Idaho Falls Regional Airport Director Len Nelson, who announced Monday he will be retiring in August. Nelson has held the job since 2008.

The city of Idaho Falls is looking for a new airport director to replace Len Nelson, who announced Monday that he is retiring in August.

Nelson, 64, has managed Idaho Falls Regional Airport since 2008, when he came from Pocatello, where he had managed the airport there for 20 years. He began his career with Western Airlines.

Whoever takes the reins will have a lot on their plate. The third largest airport in the state, behind Boise's Gowen Field and Hailey's Friedman Memorial, Idaho Falls Regional Airport supports 1,269 jobs and a $31.5 million payroll, according to the 2010 Idaho Airport System Plan put out by the Idaho Division of Aeronautics. It accounts for an annual economic impact of more than $103 million.

The city of Idaho Falls pays approximately $2.5 million a year to keep the airport running. It receives another $2 million to $2.5 million from the federal government for improvements. In a 20-year projection from 2007, the Idaho Division of Aeronautics estimated that the total number of emplanements would rise from 168,503 to 297,400.

Nelson said regional airports like Idaho Falls' face new regulations all the time. "Any time there's a crash anywhere, the whole air system in this country reverberates," he said. "They want our runways scraped down to the bare pavement all the time. Costs are getting higher and higher. Then you add sercurity. Every week we have a new rule. An airport like Los Angeles can take it in stride, but any increase in cost to us is a real big issue."

Here is a link to the job posting: http://www.idahofallsidaho.gov/city/city-departments/human-resources/jobs/current-jobs.html

Nukes on the menu for breakfast, lunch this Friday

Jeff Sayer

Idaho Commerce Department Director Jeff Sayer will be the guest speaker Friday morning at the Partnership for Science and Technology's "Up and Atom" breakfast.
In addition to his Commerce Department duties, Sayer is chairman of the Governor’s Leadership in Nuclear Energy (LINE) Commission, which is touring the Idaho National Laboratory and U.S. Department of Energy-Idaho site today and Thursday.

The commission was created by Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter and is charged with making recommendations on policies and actions concerning INL and the broader nuclear industry in the state.

John Kotek

On the tour, commission members are scheduled to visit the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project, Naval Reactors Facility, Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center, Advanced Test Reactor, TREAT Facility, and Materials and Fuels Complex.

The commission has meetings scheduled for June 22 and Aug. 10 in Boise, Sept. 21 in Idaho Falls and Oct. 19 in Moscow.

Reservations for Friday's breakfast, 7:30 to 9 a.m. at the Idaho Falls Red Lion, may be made by calling Lane Allgood, 313-4166.

Another commission member, John Kotek of the Gallatin Group, will be speaking Friday at 12:30 p.m. to the Idaho Falls City Club, on Nuclear Waste Management and the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future. For more information, visit this link: http://ifcityclub.com/index.html.

Looking for a road trip? Try St. George this Sunday, for a solar eclipse

I wrote about this in January, but now that the moment is at hand I thought it was worth posting again. On the heels of the "Super Moon," we are now within driving distance of a solar eclipse this Sunday.

In fact, St. George seems like the sweet spot. Solar eclipses don’t happen very often, and when they do they’re usually over the ocean or someplace far from home.

While a solar eclipse occurs when the moon comes between the Sun and the Earth and casts a shadow. An annular eclipse is a solar eclipse, but because the moon is at the far part of its eliptical orbit around the Earth it appears smaller in the sky and a ring of light from the sun shines around it.

If you go to northern Nevada, it ought to be in mid-afternoon. By the time it reaches southern Utah, the sun will be low toward the horizon, which ought to produce are remarable effect and some spectacular pictures.

After Sunday, the next solar eclipse in North America will be Aug. 21, 2017,  and guess what? The path will run right over central and eastern Idaho. Looking at the map, I've come to the conclusion that either Redfish Lake or Menan Butte will be the best places to see it. Mark your calendars. You read it here.

This is what an annular eclipse looks like.

 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47416237/ns/technology_and_science-space/

UI receives $2.56 million in nuclear research grants

The United States Department of Energy has awarded $2.56 million in new research and development projects to the University of Idaho, the largest amount awarded to any single institution. In addition to the three grants, DOE's Nuclear Energy University Programs division also awarded UI a three-year graduate fellowship.  
 
The money comes from $47 million awarded by NEUP nationwide, for scholarships, fellowships, research grants and university research reactor upgrades. The purpose is to support nuclear research and development and train a new generation of nuclear expertise at 46 colleges and universities.
 
“The NEUP research grants awarded to the University of Idaho will support cutting edge research that will ensure the continued generation of safe and reliable nuclear energy," said Robert Smith, associate vice president and CEO for University of Idaho-Idaho Falls Center and associate director of the Center for Advanced Energy Studies. "(The) awards show a continuing return on Idaho’s investment in the University of Idaho and the Center for Advanced Energy Studies,” .
 
At the University of Idaho-Idaho Falls Center, the projects were awarded to three scientists:

Supathorn Phongikaroon, principal investigator on a Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy project that aims to measure and analyze concentrations of dissolved used nuclear fuel in high temperature ionic liquid. This process could help reduce the risk of nuclear material proliferation and develop safeguarding technology. Total award: $820,000
 
Akira Tokuhiro, principal investigator, and Milos Manic and Vivek Utgikar, co-principal investigators on a hybrid energy conversion system that can be applied to next generation nuclear power plants linked to other renewable energy sources. Hybrid energy systems combine baseload power, such as nuclear, with renewable energy sources such as wind or solar, offering efficient and reliable energy sources for energy security. Total award: $877,000.
 
Vivek Utgikar, principal investigator on a project to develop of intelligent control systems for next generation nuclear reactor systems, which will use reactor heat directly in processes such as synthetic fuel production. Utgikar's project is to develop mathematical equations that describe the steady state and transient behavior of the system composed of the nuclear reactor and intermediate heat exchanger transferring the heat to the chemical process. Control strategy based on these equations will be devised to maintain the operation and enhance the safety of the system. Total amount: $869,997.

In addition, Richard Skifton was awarded a $50,000 annual graduate fellowship for the next three years. Skifton, who is currently completing a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering, will use the funds to support his doctoral studies at the University of Idaho.

https://inlportal.inl.gov/portal/server.pt/community/neup_home/600

The future of air service in Idaho

Many cities Idaho Falls' size would envy the air service the city enjoys. But the trends in regional air travel -- bigger planes and longer flights -- are making it more challenging to maintain regular air service between Idaho Falls and Boise.

The Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce is planning a summit Tuesday on the future of air service in Idaho. The chamber is pushing for the re-establishment of routes that have included Boise in the past, and possibly creating new ones.

The keynote speaker will be aviation futurist Michael Boyd, president of the Evergreen, Colo.-based consulting firm Boyd Group International. Boyd will give "a blunt assessment of Boise's position and tell us what other cities are doing to keep and attract air service," the chamber said in a press release.

Other speakers will include new Boise Airport Director Rebecca Hupp and state Rep. Wendy Jaquet of the Sun Valley/Ketchum area, who advocates for commercial air service to and from Friedman Memorial Airport in Hailey.

I'd like to think someone from Idaho Falls going to this meeting. I know there are plenty of people who would like to see the return of regular air service between here and Boise. Until 2010, we had Horizon Air. In 2011, Seaport Air made a stab at the route, but didn't last six months.

The irony is that the trends driving regional air service -- bigger jets and longer routes -- are the same thing that have made the Idaho Falls-Boise route hard to sustain.

Here a digest of an article I wrote for the Idaho Business Review, which ran May 4:

In the early 2000s, the average size of a regional commercial airplane was 37 seats. Today, it's 55, and those seats have to be paid for, said Jack Penning of Portland, Ore., director of market analysis for Sixel Consulting. What is making the flight between Idaho Falls and San Francisco possible is the same thing that is making inland regional routes harder to sustain. "Smaller regional markets have been squeezed out because of a lack of appropriate aircraft," Penning said.

What would be ideal for an Idaho Falls-Boise route would be a plane like the 19-seat Beechcraft 1900 turboprops Silver Airways uses on its routes in Montana. Idaho Falls Regional Airport Manager Len Nelson said Silver is one of three small carriers he is trying to woo. But he and Penning, with whom he works closely, know the challenges.

"Airlines are reluctant to move craft away from established routes," Penning said. "You've got to convince them you've got something that will be viable for them."

In a 20-year projection from 2007, the Idaho Division of Aeronautics estimated that Idaho Falls' total number of emplanements would  rise from 168,503 to 297,400.

Despite the number of people that opt to drive to Salt Lake City or Boise (one reason Seaport cited for abandoning the route) Idaho Falls' isolation still works in its favor. A study by Sixell Consulting estimated there are 294,557 people within 60 minutes of Idaho Falls. Within two hours' drive time, that number expands to 665,359.

And then there is the  number of people traveling on government business, mainly connected to the Idaho National Laboratory.

"We have a lot of government people who fly out of here," Nelson said. "We've never really measured it, but on a 50-seat airplane I would estimate the people who work for the government or government contractors make up 25 or 30 percent."

Without the federal government and the Idaho National Laboratory, airport would be a lot smaller. Likewise, the business travel helps Idaho Falls get what it wants. "If they call up Delta Airlines and say, 'We need this,' Delta is going to pay attention," Nelson said.

A case in point: SkyWest's Delta Connection began sending 76-seat Canadair RJ 700s into Idaho Falls on May 2. The planes have first-class cabins, something Idaho Falls hasn't seen since Delta stopped its 737s in 1997.

SkyWest, which operates both the Delta Connection to Salt Lake City and United Express flights between Idaho Falls, Denver and San Francisco, has brought RJ 900s into service, freeing up the RJ 700s for other routes. Right now, the only RJ 700 that comes to Idaho Falls arrives late at night and leaves early in the morning, but if those flights are full more could be coming, Nelson said.

There are tremendous challenges for airports the size of Idaho Falls Regional. Nelson said the airport hired three new staffers in 2011 to monitor the runway surface. "They want our runways scraped down to the bare pavement all the time. Costs are getting higher and higher. Then you add sercurity. Every week we have a new rule. An airport like Los Angeles can take it in stride, but any increase in cost to us is a real big issue," he said.

Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/05/09/2109247/boise-chamber-of-commerce-to-hold.html#storylink=cpy