Reports of the Museums and Research Institutes 



41 



cal biology, was on view at the Costa Rican National Mu- 

 seum in June 1999. 



STRI's majot administtative accomplishment in FY 1999 

 was the designation in 1998 of six ttansition committees inte- 

 gtated by 34 STRI employees to handle divetse aspects of the 

 changes in STRI's employment systems and administtation 

 procedures that were necessary to comply with the Panaman- 

 ian legislation when the Panama Canal Treaties ended on 

 December 31, 1999. The committees included a transitions 

 committee, procedures, policies and operations committee, 

 human resources committee, human relations committee, 

 communications committee, and evaluations committee. This 

 effort was directed by Leonor Motta, executive officer; An- 

 thony Coates, deputy director; and Monica Alvarado, 

 transition coordinator. Several activities for STRI employees 

 were organized by the Human Relations committee through 

 the year, which included a column on employee accomplish- 

 ments in the STRI newsletter, a series of talks on STRI work 

 and activities at Culebra Exhibits Center, Cerro Juan Diaz, 

 and a trip on the STRI research vessel, the R. V. Urracd. 



Aftet successfully leading the STRI transition process, 

 Leonor G. Motta retired on August 31 as STRI's executive 

 officer, after being at this position for 1 5 years. Natacha 

 Chandler was hired in July 1999 as STRI's new in-house 

 attorney. Eileen Jones, associate director for grants and ad- 

 ministration for the STRI development office in 

 Washington, D.C., retired in January 1999. One of STRI's 

 first staff scientists, Neal G. Smith, who had come to work 

 as a biologist for the Canal Zone Biological Area in 1963, 

 rented in December 1998 and was appointed scientist 

 emeritus in January 1999. Staff scientist Robin Fostet te- 

 signed to accept an endowed, full-time position at the Field 

 Museum in Chicago. He will continue affiliated as a re- 

 search associate, collaborating with STRI's Center for 

 Tropical Forest Science. I. Fang Sun, professor at Tunghai 

 University in Taiwan, was selected as the Asia Program 

 Coordinator for STRI's Center for Tropical Science. On Sep- 

 tember 30, 1999, STRI had 192 employees, who actively 

 contributed to its mission of conducting and facilitating 

 tropical research. 



