What could prove to be a significant breakthrough in the ultra-miniaturization of lasers has been achieved with the creation of a plasmonic microcavity based on the phenomenon of whispering galleries, where words spoken softly beneath a domed ceiling can be clearly heard on the opposite side of the chamber. More>
[Technology Review] Viruses that mimic supportive nerve tissue may someday help regenerate injured spinal cords. Genetically engineered viruses have the advantage of being self-replicating and self-assembling and can be made into complex tissue-like structures. Berkeley Lab physical bioscientists Seung-Wuk Lee and Anna Merzlyak are using scaffolds made of polymers to try to mimic the supportive matrix of real tissue. "Viruses are smart materials," says Lee. "Once you construct the genome, you can make billions of phages, and they're self-replicating materials." More>
In The News: Business Week Articles on Chu, Keasling and Malaria VaccineThe Jan. 15 edition of Business Week includes a profile of former director Steve Chu that features his work at the Lab and includes quotes from physical bioscientists Chris Somerville and Jay Keasling. Keasling’s work to create an inexpensive synthetic malaria treatment and fund its development through a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant is relayed in a separate story.
Tech Transfer: Cleantech-to-Market Recruits Students for Spring ProjectsBerkeley Lab will again partner with the Berkeley Energy & Resources Collaborative (BERC) at UC Berkeley to engage graduate business, policy, law, and science students in efforts to move the Lab’s clean technology to the marketplace. The effort will culminate in a market analysis based on individual technologies and a workshop with energy notables. Project areas include the low-swirl burner (pictured), biofuels, and photovoltaic materials. Application deadline is tomorrow by close of business. More>
The UC Office of the President’s newly revised online Sexual Harassment Prevention training course as mandated by California Law AB 1825 (Gov. Code Section 12950.1) will be rolled out on Wednesday. The law requires two hours of sexual harassment prevention training every two years for supervisory employees. All supervisors and managers required to take the course (at this time) will receive an e-mail notification from the UC Learning Center on Jan. 28. The e-mail will include a personalized link to the online training course. All employees in positions meeting the definition of a supervisor are required to take this course. For more information, contact the Lab’s Title IX Sexual Harassment Office (x7443). Go here to read UC’s Sexual Harassment policy.
Special Event: Talk on Historical Lessons on Energy and Climate Change The UC Berkeley Environmental Law Society, in conjunction with the Institute For Legal Research, will be sponsoring a talk by Paul Sabin, a professor of history and environmental studies at Yale University, on "The Energy Crisis and Climate Change: Lessons from History." The talk will take place Monday, Feb. 9, in Boalt Hall’s Goldberg Room (campus) at 12:30 p.m. Lunch will be provided. Sabin is a UC Berkeley graduate, winner of several writing prizes, and author of a book on the history of California's oil industry.
