Minutes of the Meeting of the

Engineer Professional Advisory Committee

Thursday, July 26, 2001

The Engineer Professional Advisory Committee (EPAC) welcomes your input and participation. Meetings are open to all PHS Engineers and Architects. Those who are not able to attend in person may attend via conference call.

CALL TO ORDER

CAPT Kevin Chadwick, EPAC Chairperson, called the meeting to order at 1:06 p.m. EDT at the IHS Twinbrook Metro Plaza Executive Conference Room, Rockville, Maryland. The June 28, 2001, meeting minutes were approved. The next meeting will be held Thursday, September 27, 2001, at 1:00 p.m. EDT at the IHS Twinbrook Metro Plaza Building Executive Conference Room in Rockville, Maryland.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Office of the Chief Engineer: CAPT Sven Rodenbeck reported the following announcements for RADM Robert Williams.

A. CPO-PAC Chairs Meeting The meeting will take place July 27, 2001 and will be reported upon at the next EPAC meeting.

B. Upcoming Awards and Recognitions

One of my emphasis points as your Chief Engineer is recognition. In the coming months there will be opportunities to nominate your fellow engineers, architects, and their projects for several awards and recognitions. Please take some time and submit nominations. Just a few examples, with approximate due dates, are:

ROA - Dr. Koop Jr. Officer Award, September 2001;
PHS Office of the Chief Engineer & EPAC - PHS and Agencies Engineer Awards, November 2001;
NSPE - Federal Engineer Award, November 2001;
PHS Office of the Chief Engineer & EPAC - PHS Literary Awards, December 2001;
PHS Office of the Chief Engineer & EPAC - Burgess Jr. Engineer Award, January 2002;
PHS Officer of the Chief Engineer & EPAC- Villforth Leadership Award, January 2002;
American Academy of Environmental Engineers - Excellence in Environmental Engineering Awards, February 2002; and
SAME - Hollis and Green Medals and Cumming Plaque, February 2002

If you have any questions concerning these awards, please contact the Office of the Chief Engineer or EPAC Awards Subcommittee Chairperson, CDR Maurice West. A yearly awards and recognitions calendar will soon be posted on the USPHS Engineer’s website. See Awards report

C. Promotions

Any Engineer Officer (promotion eligible and recently non-promoted) that would like career counseling should contact CAPT Sven Rodenbeck, Chief of Staff to the Chief Engineer. His contact information is Srodenbeck@cdc.gov and (404) 498-0439.

D. OCE Phone Numbers

Just one final reminder that all of the telephone numbers for the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, including the Office of the Chief Engineer, have been changed. The new telephone numbers are as follows:

Ø RADM Robert C. Williams, P.E., DEE (404) 498-0007

Ø CAPT Sven E. Rodenbeck, P.E, DEE, Sc.D. (404) 498-0439

Ø Ms. Lisa Hayes, P.E., DEE (404) 498-0435

Ø LCDR Nathan Tatum, P.E. (404) 498-0455

EPAC Chair: CAPT Kevin Chadwick reported the following.

A. October/November EPAC Meeting

This combined meeting has been tentatively scheduled for Thursday, November 15 at the FDA Winchester Engineering Analytical Center in Boston, MA. Activities planned include a host site tour on the 15^th and reaching out to local universities on the travel days before and after the meeting.

Division of Commissioned Personnel (DCP) Liaison: There was no report.

Commissioned Officers Association (COA) Liaison: CDR Kathy Poneleit reported the following.

A. Resignation of Chairperson

Mike Lord, COA Executive Director is stepping down effective October 12, 2001. CDR Poneleit will forward his resignation statement via e-mail.

Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Liaison: LT Scharen reported the following.

A. SAME Conference in Bethesda, MD

A meeting is scheduled for March 5-8, 2002. Contact LT Scharen if you wish to participate on the planning committee.

B. SAME Symposium - Comprehensive Force Protection

Scheduled for November 1 and 2, 2001, in Charleston, SC. Contact LT Scharen if you need any additional information. Moreover, the SAME website, www.same.org--selecting “Conferences and Upcoming Events”, provides specific conference information.

Junior Engineer Report: LCDR John Longstaff reported the following for LT Boyd.

For various reasons, the meeting scheduled for August 17th is cancelled. The next scheduled meeting is Friday, September 21st at 10:00 AM EDT.

Job Vacancies: Known vacancies are now posted or linked on the PHS Engineers website (www.usphsengineers.org). The weekly OCE statements from LCDR Tatum via e-mail are another resource.

Ø The Alaska Native Health Consortium is currently seeking approximately twelve engineers to fill senior positions.

Ø EPA Region 8 has recently opened a backlog of engineering scientist positions as listed in the vacancy link to the engineer’s website.

OLD BUSINESS - A/E Leadership Development Seminar Ad hoc Subcommittee, CAPT Chadwick

To date, there has been only one volunteer on this ad hoc subcommittee. EPAC members are challenged to recruit individuals to serve on the ad hoc subcommittee. Forward volunteer information to CAPT Chadwick by August 10.

Mr. Mark Hoover, CDC, volunteered to serve on the subcommittee during the call.

NEW BUSINESS – Decreasing Number of Commissioned Corps Engineers, CAPT Chadwick

The basis of this discussion is the spreadsheet provided by the Recruiting & Retention Subcommittee at the June meeting. As shown, the engineer officers have declined by 142 (25%) in the last eight years with the bulk of these reductions coming from EPA, FDA and CDC. The question presented to the PAC today is whether or not we wish to provide emphasis to this situation and if so, how to go about doing it?

CAPT Chadwick will refer the summary of this discussion to the Recruiting and Retention Subcommittee for review and action. Moreover, all EPAC members are encouraged to promote the U.S. Public Health Service and the Commissioned Corps when applicable.

SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

1. Awards: CDR Maurice West reported the following.

A. Handbooks

The awards section of the Engineer’s Handbook will be updated including the new awards and a yearly calendar of EPAC administered awards. In addition, the Awards Handbook that includes examples will be similarly updated.

B. Awards Process Review

All current awards, and specifically the new awards, will be completely reviewed encompassing the timing, call for nominations, nomination process, evaluation criteria, etc. for possible improvements. Suggestions are solicited. At this time, there are no proposals to EPAC.

C. Award Winners – Will be posted to website shortly.

2. Building Design & Construction: CAPT Kenneth Martinez reported the following.

The subcommittee met in July with six (6) attendees.

A. Healthy Building Initiative

1. CAPT Bill Brodt has met with CAPT Richard Barror and RADM Kenneth Moritsugu discussing the proposal, recommendations/comments from that meeting included:

a. Make a stronger tie to the national public health interest.

b. Changing the proposal format from a lengthy text to a bulleted fact sheet.

c. JACOH Requirement DC 1.7 – Mr. Brian Kong will share this work with VA.

d. The NIH, Engineering Services, is evaluating the initiative within their healthy building guidelines.

e. VA – Occupational Health Conference will be held in Las Vegas in August.

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

We have decided to divide up the handbook by chapters to begin the revisions. There are some sections that have agency specific discussions and the subcommittee members working on those sections will need help from the EPAC Agency representatives, so a Career Development subcommittee member soliciting your help in making revisions may contact EPAC members.

We decided that we would want at least one overall editor of the handbook before we finalize the revisions. When the revisions are made, we will share the new handbook in draft with the EPAC.

Our next subcommittee meeting is August 9 at 3:00 EDT. Call in information is the same.

4. Emergency Preparedness: CAPT Sven Rodenbeck reported the following.

The Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee did not meet this month. This was

our normally scheduled break from our monthly meeting schedule.

As a reminder, engineers who want to remain active with the Commissioned Corps Readiness Force (CCRF) must complete the new training and medical requirements by the end of this year. Please see the CCRF web site for details (http://oep.osophs.dhhs.gov/ccrf/).

The Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee will meet on August 2, 2001, from 3:00 to 4:30 PM EDT via conference call. Please contact CAPT Sven Rodenbeck (Srodenbeck@cdc.gov) if you want to be added to the Subcommittee distribution list.

5. Information: CAPT Gene Sullenger reported the following.

The subcommittee did not meet this month.

A. Engineer Database on the Web

The individual records have been updated. When the automated update version is activated, please review your personal information and subcommittee list. Any corrections should be forwarded to CAPT Sullenger at cgs@cdrh.fda.gov.

6. Mentoring: Mr. William Blair, for Mr. Mitch Williams, reported the following.

The subcommittee met July 10.

A. Mentoring Team Advisors

Most of the numerous team applications resulting from the leadership seminar have been completed, but some have not due to a lack of advisors. The request for mentoring team advisors is repeated. Please contact Mr. Williams at william7@niehs.nih.gov or Mr. Blair at wb97c@nih.gov if you are interested.

B. Mentoring Handbook

The handbook is still being revised. Please contact Mr. Williams at william7@niehs.nih.gov or Mr. Blair at wb97c@nih.gov if you have comments.

The next meeting of the Mentoring Subcommittee is scheduled for Tuesday, August 7, at 11:00 am EDT.

7. Recruiting and Retention: There was no report.

8. Rules: CDR Michael Coene reported the following.

The subcommittee met in July.

A. EPAC 2003 Chairperson

Nominations for the 2002 Chair-Elect are ongoing. Nominations should be forwarded to CDR Coene at msc@cdrh.fda.gov.

B. By-laws The subcommittee is currently reviewing the final draft of the revisions.

C. EPAC Alternates

Please review your alternate listing on the website listed below for accuracy. www.usphsengineers.org/EPAC/memberlist2001.htm

If you have not designated an alternate, the form is listed as Attachment C under EPAC at www.usphsengineers.org/toc.htm. The completed form should be forwarded to CAPT Chadwick at kevin.chadwick@mail.ihs.gov.

ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at approximately 2:14 p.m. EDT.

EPAC MEETING PARTICIPATION:

Participants: (Members in bold, with alternates attending matched by number to the members absent):

Mr. Michael Adjodha (FDA), LCDR Meredith Bond (EPA), CAPT Kevin Chadwick (IHS), CDR Michael Coene (FDA), CAPT Jose Cuzme (IHS), LCDR Patrick Craney (IHS, ex-officio), Ms. Lisa Hayes (ATSDR), Mr. Kyung Kim (NIH), CAPT Crispin Kinney (IHS, ex-officio), Mr. Brian Kong (NIH), CDR Louis Lightner (HRSA), CAPT Kenneth Martinez (CDC), CDR Kathy Poneleit (FDA), CAPT Sven Rodenbeck (ATSDR), LT Hilda Scharen (OEP, ex-officio), CAPT Gene Sullenger (FDA), LCDR Nathan Tatum (ATSDR, ex-officio), CDR Maurice West (ATSDR),

Members Absent:

1. LT Sean Boyd (FDA, ex-officio), CDR Marylouise Ganaway (DCP, ex-officio), CDR Jo Ann Griffith (EPA, ex-officio), LCDR Scott Helgeson (IHS), 2. LT Jennifer Martin (CDC), CAPT Ronald L. Mickelsen (CDC), LCDR Denman Ondelacy (IHS), Mr. Matthew Vietmeier (CDC), 3. Mr. F. Mitchell Williams (NIH), RADM Robert Williams (ATSDR, ex-officio).

GUESTS:

1. LCDR John Longstaff, IHS

2. CAPT Joe Cocalis & Mr. Mark Hoover, CDC

3. Mr. William Blair, NIH

LCDR Mick Cote, HRSA