthony Iannacchione (CDC), CDR Kenneth F. Martinez (At Large)², CAPT Gene Sullenger (FDA)
 

Authorization
 

I have recorded the above EPAC meeting minutes:

____________________________ _________
F. Mitchell Williams, P.E.                        Date
Executive Secretary, EPAC
 

I have read the above minutes which accurately describe this meeting, and on behalf of the EPAC approve their distribution:

____________________________ _________
CAPT Thomas M. Bedick, P.E.               Date
Chairperson, EPAC
 

I authorize distribution of these minutes:

____________________________ _________
RADM Robert C. Williams, P.E.              Date
Chief Engineer, USPHS

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