With the recent warm temperatures in the Bay Area, it’s hard to imagine that 75 years ago this month, the slope below Blackberry Gate at the top of Hearst Ave. was transformed into a giant, 60-foot, snow-covered ski jump. Nearly 43,000 cubic feet of snow was trucked in for a competition between nationally known skiers on Jan. 14, 1934. The event was organized by the Auburn Ski Club to help promote winter sports in the state. More>
In The News: Material Detects, Removes Contaminants in Water[The Engineer] Berkeley Lab materials scientist Matt Francis and his colleagues have developed a hydrogel material that can detect and remove contaminants in water. The hydrogel shrinks as it absorbs heavy metal pollutants, signaling the presence of cadmium (pictured) and other toxic ions, even as it absorbs them from the contaminated water. Better yet, the hydrogel specifically targets and removes these toxic ions even from sources such as brackish water that are loaded with sodium, potassium and magnesium ions. More>
Special Event: BERC Hosts Symposium on ‘New Energy Landscape’The Berkeley Energy & Resources Collaborative (BERC) — of which Berkeley Lab is a member — is hosting a daylong gathering on campus that will explore “Bold Ideas for a New Energy Landscape.” The event takes place Monday, Feb. 23, at the MLK Jr. Student Union on Sproul Plaza. Among the topics to be discussed are decentralizing the grid, renewable energy financing, solar and nuclear power, and green buildings. More>
EH&S: New E-mail Notification for Required TrainingStarting today, a new e-mail notification will be sent out to remind staff about required training that they have never completed. This e-mail notification will go out twice a month on Tuesday mornings. The e-mails will stop when a person completes their training requirements. Go here to see your training profile, which will include any classes that you may need to complete.
[Mercury News] UC Davis is getting a $2.5 million endowment from oil giant Chevron Corp. for a chair to head energy efficiency research. The Chevron endowment is the latest gift by an oil company to a California university to study energy issues. UC Berkeley and Berkeley Lab in 2007 received a $500 million grant from another major oil company, BP. More>
