The Advanced Light Source — one of the world's brightest sources of ultraviolet and soft x-ray beams — will maintain its position at the cutting edge of soft x-ray science thanks to $11.3 million in funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. "This funding will help us reach our long-term goal of renewing the ALS, on an accelerated schedule," said ALS director Roger Falcone. "To accommodate our users, we need to provide a state-of-the-art x-ray beam for each of our instruments. Users come here because of our excellent science and facilities, and it needs to remain the best place for them to do their research." More>
Deputy Secretary of the Department of Energy Daniel Poneman (on left with ALS Director Roger Falcone) visited the Lab on Wednesday to learn more about the research that takes place here. During his visit he toured Joint BioEnergy Institute, Old Town, the Advance Light Source, the Energy Efficiency Building Model (Bldg. 25), and the Molecular Foundry. He also listened to presentations on the Lab's strategic initiatives and solar-to-fuels and climate change research.
Faces at the Lab: Dancing Researcher Relishes Two-Step, Fox Trot, Samba, Swing Meet Ronnen Levinson, with the Heat Island Group in the Environmental Energy Technologies Division. He is a leading expert on the creation and application of solar-reflective materials that reduce the solar heat gain of buildings, pavements and vehicles. Though Levinson works hard to try and to cool down the earth's climate, his passion for ballroom dancing is hot, hot, hot. From Foxtrot, Two-Step and Waltz to West Coast Swing and Samba, Levinson cuts the rug nearly every day of the week, including instruction for the Lab's Dance Club every Monday at noon in the Building 76 recreation room. Go here to watch a video of Levinson discussing how he got started dancing, his training, dance "genetics," and his thoughts on reality dance shows. The video also includes Levinson and his partner peforming several ballroom styles. 
[Science] Thirty-five years ago in Berkeley, California, two young physicists named Steven Chu and John Holdren were present at the birth of a campaign to curb Americans' appetite for energy. They saw their colleague Arthur Rosenfeld (pictured) abandon a successful career in particle physics and set up a new research division at Berkeley Lab devoted to energy efficiency. Then-Governor Jerry Brown and state regulatory agencies adopted Rosenfeld's ideas with astonishing speed. California canceled planned nuclear power plants, passed pathbreaking efficiency standards for refrigerators and buildings, and ordered electric utilities to spend money persuading their customers to use less power. More>
People: EETD Staff Develop Criteria for $20 Million Energy Challenge Iain Walker and others in the Environmental Energy Technologies Division helped the Siebel Foundation develop the criteria for its Energy Free Home Challenge, which comes with a $20 million global incentive prize. The Challenge is a competition to create a new generation of systems and technologies for practical homes that realize a net-zero, non-renewable energy footprint without increasing the cost of ownership. It is "open to everyone everywhere — university teams to community college teams, corporations to non-profit organizations, community groups to handymen and hobbyists."
To accommodate the move of the Superconducting Magnet Cabling Machine from Building 52 to Building 77A tomorrow, Glaser road will be closed between Buildings 77 and 77A, and there will be lane changes to Segre Road between Buildings 52 and 53. Drivers and pedestrians are asked to observe all traffic controls and signs. For more information call Brian Taylor x7809 or David McPherson x4869.
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