June
1, 2001
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June
1, 2001 |
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2001: A Summer Energy Odyssey
2001: A Summer Energy OdysseyBy Lynn Yarris
As Benson's announcement made clear, the Laboratory is taking action to ensure a reliable power supply for the safe continuation of Laboratory research programs over the coming summer months. "Recognizing the considerable damage and cost to the Laboratory and many of its scientific programs that would result from electrical power interruptions, we are pursuing several options to avoid or reduce those impacts," Benson said. "This is our number one priority." The success of the Lab's efforts to prevent or minimize electrical power disruptions this summer will require the full cooperation of all employees. "We need everyone at the Laboratory to help by turning off unnecessary lighting, turning off office computers when not in use, curtailing the use of non-essential electrical appliances and bringing new options for conservation and efficiency to our attention," Benson says. Energy conservation is not a new concept at this Laboratory, which has won awards in the past for boosting efficiency while reducing energy use. (See sidebar, Page 4.) However, the stakes are about to be raised to a higher level. Last month, the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) issued an order for state utility companies to include all "transmission level" customers in its "rotating outage program" - the official term for "rolling blackouts." PG&E has indicated that it intends to change Berkeley Lab's status from an "essential-use" to a transmission-level customer. Should this happen, Berkeley Lab would be subject to rolling blackouts even though we purchase our power from the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), not directly from PG&E. At this time, the California Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO), the non-profit corporation that controls the state's electrical power grid, is predicting there will be more than a dozen statewide rolling blackouts, each lasting about two hours, between June and September. Other predictions warn that the state could see as many as 700 hours of rolling blackouts this summer. According to Doug Lockhart, head of Berkeley Lab's In-House Energy Management Program, if the Laboratory were to lose its exemption and no mitigating actions are taken, "We would experience power disruptions this summer and next summer." The cost to the Lab in lost time and equipment damage would be a minimum $700,000 per rolling blackout, Lockhart says, and that does not take into consideration the cost of lost research. Should the Laboratory be officially informed of a change in its CPUC classification, we will first ask DOE to appeal the decision. The entire appeal and response process could take at least 45 days, during which time the Laboratory would retain its current exemption from rolling blackouts. Given that the CPUC is now defining essential-use customers as those involved with public safety, health, communication and transportation, the Laboratory is busy exploring options to cope with a non-exempt status.
Preventing rolling blackouts One option that looks especially promising is for Berkeley Lab to sign on with CPUC's Optional Binding Mandatory Curtailment (OBMC) program. OBMC participants are exempt from total power shutoffs but must reduce the load on their circuit by 5, 10, or 15 percent for the entire period of every rolling blackout. Since Berkeley Lab's Monday-through-Friday load generally averages about 11.5 megawatts, with a peak load of 13 megawatts (one megawatt is enough electricity to power 1,000 homes), this would mean a reduction of between 0.60 and 1.95 megawatts. To compensate for a reduction of that magnitude, the Laboratory is considering the purchase of a 2 megawatt diesel generator that would synchronize its power cycles with those of the statewide grid. "OBMC participation in combination with this new generator would protect the Laboratory from electrical power disruption and at the same time help reduce the burden on others," says Benson. Says Facilities Manager Robert Camper, "With this generator in place, in the case of a rolling blackout that included the Lab, no one here would notice a thing. We'd switch on the generator and then (proportionately) reduce our load on the state grid." The 2 megawatt generator, which is about the size of one of the Lab's smaller trailer offices, would most likely be housed behind Bldg. 64 where it could be connected to the switching station there. The total cost to purchase and install this generator along with fuel tanks, catalytic converter, synchronization equipment, and a sound attenuation cover would be about $1 million. Operating costs are estimated at $120,000 per year based on 320 hours of operation. "The acquisition and operation of this generator would be dependent upon a permit from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and approved NEPA/CEQA (National Environmental Policy Act and California Environmental Quality Act) documents," says Camper, who is confident the Laboratory can win all the necessary approvals and have the generator up and running by mid-summer. An alternative would be to subscribe to the OBMC program and develop a "sequential facility shutdown" plan to achieve the required load reduction. This is the least desirable of the OBMC options, Camper says, because it would mean significant disruptions in Laboratory services. If none of these actions prove fruitful and the Laboratory is forced to cope with a rolling blackout, the latest word from Cal-ISO is that we can expect to receive a warning 30 minutes in advance, although Governor Gray Davis is asking for a one-hour advance notice. Cal-ISO has also announced it will provide a daily power forecast 24 hours in advance so Californians can plan for blackouts. In the event of blackouts Under this two-tiered warning system, Cal-ISO will issue a "power watch" when it is likely the state's electrical power grid will reach either a Stage 1 alert, meaning the system is within 7 percent of running out of power, or a Stage 2 alert, meaning the system is within 5 percent of running out of power. A "power warning" will be issued when there is at least a 50-percent chance of reaching a Stage 3 alert, meaning the system is within 1.5 percent of collapsing. Should Cal-ISO determine that rolling blackouts are necessary to prevent grid failure, it will notify the utilities and require them to "drop load" - cut electricity use. PG&E divides its 4.5 million customers into 14 blocks that are defined by its network of circuits rather than by geography. Customers sharing a circuit with essential-use customers are not subject to rolling blackouts, which is why some Laboratory sites off the Hill will continue to remain sheltered from rolling blackouts even if the Lab loses its current status. For example, the computers of NERSC that are now housed on the first floor of the new Oakland Science Facility share a circuit with BART. On the other hand, facilities in Donner and Calvin laboratories are on the same circuits as the UC Berkeley campus, which has already received a letter from PG&E saying it will lose its exemption from rolling blackouts. "If the campus goes down, Donner and Calvin labs will go down, too," says Camper. In the case of a rolling blackout affecting Berkeley Lab, employees will be notified over the public address system, via e-mail and through their building managers. Computers and other sensitive electronic equipment should be shut down and unplugged to prevent damage from potential power surges when electricity is restored. Employees will not be automatically dismissed and should remain at work for their normal hours unless instructed to do otherwise by the appropriate authorities. Desk phones will continue to work, as will the emergency phones in the elevators. The Laboratory does have approximately 30 standby generators in place that can sustain a combined load of about 2.0 megawatts, so that fire, medical, security and other essential services will remain in operation. Says Emergency and Security Manager Don Bell, "Our Master Emergency Plan is designed to ensure that the Laboratory's emergency resources are in maximum readiness before, during, and after any emergency, whether it's a fire, an earthquake, or a power blackout." There's an old adage that says 'You don't know what you've got till it's gone!' When it comes to electrical power, Berkeley Lab is doing all it can to avoid testing the truth of this adage.
Berkeley Lab Out Front in Energy SavingsIn 1985, Berkeley Lab launched a major energy-savings campaign through its In-House Energy Management Program (IHEM) in the Facilities Department. As a result of this effort, the Lab now realizes an annual saving in energy costs of approximately 35 percent compared to what the bill would have been without this program.In recognition of this yeoman effort, the Laboratory has won 37 awards for outstanding achievement in the field of energy efficiency from the National Performance Review, the Federal Interagency Energy Policy Council, the Department of Energy Federal Energy Management Program, the Association of Energy Engineers, and Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E). "IHEM met its energy-savings objectives by performing studies to identify energy-efficiency retrofit projects, managing the retrofit projects that were found to be cost-effective, coordinating energy-efficient designs of new buildings and remodels, instituting an electrical energy recharge system, and developing an energy awareness program," says Facilities' Doug Lockhart, who has served as IHEM's chief engineer since 1992. He adds, "Most of the credit must go to my predecessor, Dale Sartor, and to the dedicated IHEM staff."
In addition to savings in energy, which surpassed the 30 percent federal energy-use reduction goals that were supposed to be reached by 2005, IHEM's retrofitting projects also decreased pollution, improved worker productivity, saved money on equipment maintenance, and helped demonstrate the value of energy efficient technologies. IHEM's numerous retrofits have spanned a broad array of energy efficient technologies, including lighting, equipment upgrades and replacements, and the installation of variable-speed drives and control systems. IHEM has been especially aggressive in adopting cutting-edge energy-efficient lighting technologies. "IHEM standardized the Lab on T-8 fluorescent lighting and installed it throughout the Lab when it was still an emerging technology," says Lockhart. "In a retrofit of emergency exit signs, IHEM adopted LED signs that are up to three times as efficient as their incandescent counterparts." Now IHEM will be working with Stores to make available to Lab employees the latest high-performance, energy-efficient table lamp designed by Michael Siminovitch and his group in the Environmental Energy Technologies Division. At full power, this two-lamp fluorescent system matches the combined luminous output of a 300-watt halogen lamp and a 150-watt, incandescent table lamp - while using only a quarter of the energy (see the March 9 issue of Currents). IHEM has identified and completed nearly all the retrofit projects at the Lab with a payback period of under 10 years. Lockhart's group is currently working on a response to President Bush's directive issued earlier this month calling for even further energy reductions. The problem is that their past successes make finding new reductions a real challenge.
New Oakland Scientific Facility DedicatedBy Ron Kolb
The Oakland Scientific Facility (OSF), a gleaming four-story structure a stone's throw from Lake Merritt and the 19th Street BART station downtown, played host on May 24 to a gathering of Laboratory partners in this new venture that includes the home of the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC). About 75 guests assembled in the building's lobby, resplendent with colorful posters describing the many scientific directions of Laboratory research, and heard a series of tributes from those who contributed to and stand to gain from the facility's development. Decker noted that the computing-based work that will flow for years from the research will pay substantial dividends to the city of Oakland, industry partners, the DOE, the Laboratory, and the nation. "The necessary ingredients [are here] to ensure that NERSC will continue to play a key role in advancing the frontiers of science through high-performance computing," he said. Mayor Brown, making a brief stop in his busy day to welcome the Laboratory to his city, waxed philosophical as he noted that the building, and the Laboratory's presence, represented "a boldness of creativity" that encourages risk-taking, characteristics not unlike those he has infused into his own community. "Oakland is a civic center of vitality," he said, "and the city is here to be with you and to support your endeavor." Also speaking were Peter Ungaro, a vice president for high performance computing at IBM; James Payne, senior vice president for government systems at Qwest Communications; Peter Wang, Chairman and President of Encinal Broadway, the building's owner; and Jud King, provost and senior vice president for the University of California. Bill McCurdy, associate laboratory director for Computing Sciences, led the machine room tour that followed, pointing to the new IBM RS6000/SP as "a tool that is our future, the way we will understand our world."
The Oakland Scientific Facility at 415 20th Street, designed by international architectural firm KMD of San Francisco, is on the site of a former Wells Fargo Bank. It provides 16,000 square feet of computer area, with an additional 4,000 square feet to be built out over the next two years. The site was selected and leased in August 1999. Encinal Broadway performed extensive retrofitting on the building. It was stripped down to its metal frame, then seismically reinforced and rebuilt with state-of-the-art facilities and systems for the exacting needs of a national computing center. NERSC moved its main systems and employees into the facility last October. In January, NERSC installed its new 2,528-processor IBM RS/6000 SP supercomputer, which is currently undergoing acceptance testing. The facility also houses a 696-pro-cessor Cray T3E supercomputer, three Cray SV1 machines, and two cluster systems - the 278-processor Parallel Distributed Systems Facility for physics research and the new 160-processor IBM cluster. Researchers using NERSC computers archive their data in the High Performance Storage System (HPSS), which has capacity of 1.3 petabytes (a quadrillion bytes). The cabling connection at the dedication was simulated, but the real thing happened this week when the supercomputer center linked to ESnet, DOE's Energy Sciences Network which connects thousands of researchers at national labs, universities and research organizations nationwide. Qwest Communications will provide performance levels up to a terabit (one million megabits/ second) network by the year 2005 - 500 times the highest speed available in the industry today. Funded by DOE, ESnet operates a backbone network connecting more than 30 major research sites. The entire building is 27,000 square feet in size, with floors three and four slated to be occupied by employees from UC's Office of the President. OSF boasts the latest in energy efficiency technologies. The office space consumes 32 percent less power than federal baselines with a variable-volume air handling system, light-sensitive window glass coatings, and high-efficiency lighting with automatic controls. The computer room's variable-speed chillers, pumps, fans, and electrical equipment use 60 percent less cooling energy than conventional designs. Estimated total reduction in utility demand equals the energy required to power 225 homes. Construction was completed by Turner Construction of Emeryville. Following the dedication, about 60 Lab employees arrived for brief tours of the facility. A CD-ROM featuring a virtual tour of the OSF, produced by the Technical and Electronic Information Department and Photo Services, was handed out.
Secretary Abraham On OSF DedicationExcerpts from a letter sent by Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham to Dear Dr. Shank, On this occasion of the dedication of the Oakland Scientific Facility, I offer my congratulations to the Laboratory for providing to the nation a remarkable scientific resource. The National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center is the first supercomputer center to support a nationwide user base, and has served as a model for those that followed. During its 26-year history, NERSC pioneered many of the supercomputing practices taken for granted today. The number of users - now more than 2,400 - and their level of satisfaction continue to grow. With the completion of the computer upgrade this summer, NERSC will be at the leading edge of worldwide computing centers devoted to scientific research in an open environment. NERSC will also play an important role in the Department's program of Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing, a five-year effort to develop the scientific computing software and hardware infrastructure needed to take advantage of terascale computers. Enabled by such developments, as well as working at NERSC, researchers will be able to solve challenging scientific problems at a level of accuracy and detail never before achieved. I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the NERSC staff on making the Center the success that it is today. Sincerely, Spencer Abraham
Director Shank to Give State of Lab AddressBerkeley Lab Director Charles Shank will present his annual State of the Laboratory address on Monday, June 11, at noon in the Building 50 auditorium. The Director will review the scientific and operational highlights from the past year and reflect upon his vision for the future of the Laboratory. All employees are invited.
Washington ReportSecretary Looks At Efficiency R&DEnergy Secretary Spencer Abraham has begun the task of implementing the White House's National Energy Policy recommendations by ordering a review of DOE's energy efficiency R&D programs. The National Energy Policy Development group, led by Vice President Cheney, has recommended a review of the current funding and historic performance of these programs. (See Currents, May 18, p. 2.)"Secretary Abraham will propose appropriate funding of those [energy efficiency] research and development programs that are found to be performance-based and are modeled as public-private partnerships," a DOE-spokesperson told the publication Inside Energy. The spokesperson also said the review would be used in developing the FY-03 budget request. The Secretary has set a July 10 deadline for the initial phase of the review, with the final phase to be completed by Sept. 1. Cheney Remains Interested in EnergyVice President Cheney's role as chair of the White House energy task force is over, but the Vice President has told reporters he will maintain an energy office in the White House for the time being."We don't want our report just to go out there and gather dust and never be heard from again," Cheney said. "We want to hear back from each of the agencies and departments." Cheney said Spencer Abraham "will play a major role as the Secretary of Energy," but he also said that DOE is just one of several agencies with a piece of the energy policy pie. "Energy is one of those things that really cuts all across agencies and departments." Cheney said. "So each of them will have responsibilities in their own areas. And in those areas where we've tasked Cabinet members to undertake reviews and come back with recommendations, we give them deadlines to come back and report back to the task force itself." The Vice President added that he does not plan to maintain a lasting energy office in the White House. "I'm not a big believer in permanent task forces," he said. "My job, in part, is to get out of work here, to get it passed on to the departments and agencies as quickly as possible." Megamerger Looms for Science PublishingThe future of scientific publishing could be greatly impacted by an announcement from the U.S. Justice Department that it will not challenge the $4.45 billion acquisition of U.S. science publisher Harcourt General by the Anglo-Dutch science publishing giant Reed Elsevier. Research librarians had asked regulators to block the deal, which will give Elsevier control of more than 1,500 scientific journals, saying it will drive up prices. The Association of Research Libraries in Washington, D.C., which represents 120 of the largest research collections in North America, expressed disappointment with the decision. The merger must still be approved by regulatory agencies in the United Kingdom.—Lynn Yarris
Touchstone Rewards Excellence in Communications
New Management Team at LivermoreC. Bruce Tarter, the director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, has named a new deputy director and six new associate directors to join that laboratory's senior management team. The appointments have been confirmed by the UC Regents and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).Assuming the position of deputy director for strategic operations, in which he will serve as the principal point of contact for the NNSA, is Michael Anastasio, a 21-year veteran of LLNL. Cheng-kong Chou was named associate director for energy and environment; William Goldstein director for physics and advanced technologies; Dona L. Crawford is the new associate director for computations; Dennis Fisher will lead the Safety, Security and Environmental Protection Directorate; Janet Tulk is associate director for administration; and J. Steve Hunt is the new associate director for laboratory services. LLNL announced it will also soon fill the position of associate director for biology and biotechnology research, and is going to begin a search for an associate director to head Defense and Nuclear Technologies. In addition, Lee Younker was named associate deputy director for science and technology. "The appointment of these positions represents a new era for Lawrence Livermore Lab," said Tarter. "I look forward to working closely with our new management team as our lab addresses the opportunities of the future."
UC, UPTE Reach Tentative Agreement
Approximately 200 Berkeley Lab
research support professionals were affected by a tentative agreement reached
between the University of California and the University Professional and
Technical Employees (UPTE) union. The University has approved the tentative
agreement, and union ratification is expected to take place between June
4 and 15. The Lab negotiated a separate wage agreement for FY 2001, so wages
in this agreement apply only to FY 2002 for Lab employees.
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Carlos Bustamante of Physical Biosciences (at keyboard), along with Jan Liphardt (left) and Ignacio Tinoco are members of the experimental team that successfully conducted the first folding and unfolding of RNA strands. Photo by Roy Kaltschmidt |
RNA - ribonucleic acid - is the workhorse of the genetic world, transcribing the coded instructions of DNA and assembling amino acids into proteins. What enables RNA molecules to carry out their many biological tasks is the ability of their nucleotide strands (or helices) to fold themselves into complex three-dimensional structures. Learning about the forces that drive and shape this folding - by unfolding RNA molecules - is key to designing drugs that can enhance or inhibit the performance of a specific task. For example, retroviruses such as HIV are nothing more than protein-coated packets of RNA molecules.
"Traditionally, scientists have tried to unfold RNA by temperature melting or by denaturing the molecules with chemicals," says Carlos Bustamante, a member of the experimental team, who holds a joint appointment with PBD and UC Berkeley and is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator.
"The problem with those approaches is that they were measuring massive numbers of molecules at a time and averaging over this vast population. Add to that the problem that every molecule might take a different pathway to unfolding."
Says team member Ignacio Tinoco, "By pulling on the ends of an RNA molecule, we are unfolding it more like it may happen in the cell. As we learn about the different paths for unfolding and refolding RNA molecules we will also learn about transient RNA species that may be good drug targets themselves."
Adds Jan Liphardt, another team member, "This is the first study in which the energetics of a three-dimensional RNA structure were investigated under the physiological conditions of temperature and ionic strength."
Like Bustamante, Tinoco and Lip-hardt also hold joint appointments with PBD and UCB. These three were joined by UCB researchers Bibiana Onoa and Steven Smith as co-authors on a paper published in the April 27, 2001 issue of Science on "Reversible Unfolding of Single RNA Molecules by Mechanical Force." This work was done in part through UC Berkeley's Health Sciences Initiative, which sponsors collaborative research to address major health issues.
In their Science paper, the research team describes how they were able to unfold and refold single molecules of select RNA structure using a unique force-measuring "optical tweezers" setup that was designed and built in Bustamante's laboratory. In this setup, an RNA molecule is tethered between two micron-sized polystyrene beads in the middle of a chamber, one bead attached to the tip of a piezoelectric actuator and the other anchored by a laser beam. While the laser beam trapped and held one end of the molecule, the piezoelectric actuator pulled on the other end, causing the molecule to be stretched out to the point where it unfolded. The research team measured both the force required to unfold the molecule and the changing length of the molecule as it was stretched.
Says Bustamante, "This system eliminates both the problems of averaging large numbers of molecules and the multiple reaction pathways because when we are pulling, we are following a single molecule unfolding along a particular pathway."
Because the major structural units or domains that make up RNA molecules are relatively independent, it's possible to synthesize different types of domains and pull on each to understand its distinctive characteristics. The three types of RNA domains examined in this study were a folded "hairpin," one of the most simple and common secondary RNA domains; a "helix junction," another common but more complicated secondary domain; and a molecule that forms a tertiary RNA domain, a compact "bulge" in which several secondary structures interact.
Both the hairpin and helix junction domains exhibited a phenomenon called "hopping." This occurs when molecules held at a constant force sufficient to allow transitions between the folded and unfolded states begin to hop back and forth between these two states. From that hopping behavior, the Berkeley researchers were able to measure the forces required to unfold the molecules, plus their rates of unfolding and refolding and the energy expended during the process. They found that the unfolding forces coincided with the refolding forces.
"This means the process can be carried out at equilibrium," says Bustamante. "All the mechanical work we do to pull the molecule is going to just break the bonds in the molecule that maintain the folding."
The RNA domain with the bulge displayed an unfolding phenomenon called "ripping." This occurs when the molecule partially unfolds and then pauses. Only upon a slight increase in the pulling force will the molecule abruptly unfold the rest of the way.
"When you start looking at even more complex domains, you start seeing different pathways, with similar parts of the molecule unfolding at different forces," Bustamante says.
The scientists also investigated the folding characteristics of RNA domains in the presence of magnesium ions, which are known to be necessary for RNA to carry out its biological functions. They found that when an RNA molecule achieved its three-dimensional structure in the presence of magnesium it became much more difficult to unfold.
Says Tinoco, "I was surprised to learn just how important magnesium ions are to the unfolding of RNA molecules. We found that the main effect is on the kinetics of unfolding rather than on the energy needed to unfold the RNA."
Ultimately, the Berkeley researchers, through these single molecule mechanical unfolding and refolding experiments, would like to be able to provide biochemists with an energy function curve that would identify the energy barriers required to hold a given RNA molecule together and the force needed to unfold it.
Explains Liphardt, "Once you know this energy function curve, you will know (for a given RNA molecule) something about how your molecule folds, its most stable conformation, and the alternative conformations it can explore at a given temperature. You'll also know something about how it might deform when it interacts with other molecules, such as enzymes or drugs. If you're a biochemist trying to design an RNA molecule with a particular folding pathway and final conformation this information would help."
Members of the research team say their results so far are merely a hint of the wealth of data on RNA folding that their experimental technique can provide.
By Paul Preuss
For the past several months, Berkeley Lab's Earth Sciences Division and NERSC have played host to three young scientists from Brazil who are honing climate modeling skills to apply to the Amazon Basin.The Amazon and its thousand tributaries drain over two million square miles of forest, home to hundreds of thousands of plant species, millions of insect species, and thousands of fish, bird and mammal species - many unique and still unknown.
Illegal exploitation by loggers, miners and settlers exacts an accelerating toll. In 1990 the Brazilian government established the System for the Vigilance of the Amazon (SIVAM) to monitor crime and environmental change using radars and other sensors. More data on the region will be available than ever before.
Climate modeling techniques from Berkeley Lab will help monitor the rich plant and animal life in the Amazon river area. |
Caarem Studzinski and Ricardo da Silva, doctoral candidates, and Giampaolo Pellegrino, recently awarded his Ph.D., are sponsored by AmazonTech, the U.S. arm of the Brazilian Atech foundation, charged with SIVAM monitoring. The three have worked with Norman Miller, lead scientist of ESD's hydroclimate and impacts research, and Chris Ding, a NERSC staff scientist specializing in computational climate projects. Miller and Ding helped Studzinski, da Silva, and Pellegrino adjust their research to various scales of effective climate modeling.
Studzinski studied the global climate effects of deforestation, using data such as El Niño records to compare scenarios, including the worst case, total deforestation throughout the Basin. Even a coarse -grained model with minimum assumptions suggests that Amazon deforestation would have devastating effects, such as drought in the populous regions of the country.
Da Silva optimized codes for parallel processing of regional atmosphere and land surface models by removing unnecessary communications among processors, and Pellegrino studied hydrologic modeling on the scale of a single watershed, where landslide and flood prediction becomes practical.
The Brazilian scientists will apply what they learn at Berkeley Lab to the development of specific applications, including technology transfer, for models on the scale of a continent to less than a hundred meters, over time scales that vary from a century or more to a few seasons or a few hours. They have spent a only few months at Berkeley Lab, but the job ahead will keep them busy for years.
By Ron Kolb
For years, Berkeley Lab researchers have contributed to the nation's efforts to use energy more efficiently. That has included new technologies that have advanced lighting and control systems, "smart" windows, and computer software to address energy use in buildings. In recent years they added the Internet to help consumers save energy. And last week the Lab launched two new websites designed to address California's current energy woes.
The 20% Solution Website |
Environmental Energy Technologies Division Director Mark Levine met the press at a Department of Energy news briefing on May 23 to introduce the "20% Solution" website to the public. Word spread quickly in broadcast reports and newspaper articles, and the site received 40,000 hits from nearly 5,000 users on its first official day of operation.
The site (http://savepower.lbl.gov) identifies home-based energy-efficiency measures and their predicted savings, shooting for the targeted 20 percent that the state has said would result in a 20 percent cost rebate on Californians' summer utility bills. Users identify their region, the size of their house or apartment, and indicate whether or not they have air conditioning. The site then suggests 10 to 20 ways to save energy.
"This tool is crucial to help the state get through the summer," Levine said. "We in California are being held over a barrel, and the only way to get out of it is conservation."
Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham was impressed. "I am encouraged that the Department's national laboratories can play a substantial role in reducing the demand for energy in California," he said. "I urge consumers to look seriously at 'The 20% Solution' web site and take advantage of its recommendations."
The 20/20 rebate program offers a 20 percent rebate on electricity bills from June through September 2001 for customers of Pacific Gas and Electric, San Diego Gas and Electric, and Southern California Edison who use at least 20 percent less electricity than they consumed in each of the four comparable months during 2000. (See http://www.flexyourpower.ca.gov/20-20_rebate_program.html.)
"The suggestions are best-practice measures for dwellings in California, tailored to the diverse climate zones in the state," says Jon Koomey, leader of the site's development team. "Their effectiveness at reducing energy use has been demonstrated both by analytical models and by the real experiences of researchers and builders in real homes."
Levine reflected his own experience of getting rid of a "clunker" of an old refrigerator (potential savings: 6%) and replacing his incandescent lights with compact fluorescents (potential 10%). People can do much more if they're willing to accept some inconvenience and cost.
Levine also unveiled a second website (http://energycrisis.lbl.gov) which shows in real time the minute-by-minute change in the total demand for electricity in California and in the supply available to meet that demand.
"There is no other place that this information is available," he said. "You want to know this because you ought to know when you are approaching a critical supply time, and then do everything you can to conserve. This could be of enormous benefit to the state."
The site will also help consumers better understand the sources of the state's energy shortage - for example, how much capacity is offline at a given time, how much power needs to be imported from out of state to make up for the shortfall, and how supply and demand change throughout the day.
The site builds on information provided by the California Independent System Operator, the California Energy Commission, and other sources. Alan Meier, the site's main developer, says his team will add more information and resources in the coming weeks. Lab researchers Katie Coughlin and Robert van Buskirk also worked on the site.
Anyone interested in customized suggestions on how to retrofit and remodel for energy efficiency can also consult two other sites developed earlier at Berkeley Lab: the Home Energy Saver (http://HomeEnergySaver.lbl.gov) and the Home Improvement Tool (http://HomeImprovementTool.lbl.gov).
June 8-9
Berkeley Lab
The two-day event, to be held in the Bldg. 50 conference room, will focus on low-dose particle biology, fundamental radiobiology, and emerging issues in hadron therapy. The workshop will be followed by a bay cruise and a banquet.
For more information, including agenda, speakers, hotel information and other logistics, as well as links to a Tobias obituary, see http://www.lbl.gov/~tobias/
The workshop is being organized by William T. Chu ([email protected]) and Ellie Blakely ([email protected]).
Cornelius Anthony "Toby" Tobias, known as the father of hadron therapy for his pioneering work in radiation biology, died of cancer on May 2, 2000 at the age of 81. Born in Budapest, Hungary, Tobias came to UC Berkeley in 1939 on a Hungarian-American fellowship. In 1955, he teamed with John H. Lawrence at the Donner Laboratory - the birthplace of nuclear medicine. His distinguished career at Berkeley spanned 45 years of research and teaching.
His research findings provided the foundation for heavy-ion radiotherapy to treat human cancer. He was honored for his contributions to cellular radiation biology in 1963 when he received the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Memorial Award from the US Department of Energy (DOE).
Tobias retired from Berkeley Lab in 1987. In addition to his work here, he was instrumental in the development of hadron treatment facilities in other countries, including Sweden, Russia, Japan, and Germany.
Do you know where your Social Security deductions go, or how and when you can access those dollars? To help employees make informed decision about retirement strategies, the Benefits Department is organizing a one-hour seminar with the local Social Security office on June 12 at noon in the Building 50 auditorium.
Topics will include the components of the Social Security deductions, such as US OASDI (Old Age Survivor Disability Insurance) and US MED (Medicare). For these two programs employees pay 7.65 percent of their gross salary up to $76,200. The Lab makes a matching contribution for a total contribution towards Social Security and Medicare of 15.3 percent of each employee's gross salary.
For more information contact the Benefits Call Center at X6403.
The LBNL Macintosh Users' Group will meet on Wednesday, June 13, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Bldg. 90-3148. The agenda this month will focus on "Cross Platform Networking with Novell NetWare," to be presented by Nat Stoddard of Berkeley Lab's Computer Help Desk. Topics will include obtaining a Novell account, obtaining and installing software for PCs and Macs, configuring the client, and saving and opening the files.
Beginning on June 20, a course on "Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Prevention" will be offered to Lab employees. Classes will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in Persevarence Hall (Bldg. 54) on June 20, July 6, July 20, Aug. 2, Aug. 16, Aug. 30, Sept. 13, Sept. 27, Oct. 11, Oct. 25, Nov. 8. Jane Baynes of Human Resources will present.
In addition, Rus Ritters will offer a course on "Managing Employee Conduct and Performance for Supervisors and Managers" from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on June 25 and Sept. 26, also in Perseverance Hall.
Health Services will conduct its annual free skin cancer screening clinic on Friday, June 8 from 8 a.m. to noon. Health Services physicians and dermatologist Elizabeth Ring-rose will do the screening.
All employees who believe they may be at risk for skin cancer are encouraged to call Health Services at X6266 for an appointment.
The Employees Activities Association will sell tickets for the Oakland Athletics vs Los Angeles Dodgers game (Saturday, July 14, 1:05 p.m.) every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 12 to 1 p.m. in the cafeterial lobby. The price is $10 for field level tickets. For more information contact Lisa Cordova at X5521.
Berkeley Lab's Surplus Chemical Exchange Program offers unused chemicals to Lab employees for use in research projects funded by the DOE. All chemical containers are sealed and have never been opened.
A complete list of chemicals can be found at http://www.lbl.gov/ehs/wastemin.
 |
A group of high school students and two of their teachers from a small rural Inupiat village in Northern Alaska were in for a very special treat last month - their first experience with science in action. The eight young people visiting Berkeley Lab are students of the daughter of Nancy Sallee of EH&S, who spent 22 years in Alaska, where she used to be a teacher herself.
Sallee initiated this special visit, which was organized by David Malone of Community Relations.
"Given the fact that these students live in an isolated village, don't have advanced science, and English is their second language, this was a unique opportunity for them, a once-in-a-lifetime experience," says Sallee. "They were very interested in the science, really enjoyed the ALS, and seemed to understand what was going on."
In addition to the Advanced Light Source, tour stops included the National Center for Electron Micro-scopy (NCEM), as well as the UC Berkeley campus. Patty Linden of Berkeley Lab served as tour guide for the high schoolers.
Sallee added that this exposure opened students' eyes to science and the potential of a future scientific career. For now, however, "they had a blast," she said. - Monica Friedlander
TRIPMOBILE
12 - 1 p.m., cafeteria parking lot
SHOEMOBILE
7:30 - 3:30, cafeteria parking lot
SKIN CANCER SCREENING CLINIC
8 a.m.-12 p.m., Call X6266
WEIGHT WATCHERS OPEN MEETING
12 - 1 p.m., Bldg. 29-109
STATE OF THE LAB
Noon., Bldg. 50 auditorium
SOCIAL SECURITY BROWNBAG
12 p.m., Bldg. 50 auditorium
Announcements for the General Calendar and Bulletin Board page may be
sent to [email protected]. Seminar & Lectures items may be mailed
to currents_ [email protected]. You may also fax items to X6641 or mail
them to Bldg. 65B. The deadline for the June 1 issue is
5 p.m. Monday, June 11.
CENTER FOR BEAM PHYSICS SEMINAR SERIES
Fringe Field Effects and Optimal Symplectification of
Maps
Speaker: Bela Erdelyi, Michigan State University
11 a.m., Bldg. 71, Albert Ghiorso Conference Room
LIFE SCIENCES DIVISION SEMINAR
Structure, Mesomorphic and Time-Resolved Studies
of Biological Liquid Crystals, Lipid Membranes, and Membrane Proteins
Using Synchrotron X-Radiation
Speaker: Martin Caffrey, Ohio State University
4 p.m., Bldg. 84, Room 318
JOINT COLLOQUIUM OF NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ACCELERATOR AND
FUSION RESEARCH DIVISIONS
Underground Science: A Next Generation Deep Laboratory
Speaker: Wick Haxton, Washington University
11 a.m., Bldg. 50 auditorium
CENTER FOR BEAM PHYSICS SEMINAR SERIES
The NASA Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Project
Speaker: Marc Millis, NASA-Glenn
10:30 a.m., Bldg. 71, Albert Ghiorso Conference Room
Refreshments at 10:20 a.m.
LIFE SCIENCES DIVISION SEMINAR
Invasion of the Trophoblasts
Speaker: Susan Fisher, UC San Francisco
4 p.m., Bldg. 84, Room 318
ENVIRONMENTAL ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES DIVISION SEMINAR
Losing Weight to Save Lives: A Review of the Role
of Automobile Weight and Size in Traffic Fatalities
Speaker: Marc Ross, University of Michigan
Noon, Bldg. 90, Room 3148
|
Date |
Course |
Time |
Building |
|
|
6/5 |
EHS 260 |
Basic Electrical Awareness |
9:00 - 10:30 |
66 aud. |
|
6/5 |
EHS 256 |
Lockout / Tagout (LO/TO) |
10:30 - 12:00 |
66 aud. |
|
6/5 |
EHS 154 |
Building Emergency Team Training |
9:00 - 11:00 |
48-109 |
|
6/6 |
EHS 330 |
Lead Hazard Awareness |
6:00 - 7:00 |
76-212C |
|
6/6 |
EHS 116 |
First Aid |
8:30 - 12:30 |
48-109 |
|
6/6 |
EHS 348 |
Chemical Hygiene |
9:30 - 12:00 |
51-201 |
|
6/6 |
EHS 231 |
Compressed Gas Safety |
1:00 - 3:30 |
51-201 |
|
6/7 |
EHS 400 |
Radiation Protection: Fundamentals |
9:00 - 12:00 |
2-100B |
|
6/7 |
EHS 123 |
Adult CPR |
1:00 - 4:30 |
2-100B |
|
6/7 |
EHS 61 |
Ergo for Workstation Evaluator |
9:00 - 11:30 |
51-201 |
|
6/8 |
EHS 604 |
Hazardous Waste Generator |
9:30 - 11:15 |
51-201 |
|
6/8 |
EHS 622 |
Mixed/Radioactive Waste Generator |
11:15 - 12:00 |
.51-201 |
|
6/8 |
EHS 432 |
Radiation Protection: Lab Safety |
1:00 - 4:00 |
51-201 |
|
6/12 |
EHS 10 |
Introduction to EH&S at LBNL* |
8:30 - 10:15 |
50 aud |
|
6/12 |
EHS 348 |
Chemical Hygiene/Safety |
9:30 - 12:00 |
51-201 |
|
6/12 |
EHS 231 |
Compressed Gas Safety |
1:30 - 4:00 |
51-201 |
|
6/13 |
EHS 123 |
Adult CPR |
8:30 - 12:00 |
48-109 |
|
6/13 |
EHS 210 |
Hoist |
10:30 - 12:00 |
51-201 |
|
6/14 |
EHS 154 |
Building Emergency Team Training |
9:00 - 11:00 |
48-109 |
|
6/14 |
EHS 123 |
Adult CPR |
1:00 - 4:30 |
2-100B |
|
6/15 |
EHS 275 |
Confined Space Hazards |
9:00 - 11:00 |
51-201 |
|
6/15 |
EHS 330 |
Lead Hazard Awareness |
11:00 - 12:00 |
51-201 |
|
6/18 |
EHS 10 |
Introduction to EH&S at LBNL* |
10:30 - 12:00 |
50 aud |
|
6/18 |
EHS 256 |
Lockout/Tagout (LO/TO) |
1:00 - 2:30 |
51-201 |
|
6/19 |
EHS 60 |
Ergonomics for Computer Users |
9:30 - 11:00 |
51-201 |
|
6/19 |
EHS 739 |
Biosafety |
1:30 - 2:30 |
51-201 |
|
6/19 |
EHS 730 |
Medical/Biohazardous Waste |
2:30 - 3:30 |
51-201 |
|
6/20 |
EHS 135 |
Earthquake Safety |
6:00 - 7:30 |
48-109 |
|
6/20 |
EHS 530 |
Fire Extinguisher |
10:00 - 11:30 |
48-109 |
|
6/20 |
EHS 400 |
Radiation Protection- Fundamentals |
1:00 - 4:00 |
51-201 |
|
6/20 |
EHS 530 |
Fire Extinguisher |
3:00 - 4:30 |
48-109 |
|
6/21 |
EHS 432 |
Radiation Protection; Lab Safety |
9:00 - 12:00 |
51-201 |
|
6/26 |
EHS 260 |
Basic Electrical Hazard Awareness |
1:30 - 3:00 |
51-201 |
|
6/27 |
EHS 116 |
First Aid |
8:30 - 12:30 |
48-109 |
|
6/27 |
EHS 210 |
Hoist Training |
10:30 - 12:00 |
51-201 |
|
6/27 |
EHS 10 |
Introduction to EH&S at LBNL* |
1:00 - 2:30 |
50 aud |
|
6/27 |
EHS 135 |
Earthquake Safety |
1:00 - 3:00 |
48-109 |
|
6/28 |
EHS 604 |
Hazardous Waste Generators |
9:30 - 11:00 |
51-201 |
|
6/28 |
EHS 622 |
Radioactive/Mixed Waste Generators |
11:00 - 12:00 |
51-201 |
|
6/29 |
EHS 280 |
Laser Safety |
1:30 - 4:30 |
51-201 |
* No pre-registration required. Includes EHS 392/405. Please arrive at 8:15 for sign-in.
You may enroll via the web at http://www-ehs.lbl.gov/ehstraining/registration/. Preregistration is required for all courses except EHS 10 (Introduction to EH&S). Times and locations are subject to change. For an updated schedule see http://www-ehs.lbl.gov/schedule/.
AIM provides onsite PC computer courses to Lab employees. Classes are held in Bldg. 51L from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
|
Date |
Course |
Price |
|
6/8 |
HTML Programming Level II |
$225 |
|
6/14 |
Dreamweaver 3.0 Fundamentals |
$300 |
|
6/15 |
Excel 97 Advanced |
$150 |
|
6/26 |
Photoshop 5.5 Web Production |
$300 |
|
6/28 |
UNIX Advanced |
$300 |
|
7/16 |
Excel 97 Fundamentals |
$150 |
|
7/23 |
Word 97 Intermediate |
$150 |
|
7/25 |
Dreamweaver 3.0 Fundamentals |
$300 |
|
7/26 |
PowerPoint 97 Fundamentals |
$300 |
|
7/30 |
HTML Programming Level I |
$225 |
Class description and registration procedure are available at http://www.lbl.gov/Workplace/EDT/computers/PC_Classes.html. The courses are taught on PCs with Windows 98®. For users of a Mac 6.x series or an older Mac or PC version, the material covered in these courses will be applicable.
For more information contact Heather Pinto at [email protected].
'94 TOYOTA CAMRY LE 4 dr sedan auto, perfect mech cond, new tires, brakes, shocks, motor mount, just smogged, 143K mi, $6,000/bo, Jody, X7004
'94 NISSAN ALTIMA, 66K mi, ac, cass, new tires, great cond, $6,600, Loretta, 420-6979
'90 TOYOTA TERCEL EZ, 2 dr liftback, 114K mi, extra clean, dark blue metallic color, $1,800/ bo, ideal around town, Bass, X6895
'89 PLYMOUTH GRAND VOYAGER LE Turbo, burg, 120K mi, exc cond, new paint, ac, pwr lock, $4,000/bo, Mike, 799-5684
'86 HONDA ACCORD, 111K mi, exc cond, mech & body, champagne beige metallic color, $2,500, Janet, 528-5325
'84 OLDSMOBILE DELTA 88, exc run cond, new tires, new engine parts, 108K mi, int fair, $2,500/bo, Donna, X7822
ALBANY, 2 bdrm house off So-lano Ave, bth, kitch, lvg rm with fireplace, near schools, shops, restaurants and theaters, avail 6/01, $2200/month, first and last mo rent + $1,100 sec dep, pref non-smoker and no pets, Mike, 633-9898, [email protected]
BERKELEY HILLS, 2 rooms in 4 bdrm house, 5 blks to campus & shuttle to Lab, share w/ 2 visiting scholars from Lab, $635/mo for master bdrm, avail now, $650/mo for rm w/ sep bth, avail 7/15, Igor, 548-1287
BERKELEY, several furn rms avail in comfortable 6-bdrm rooming house starting 6/1 & 7/1, incl house phone, DSL line, w/d, common liv rm, deck in lge garden, $700-$850/mo + partial util, Anushka, 486-8153, anushka@ calalum.org
BERKELEY, studio, sep kitchen, partially furn, 1 blk from campus, $955/mo, $1660 refundable sec & key dep, avail 7/1, Winnie, [email protected]
NORTH BERKELEY 1 bdrm/2 floor garden cottage, approx 500 sq ft, view of garden, skylights, tile floors, very light, sunny, clean, small upstairs bedroom w/ view of hills, priv entrance, off street parking, close to bus & BART, walk to Solano/Monterey mrkt, fully furn, 1 yr lease pref but not required, $l350/mo + util, first & last + $700 dep, no smoking indoors, pets neg, Janet 527-0210, [email protected]
NORTH BERKELEY, furn lge sunny 1 bdrm apt, walk to stores, BART, public transportation & campus, many amenities, all comfort, priv garden, gated carport, avail year-round by week/ month, Denyse, 848-1830
ROCKRIDGE AREA, wonderful, quiet neighborhd, 3 sep rooms for rent in very nice house, one rm avail now, priv bth, 695$/mo, the other 2 avail starting 6/15 and 7/8, share bth, $540 /mo and $570 /mo; view of bay and SF, priv phone line, grand piano, short walk to LBNL shuttle, BART & College Ave shops, 2 mi to campus, easy access to Hwy 24 & Bay Bridge, no kitch/laundry but landlady pays util, Mrs Wilcox, 655-2534, Maria, X4135
RICHMOND ANNEX, bright, furn room in 2 bdrm house to sublet, 20 min by car to Lab, 15 min walk to BART, nice view of SF, share kitchen, bath, liv/dining rms, yards, non-smoker, avail 7/1, $800/mo incl util (neg), must like animals; Sonia, X5944, 528-7923, [email protected]
SOUTH BERKELEY, live/work 1+ room, shared bath & entr, no cooking, near So. Berk business district, BART/bus, 15 min walk to campus, $750/mo, first & last + $50 dep, month-to-month w/ 30 day notice, Amy, X5044, 843-6023 betw 6-8 am/pm
WEST BERKELEY, furn, lge bdrm in home, near pub trans, 15 min to campus, friendly neighborhd, share w/ prof woman & dog, avail July & August, Ted, X4203, Cloe, 848-4104
SUMMER UNDERGRAD seeks single room in house or apt 6/1 - 8/3, $400 price range, need rm for sleeping purposes only, will not be there on weekends, quiet, clean, responsible, Viet, X5795, 569-8537, [email protected]
VISITING SCHOLAR seeks furn 1 bdrm apt or shared housing for July - Aug, pref near campus or public trans, Mike, X6792, [email protected]
VISITING SCIENTIST from France w/ wife & 2 daughters seeks housing 7/12 - 7/31, [email protected]
BART TICKETS: 4 BART tickets, $48 per ticket, total value of $192, will sell for $40/ea or all 4 for $150, Deborah, X5372, 317-7423
BOAT & MOTOR, inflatable runabout 9'x4' w/ wooden floor & transom made by Sevylor for Sears, heavy PVC w/ 3 sep inflatable flotation chambers, lightweight motor (16#), air-cooled 2.7HP cruise & carry 2 cycle outboard, all in great cond, $600/bo, Bob, (925) 376-2211
BUNK BED w/ desk & dresser attached as one unit, ladder incl, exc cond, $200, Janet, 528-5325
iMAC 350MHZ COMPUTER, 64 Ram, 6 G, Internet-ready, blueberry color, CD-ROM, buit-in 15" display, 56K modem, ethernet networking, lots of software, built- in speakers, keyboard, mouse, great cond, $625, Monica, X2248, 601-5757
OAK TABLE & 8 CHAIRS, good cond, $400, Frank, X4636, (925) 253-1735
PIANO, Estey upright grand, nice tone, needs refinishing, $800; love seat, double, chrome frame w/ burg sling seats & matching ottomans, $60; microwave, $60; bed frame, double, white pine w/ tilt-up head section for reading, $80; HP designjet 200 24" b&w plotter, windows compatible, takes cut sheets, exc cond, $800 incl bond & vellum D-size paper, Peter, X4574
RESCUE DOGS need homes: 3 yr old Neopolitan Mastiff female, 18 mo old Saint Bernard female; both are spayed, have shots & are microchipped, fee, Joan, (925) 672-1591
SF OPERA, La Traviata, Sat 6/23, 2 balc tickets (4th row), $60/ea, Paolo, X6717
WINDSURFING GEAR, Mike's Lab Course race 25"wide, made 12/98, great shape, $625; NP Race Pro masts 430, 460, 490 100% carbon, $150-175; Tectonics fins 48-54 cm, $125-180, Vlad, X2912, 849-1579
GOLFING VACATION: 11/28 - 12/5 in Acapulco, 8 days/7 nights, all inclusive: flight, hotel room, food, drinks, golfing; must rent golf cart, stay at the Fairmont Resort's Pierre Marques Hotel, 3 pools, tennis, beaches, music & dancing, $1,178 per person, double occup, $200 dep by 6/15, $500 after 6/15, James, X6078, (925) 676-6605 for brochure/info
KIHEI, MAUI, 1 bdrm condo, across the street from Kam 2 beach (best beach on Maui), fully equipped, view ocean/Haleakela, $400/wk, Fred or Shar 981-2073 days, 523-4150 eves
PARIS, FRANCE, near Eiffel Tower, furn elegant sunny 2 bdrm apt, avail all year by week/month, Denyse, 848-1830
SALTSPRING ISLAND BC, Canada, 3 bdrm house in 1 acre priv wood, ferry to Vancouver, Victoria, $800/wk, John, 849-1051
FOUND: child's car-seat strap covers, blue w/ pink trim, on Chamberlain Rd btwn 71 & 90, Nick, X6314
CAT, 7-8 yrs old, yellow/golden tabby, all shots, owner relocating, needs loving home, Janet, 528-5325
GHOSTWRITING TECHNICAL PAPERS, grad students will provide organization, prose, equations & figures for professional papers, esp useful for non-native English speakers, 1 week turn-around, avail starting 6/5, Heidi 495-2946, cell (530) 386-3286
Submissions must include name, affiliation, extension, and home phone number. Ads must be submitted in writing via e-mail ([email protected]), fax (X6641), or delivered/mailed to Bldg. 65B.
Ads run one week only unless resubmitted, and are repeated only as space permits. They may not be retracted once submitted for publication.
The deadline for the June 15 issue Thursday, June 7.
