[New York Times] The Joint BioEnergy Institute, which encompasses the fourth floor of a high-tech office building here in a neighborhood of biotech companies, radiates a sleek ecological modernity: floorboards manufactured of recycled materials and laminated to look like bamboo, trendy office furniture and laboratories stocked with new equipment. But JBEI is financed by the Energy Department and under the purview of Berkeley Lab, directed by Energy Secretary nominee Steve Chu. His actions as Lab director, including the creation of JBEI, offer hints of how he might harness the 17 national laboratories to address climate and energy issues. More>
Special Event: Earth Sciences Lecture on ‘Genome Biology of Dehalococcoides’The Lab’s Earth Sciences Division will present a Distinguished Scientist Seminar on Friday at 10:30 a.m. in the Building 66 Auditorium. Alfred Spormann, with Stanford University, will discuss “Genome Biology of Dehalococcoides.” Microorganisms of this genus have been shown to contribute to the bioremediation of contaminated sites. Spormann is a professor in Stanford’s departments of Chemical Engineering, and Civil and Environmental Engineering. More>
HR Benefits: Health and Welfare 'To-Do' List for 2009Start out the New Year on a healthy note by making sure your health and welfare benefits are in order. Staff should check pay stubs for plan enrollments and deductions, review health plan ID cards for accuracy, submit outstanding 2008 flexible spending account claims, get a health assessment, submit life event changes, update records, consider enrolling in a tax-deferred retirement savings and a commuter savings plan, check out the monthly HR Benefits events calendar, and take charge of their health and well being. More>
Employee Activity: Take a Free Lab Yoga Class in JanuaryEmployees who have never taken an onsite yoga class with Katie Lewis can treat themselves to one free class in the month of January. Her class meets on Mondays at noon in Building 70-191. Lewis’s classes are appropriate for both beginning and experienced yoga practitioners. In addition to Lewis’s Monday class, the Lab’s Yoga Club offers sessions on Wednesday and Friday, same time and location. For more information, contact club president Rick Diamond (x4459).
The Berkeley Lab Institute still has licenses available to access thousands of online courses, skill briefs, and books in topic areas such as communications, career development, time management, and Microsoft Office, offered through SkillSoft. BLI has recommended Skillsoft curriculums for team leads and supervisors, and for those interested in project management and business writing fundamentals. A Skillsoft license is $100 per person. Go here for more information, or contact Karen Paris (x5122).
As part of the construction of the Student Athlete High Performance Center, sections of Gayley Road near Memorial Stadium will be reduced to one lane, and traffic will be managed by flaggers. The work should be completed by mid-January. Drivers and pedestrians in this area should use caution.
