Reports of Programs and Services 



75 



In our continuing effort to upgrade and modernize secu- 

 rity systems Throughout the Smithsonian, OPS continued to 

 work closely with the U.S. Army Engineering Support Cen- 

 ter, Hunrsville, Alabama. OPS complered the replacement of 

 the 20-year old Smithsonian Institution Proprietary Security 

 System for the National Air and Space Museum, the Hirsh- 

 horn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Arts and Industries 

 Building/Smithsonian Castle, and the Renwick Gallery. 

 OPS completed engineering designs for modern installations 

 in the National Museum of Natural History, the Smithson- 

 ian Tropical Research Institute, and OPS' Central Control 

 Center. Additionally, in FY 2000, OPS began engineering 

 designs for the Museum Supporr Cenrer, the National Mu- 

 seum of American History and the Quadrangle, which 

 includes the National Museum of African Art and the 

 Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. 



The National Conference on Cultural Property Protection 

 was held in Arlington, Virginia, from February 13 to 17, 

 2000. For over 20 years this self-supporting conference has 

 provided an opportunity for the diffusion of knowledge 

 among security, library, and administrative professionals. The 

 theme for the 2000 conference was "Year 2000 and Beyond: 

 Challenges and Opportunities." The conference attracted 153 

 participants from rhe United States, Canada, and abroad. 



Office of Fellowships and Grants 



Roberta W. Rubinoff, Director 



Support from the Office of Fellowships and Grants enhances 

 the quality, quantity, and diversity of research conducted 

 at the Smithsonian. Each year, nearly 800 students and 

 scholars come from universities, museums, and research in- 

 stitutes throughout the United States and abroad to use the 

 Institution's collections and facilities. The office manages 

 centralized comperirive internship and fellowship programs, 

 as well as competitive grant programs that support Smith- 

 sonian staff research. This office also administers all stipend 

 appointments offered by the Institution. 



Eighty-eight awards were offered to Graduate Students, 

 Predoctoral Students, and Postdoctoral and Senior Scholars 

 through rhe Smithsonian Fellowship Program. The individ- 

 uals conducred independent research in fields actively 

 pursued by the Institution, utilizing the collections and fa- 

 cilities. Through the office's minority internship programs 

 42 students came to study and participate in ongoing re- 

 search or orher museum-related activities. Twenty grants 

 were made rhrough the office's competitive grant programs 

 for Smithsonian staff. 



Participants in our programs ranged from distinguished 

 scholars and scientists to graduate and undergraduate stu- 

 dents. Karen Warkentin, for example, from the University of 

 Texas was a Smithsonian Institution Postdoctoral Fellow at 

 the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute with A. Stanley 

 Rand and Mary Jane Wesr-Eberhard. Her research analyzes 

 the adaptive timing of hatching red-eyed tree-frogs. This 



study contributes to knowledge of embryo behavioral ecology. 

 Maria Sprehn Malagon of the Universiry of New Mexico stud- 

 ied the Hispanic and pueblo potters of colonial New Mexico, 

 working at the National Museum of Natural History with 

 William Merrill, Anrhropologist. Ms. Malagon was a predoc- 

 toral fellow in the Latino Studies Fellowship Program, which 

 broadens and increases the body of Latino-related research. 



Under the Scholarly Studies Program, Janine Brown, Re- 

 productive Physiologist of the Department of Physiology at 

 the National Zoological Park is leading a project to investi- 

 gate ovarian dysfunction in captive Asian and African 

 elephants. Zoos currently have poor reproductive results in 

 breeding captive elephants. This research will increase the 

 understanding of elephant endocrinology, helping ro main- 

 taining genetic diversity. 



Office of General Counsel 



John E. Huerta, General Counsel 



The Office of the General Counsel (OGC) protects the legal 

 interests of the Smithsonian Institution. In carrying out that 

 mission, the OGC provides legal advise and counsel to the 

 Smithsonian Board of Regents, Secretary, Provost, Under 

 Secretary, and other managers on the administration of the 

 Institution; represents the Smithsonian in litigation and 

 other adversarial proceedings to which the Institution is a 

 party and before federal, state, and local government entities 

 on administrative matters; issues final determinations on ad- 

 ministrative tort and personal property claims against the 

 Smithsonian; and generally monitors developments in the 

 law for application to the Smithsonian programs. 



Office of Information Technology 

 Operations 



George Van Dyke, Director 



The Director of Information Technology Operations is re- 

 sponsible for planning and managing the implementation, 

 day-to-day operation, maintenance, IT security, and disaster 

 recovery of the Smithsonian's information technology infra- 

 structure including end-to-end network connectivity 

 operations and technical support services: Help Desk, office 

 automation, and desktop support services; the Smithsonian's 

 computer facilities; system and database software; and 

 Interner/Inrranet services. 



Office of Planning, Management 

 and Budget 



L. Carole Wharton, Director 



The Office of Planning, Management and Budget (OPMB) 

 assists the Secretary and Board of Regents in setting priori- 



