January 28, 2002
A message to the Natural Sciences community:
I am pleased to report that work is continuing at a
rapid pace on recovery of Sinsheimer Labs following the devastating fire on Friday,
January 11. Crews from Belfor, the company hired to oversee clean-up and restoration
of the building, have been working 12 hours a day and up to 7 days a week to clean,
dry, and test building materials and equipment. Belfor's project manager at UCSC,
Chris Williamson, has worked cooperatively with faculty, researchers, and staff to
provide specific information, assure some degree of building access while work is
ongoing, and protect valuable research and equipment. The north wing and atrium
will be the first to reopen, probably within just a few weeks. Work in the south
wing, where damage was more extensive, has begun but will take longer to complete.
Vice Chancellor Tom Vani continues to personally oversee the most challenging aspects
of building repair and certification to reoccupy the building. The Directors of
EH&S, Physical Plant, Materiel Management, and many of their staff, along with
the campus's Risk Manager, are providing daily updates, consultation, and support
in various ways. Chair Ares and Chair Konopelski, along with their administrative
and technical staff, are helping all of us work toward resumption of our normal scholarly
and administrative lives.
Steve Hauskins is maintaining a web site to provide building status and access reports,
insurance claims information, etc., at http://orator.ucsc.edu.
I remain grateful to all of you who are working so effectively on behalf of the Division
of Natural Sciences.
Sincerely,
David S. Kliger, Dean
Division of Natural Sciences