From Krasnow Advisory Board Member and Friend Bill Nitze….

——– Original Message ——–
Subject: Complexity Theory
Date: Thu, 08 Sep 2005 13:35:36 -0700
From: William Nitze

Jim:
I came across a classical passage that I thought might intrigue you.
You may have thought that complexity theory is a recent development, but
it arguably originated more than 2,500 years ago. Here is Gut
Davenport’s translation of Fragment 40 from Herakleitos of Ephesus:

“The most beautiful order of the world is still a random gathering of
things insignificant in themselves.”

I’ll be leaving town again this weekend for a quick work trip outside the US and then at the end of next week I’ll be headed to Woods Hole for my final stint of the year–two weeks. This time we’ll be making some fairly major decisions about the Journal–however, I’ll be available by telephone and email for any Krasnow issues that come up.

As I head off, I’d like to relate to you the general details of a very interesting meeting that I attended this morning: how to deal with the massive unintended consesquences of explosive growth at Mason. What I began to glean was that these issues (parking, magnetic fields etc. etc.) are the stuff of serious strategic planning….something I’m not sure we have engaged in enough, at least here at Krasnow.

One of my favorite books, Management of Research and Development Organizations, Managing the Unmanageable by Jain and Triandis (Wliey NY 1997) has a great chapter on strategic planning that I highly recommend. Here’s a concept that is in there that I think we might think about some more:
Strategy=Ends+Ways+Means

Where the ends are the objectives (What, Why? When), the ways are concepts (How, Where) and the means are of course the resources (with what? with whom?).

If we’re going to add a new program, what are the resources were going to use to pay for it?

You see where I’m going…

Jim

We’re going to be scheduling some big events over the next year. I don’t
have the exact dates, but I wanted to put these on your radar screens so
that you’ll be getting ready. First, we’ll have the groundbreaking for
the new building expansion. That’ll probably be sometime in late October
or early November. Following that we’ll have the ribbon-cutting for the
new MRI. I anticipate that in December. In January we’ll have the
scientific retreat, as usual and then we’ve begun the planning for an
international symposium to mark the opening of the new building.

Along the way, I believe there will be the usual workshops sponsored by
outside agencies and of course the Monday afternoon seminar series which
I hope everyone will attend–that’s at 4PM on Monday’s in the Krasnow
Seminar Room.

Jim

I bring your attention to a fantastic article on the movement to teach “intelligent design” as science–in the Chronical of Higher Education. It was authored by our own Jim Trefil, Harold Morowitz and Bob Hazen. Kudos!

Jim

As we head into Labor Day weekend here in Washington, the weather, as
if by some unseen clockwork, has taken a certain crispness and the sky a
much deeper shade of blue. For me it can’t help but remind me of that
Tuesday four years ago, when I woke up to such weather and went to
sleep in a much changed America. This weekend, we find ourselves as a
country similarly challenged: the flooding and despair from New
Orleans, particularly outside the Convention Center where many of us
have spent so much time, provokes among all of us in science a deep
seated need to do something useful, to be of help to others.

I have heard many stories of colleagues at Tulane and LSU medical
center–of experiments lost, of being trapped in labs, of homes lost
and friends also. While these are just a small vignette of the
suffering that is occurring on a much larger scale, it also brings the
pain closer to home. Imagine the Krasnow community in similar
circumstances….

I am particularly grateful for those who have joined with me in our own
Krasnow Red Cross Drive. And I salute the Krasnow support staff,
particularly Erin, for coordinating this. I know that individual PI’s
and post-doctoral fellows are making inquiries and extremely generous
offers to scientific colleagues from the region who are in distress.
This is Krasnow at its best .

As we relax on this last unofficial weekend of Summer 2005, let’s also
keep our thoughts on those who are less fortunate.

Jim

Keeping us all in the loop:

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Mike Herman
> Date: September 1, 2005 8:50:18 AM EDT
>
>
>
> Today is a big day for everyone at Krasnow. The design proposals
> for the new addition are due today. I am really excited because I
> think we are going to see some really interesting proposals. All
> proposals are due by 5:00 this evening. We will start looking at
> them tomorrow.
> We’ll talk soon.
>
> Mike
>
>

Jim

First of all, we are all terribly worried about our friends and
colleagues at Tulane and other Southern Universities that have been
affected by Hurricane Katrina. I urge everyone who can, to participate
in our Red Cross Krasnow fundraising drive for the victims of this
terrible disaster. This evening I was listening to the increasingly
desperate tone of a nurse at Charity Hospital as she described the
awful conditions under which she and her colleagues are practicing. We
must all do our best to help in this time of need. Our own Krasnow
family has strong connections to New Orleans. I urge all of you to
consider those ties and to do what you can to help.

Second, I am, as director of the doctoral program in neuroscience
program, extremely concerned about reports that our students are being
turned away from Mason graduate courses for reasons that are clearly
bureaucratic. This is not the vision I have for doctoral education and
I promise that I will do everything in my power to fix this type of
counter-productive barrier to our students. Please don’t hesitate to
contact me directly on these issues.

Jim

If I had my way, the food vending machines would be moved out of the Krasnow kitchen space. And I’ve been working with staff to come up with some creative place for them that would increase the amount of room for using the room the way it was designed–as a place for chatting and relaxing during the day.

However, there is another chronic problem with the kitchen. Some folks are not cleaning up after themselves. In a communal space such as this, this is unacceptable behavior. There should never be dirty flatware, utensils and the like in the sink–ever. There will always be dishwashing detergent and the drying rack. This is as much a public health concern as a matter of common courtesy.

Thanks,
Jim

Tomorrow we commence a new academic year at Krasnow. By my count, this
will make the 15th year of the Institute, the eighth since I became
director. As we begin anew, we can take pride in our community, which
is both on solid scientific and fiscal ground–even with a world of
uncertainty around us. None of this would be possible without all of
you: PI’s, staff, post-doctoral fellows and students. Let’s make this
year a banner one, for our science and also for the Institute.

Warmest wishes for a successful year,
Jim

So let’s turn to the question of PNAS–The Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences USA. Generally thought to occupy the
number 3 spot after Nature and Science as far as prestige goes
(although some argue for Neuron, Cell, Nature Neurosciences etc).

There is a dark urban myth about PNAS however: namely that
publication there isn’t adequately peer reviewed–that NAS members
publish their own material and that of their friends. Most disturbing
is the notion that *if* you publish there, you are undercutting your
own work.

This myth is not correct. It is based partly on the exclusivity of
the NAS membership, and the idea that the Academy’s “club” like
aspects apply also to its journal. It’s based partly on rumors that
no doubt have some of their basis in envy.

In fact, all submissions to PNAS undergo rigorous peer review. This
includes manuscripts submitted under all three tracks (http://
http://www.pnas.org/misc/iforc.shtml). And furthermore, all submissions–
even under track III from the membership of the NAS itself– are
reviewed by the editorial board:

“The Board may reject manuscripts without further review or may
subject manuscripts to review and reject those that do not meet the
standards of the journal. Manuscripts rejected by one member cannot
be resubmitted through another member. When revisions are requested
prior to final decision, revised papers must be received within three
months or they will be treated as new submissions.”

I strongly urge our faculty to consider submitting your work to PNAS
and would be happy to sit down individually to discuss strategies for
success.

Jim