The first of several trips to Berkeley Lab during the third season of the popular Bay Area science series QUEST airs tonight at 7:30 p.m. on KQED Channel 9 and KQED HD, Comcast 709. At the National Center for Electron Microscopy, QUEST viewers will see the “World’s Most Powerful Microscope,” the $27 million TEAM 0.5 whose resolution, half the width of a hydrogen atom, can create images of individual atoms. NCEM’s Uli Dahmen and Andy Minor were among the scientists interviewed during the QUEST TV production. Later today the entire episode will be posted on the QUEST website.
DOE Update: ATLAS Wins Energy Secretary’s Achievement AwardThe U.S. ATLAS and U.S. CMS detector construction projects have been named winners of the Department of Energy Secretary's Award for Achievement. DOE presents the awards to management teams that demonstrate significant results in completing projects within cost and schedule. Dozens of Berkeley Lab personnel from the Physics, Engineering and NERSC Divisions are members of the international ATLAS collaboration and, among other contributions, designed and built essential components of the giant experiment’s Pixel Detector System. Brookhaven Lab and Fermilab are the host laboratories for the two projects, respectively. More>
How should credit for a discovery be allocated among a team of researchers? How should a scientist respond if he discovers errors in a published analysis? And how can a researcher recognize when a conflict of interest could bias the results of a study she hopes to undertake? These and other questions are explored in the third edition of “On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research.” The report was developed by a committee lead by Berkeley Lab Molecular Foundry Director Carolyn Bertozzi. More>
The stimulus plan signed into law by President Obama included some good news for employees who take advantage of pre-tax transportation/vanpool benefits. Effective immediately, the monthly transit limit for commuter benefits participants has increased from $120 to $230 a month. The WageWorks Commuter Benefits Program allows commuters to order and pay for pretax transit passes online with automated payroll deduction. Transit tickets will be mailed to any address specified at the end of the month. Go here to enroll online, or call WageWorks customer service at (877) 924-3967. Enrollment deadline is 9 p.m. on the 10th of the month.
The Berkeley Lab Learning Institute (BLI) is hosting a new one-day course that will help scientific and operations employees improve their skills in building and leading teams. The class, “Skills and Tools for Leading Collaborative and Productive Teams,” takes place Wednesday, April 8, in Bldg. 62-203 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The course is free of charge. Go here for more on the class and instructor, and here to register.
Today at Berkeley Lab is produced by Public Affairs' Communications Department