[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 249 (Friday, December 27, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79079-79081]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-32776]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7431-2]


Science Advisory Board; Scientific and Technological Achievement 
Awards Review Panel; Request for Nominations

    1. Action: Notice; request for nominations to the Scientific and

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Technological Achievement Awards Review Panel of the Science Advisory 
Board of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
    2. Summary: The Science Advisory Board (SAB) of the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) was established to 
provide independent scientific and technical advice, consultation, and 
recommendations to the EPA Administrator on the technical basis for 
Agency positions and regulations. At the request of the EPA Office of 
Research and Development (ORD), the SAB is forming a Scientific and 
Technological Achievement Awards Review Panel (hereinafter, the 
``Panel'') of its Executive Committee to evaluate scientific and 
technological papers published in peer-reviewed journals and books by 
EPA authors and nominated for the FY2002 EPA Scientific and 
Technological Achievement Awards Program (STAA Program). The Scientific 
and Technological Achievement Awards--2003 Nomination Procedures and 
Guidelines can be found at the following Web site http://es.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/current/2003_staa_mem_attachments.pdf.
    The SAB is hereby soliciting nominations for this Panel, which will 
serve in this capacity for three years. The Panel will consider 
nominations in the areas of control systems and technology, ecological 
research, health effects research and human risk assessment, monitoring 
and measurement methods, transport and fate, review articles, risk 
management and ecosystem restoration, integrated risk assessment, 
social sciences, and environmental futures. These areas are described 
in more detail at the Web site identified in the above paragraph.
    The Science Advisory Board is a Federal advisory committee 
chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended 
(5 U.S.C. App.). The Panel will comply with the provisions of FACA and 
all appropriate SAB procedural policies, including the SAB process for 
panel formation described in the Overview of the Panel Formation 
Process at the Environmental Protection Agency Science Advisory Board, 
which can be found on the SAB's Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/ecm02003.pdf Meetings of this panel will be closed to the public 
because the discussion will involve professional judgements on the 
relative merits of various employees and their respective work. Such 
personnel issues, where disclosure of information of a personal nature 
would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, are 
protected from disclosure by section (c)(6) of the Government in the 
Sunshine Act, 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(6).
    3. Background: The mission of the United States Environmental 
Protection Agency is to protect public health and safeguard and improve 
the natural environment--the air, water and land upon which life 
depends. Achievement of this mission requires the application of sound 
science to the assessment of environmental problems and to the 
evaluation of possible solutions. The process of publishing EPA 
scientific findings in peer reviewed journals enhances the rigor of the 
science and the reputation of the Agency and its programs. The STAA 
Program is a long-standing partnership between the Agency and the EPA 
Science Advisory Board. For over two decades, Agency scientists and 
engineers have submitted nominated scientific and technological papers 
through an internal Agency review process managed by the Office of 
Research and Development (ORD) to ensure that the best are submitted to 
the SAB for evaluation in the awards process. The SAB convenes an 
experienced group of scientists and engineers who review and evaluate 
the nominations. The Panel then produces a set of award recommendations 
which ORD uses in preparing the actual awards. Once the Panel completes 
its deliberations, its report will be forwarded to the Executive 
Committee of the Science Advisory Board, which will review the Panel's 
report at a public meeting and reach a judgment concerning its 
transmittal to the Administrator.
    4. Nominator's Assessment of Expertise: For all nominations 
submitted to the EPA SAB, please indicate the specific areas of 
expertise the candidate could contribute in this upcoming review. The 
nominee should be a recognized, national-level expert able to review 
papers in one or more of the following areas:
    a. Control systems and technology,
    b. Ecological resarch,
    c. Health effects research and human risk assessment,
    d. Monitoring and measurement methods,
    e. Transport and fate,
    f. Risk management and ecosystem restoration,
    g. Integrated risk assessment,
    h. Social sciences, and
    i. Environmental futures.

    Experience reviewing articles for peer reviewed journals and/or 
service as an editor of a peer reviewed journal is highly desirable.
    Please note that, to be considered, nominees must be available for 
a three-day face-to-face meeting. The meeting will be held on one of 
the three following sets of dates: June 30-July 2, July 22-24, or 
August 5-7. Nominees will be considered who are available on one or 
more of these three suites of dates.
    5. Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations: Any interested 
person or organization may nominate qualified individuals for 
membership on the Panel. Nominations should be submitted in electronic 
format and must include the information listed below. To be considered, 
all nominations must include: (a) A current biography, curriculum vitae 
(C.V.) or resume, which provides the nominee's background, experience 
and qualifications for this panel; and (b) a brief biographical sketch 
(``biosketch''). The biosketch should be no longer than one page and 
contain the following information for the nominee: current professional 
affiliations and positions held; service as an editor of peer reviewed 
journal(s), if any; research interests; leadership positions in 
national associations or professional publications or other significant 
distinctions; advanced degrees, including from which institutions these 
were granted; and sources of recent grant and/or other contract 
support.
    Please provide nominations in the following manner:
    (a) Send the nomination by E-mail to the EPA's Science Advisory 
Board at: [email protected].
    (b) Use one E-mail per person being nominated.
    (c) Please use ``STAA PANEL'' in the subject field, followed by the 
last name of the candidate you are nominating. (For example, STAA 
PANEL: Smith).
    (d) Attach supporting information (i.e., resume, biosketch, etc.) 
in either MS Word or WordPerfect files formats ending in ``.doc'' or 
``.wpd,'' respectively.
    (e) In a separate file, please provide the following information in 
the order shown:

For the Person or Organization Making the Nomination:
First Name:
Last Name:
Person Title (e.g., Dr., Mr., Ms., etc.)
Organization Title:
E-mail Address:
Mailing Address:
Work Phone:
Work Fax:

Name of Nominee (if Nomination is not a self-nomination):
First Name:
Last Name:
Person Title (e.g., Dr., Mr., Ms., etc.)

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Professional Title:
Department:
School or Unit:
University or Organization:
Mailing Address:
Work Phone:
Fax Work Phone:
E-mail Address:
Web site for C.V. (if one exists):
Expertise (Identify the Nominee's specific qualifying expertise and 
relate it to the review areas identified in Section 4 of this Federal 
Register):

    Nominations should be submitted in electronic format as described 
above (and sent to [email protected]). Anyone who is unable to submit 
nominations in electronic format may send hard copies of the nomination 
paperwork to Ms. White. Ms. White can be reached by first class mail at 
EPA Science Advisory Board, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
(1400A), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; by 
overnight mail to Cubicle 6450Z, EPA Science Advisory Board, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave, NW., Washington, DC 20004; or via fax at: (202) 501-
0582. Nominations should be submitted in time to arrive no later than 
January 31, 2003. Any questions should be directed to Ms. White either 
at [email protected] or via telephone at: (202) 564-4559.
    The EPA Science Advisory Board will generally not formally 
acknowledge or respond to nominations. From the nominees (termed the 
``Widecast''), SAB Staff will develop a smaller subset (known as the 
``Short List'') for more detailed consideration. Criteria used by the 
SAB Staff in developing this Short List are given at the end of the 
following paragraph. The Short List will be posted on the SAB Web site 
at: http://www.epa.gov/sab, and will include, for each candidate, the 
nominee's name and their biosketch. Public comments will be accepted 
for 21 calendar days on the Short List. During this comment period, the 
public will have the opportunity to provide information, analysis or 
other documentation on nominees that the SAB Staff should consider in 
evaluating candidates for the Panel.
    For the EPA SAB, a balanced review panel is characterized by 
inclusion of candidates who possess the necessary knowledge, the 
relevant scientific perspectives (which, among other factors, can be 
influenced by work history and affiliation), and the collective breadth 
of experience to undertake the review. Public responses to the Short 
List candidates will be considered in the selection of the Panel, along 
with information provided by candidates and information gathered by EPA 
SAB Staff independently on the background of each candidate. Specific 
criteria to be used in evaluating an individual panelist include: (a) 
Scientific and/or technical expertise, knowledge, and experience 
(primary factors); (b) skills working in committees, subcommittees and 
advisory panels; (c) absence of financial conflicts of interest; (d) 
scientific credibility and impartiality; and (e) availability and 
willingness to serve.
    Short List candidates will also be required to fill-out the 
``Confidential Financial Disclosure Form for Special Government 
Employees Serving on Federal Advisory Committees at the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency'' (EPA Form 3110-48). This confidential 
form, which is used by EPA SAB Members and Consultants, allows 
Government officials to determine whether there is a statutory conflict 
between that person's public responsibilities (which includes 
membership on an EPA Federal advisory committee) and private interests 
and activities, or the appearance of a lack of impartiality, as defined 
by Federal regulation. The form may be viewed and downloaded from the 
following URL address: http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/epaform3110-48.pdf.
    7. General Information: The approved policy under which the EPA SAB 
selects review panels is described in a recent SAB document, EPA 
Science Advisory Board (SAB) Panel Formation Process: Immediate Steps 
to Improve Policies and Procedures--An SAB Commentary (EPA-SAB-EC-COM-
002-003), which can be found on the SAB's Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/ecm02003.pdf.
    Additional information concerning the EPA Science Advisory Board, 
including its structure, function, and composition, may be found on the 
EPA SAB Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab; and in the EPA Science 
Advisory Board FY2001 Annual Staff Report, which is available from the 
EPA SAB Publications Staff at phone: (202) 564-4533; via fax at: (202) 
501-0256; or on the SAB Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/annreport01.pdf.

    Dated: December 20, 2002.
A. Robert Flaak,
Acting Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 02-32776 Filed 12-26-02; 8:45 am]
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