Chicago Tribune (CT) - SATURDAY, May 27, 1995 Edition: SOUTHWEST SPORTS FINAL Section: NEWS Page: 5 Word Count: 354
Trisha Gura, Tribune Staff Writer
Drugs then could be designed to thwart HIV action. Immunity-boosting vaccines would emerge. Such breakthroughs might extend to other viruses, such as those that cause hepatitis, herpes and even the common cold-until all cease to exist except in laboratory freezers.
A dream? Certainly, for now.
But it is one that Argonne National Laboratory officials hope to see come true as a new management contract between the federal government and the University of Chicago was signed this week to help Argonne research projects run more productively.
"We're building strong business principles into performing national laboratory research," said David Goldman, deputy manager of the Chicago office of the U.S. Department of Energy, Argonne's owner and main funder. "This is the first contract of its kind."
Argonne, near Lemont, has been managed by the U. of C. since 1946, when government planners first decided that such a laboratory would be better served by a private contractor. In 1995, that meant working with an estimated $600 million budget.
The contract was renewed every five years. But the DOE decided last year to postpone renewal to investigate revamping management practices in light of that department's uncertain future.
"We believe the contract will put people on their toes," Goldman said. "If the contractor is made responsible for managing badly, then the incentive will be there to be more careful."
Using a series of evaluation criteria-some that can be measured by numbers and another portion that is based on the judgment of a panel of expert scientists-the DOE will also financially reward university managers based on performance.
That money will go into a research fund at the U. of C. to sponsor other collaborative efforts between university and outside researchers. And the university believes earning those dollars will not be difficult.
"Based on the past performance of Argonne scientists, we won't be shortchanged," said Jonathan Kleinbard, a spokesman for the U. of C. "Our fate is in their hands, but we are confident that they will produce excellent work."
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