[Nature] Standing almost 20 meters above the forest floor on a scaffolding tower in the Sierra Nevada, Allen Goldstein, with Berkeley Lab’s Environmental Energy Technologies Division, looks over the spiky tops of a young ponderosa pine forest. He inhales deeply before explaining the forest’s daily chemical rhythm. At sunrise, the trees start pumping out a complex mix of volatile organic compounds, such as pine-scented terpenes. More> This story includes quotes from Berkeley Lab earth scientist Inez Fung.
Employees will get a chance to experience the shake of an earthquake on Monday, June 8, as part of the Lab's Emergency Preparedness Fair, taking place from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the cafeteria lawn. The "Big Shaker" earthquake simulator is just one of many activities scheduled for the fair, which include emergency food tastings, raffle prizes, vendor booths, $6 BBQ lunch, and emergency preparedness giveaways. The fair kicks off Emergency Preparedness Week, which includes a rescue dog demonstration on Tuesday at noon on the cafeteria lawn, a drop-cover-hold drill on Wednesday at 10 a.m., and a personal preparedness presentation on Thursday at noon in Bldg. 2-100B.
Tech Transfer: Researchers Invited to Lunch With Venture Capital Reps Nth Power, an early-stage cleantech venture capital firm, and the Lab’s Technology Transfer Department will host a free lunch on Friday, June 12, from noon to 1 p.m. in Perseverance Hall. There are spaces for 10 researchers interested in speaking with Nth Power representatives about entrepreneurship, presenting to venture capitalists, and sectors that are currently attracting capital. Requests for 20-minute meetings in the afternoon to discuss R&D efforts with Nth Power reps will also be accepted. To register, e-mail a brief description of your research by June 9.
Doug Clapp, a clerk for the U.S. Senate’s Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, visited the Lab last Thursday to learn more about the research that takes place here. Clapp toured the Joint BioEnergy Institute, the National Center for Electron Microscopy, the Molecular Foundry, and the Advanced Light Source (at left with ALS Director Roger Falcone), among other locations. Among the research areas he was briefed on were the Next Generation Light Source, solar-to-fuels and batteries, computing, the Joint Dark Energy Mission, and the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Lab (DUSEL). Clapp’s visit was organized by the Government Relations department in Public Affairs.
It continues to be the policy of Berkeley Lab that employees (and others who assign to UC their rights to intellectual property through Berkeley Lab) receive a share of net licensing income. Go here to read the entire policy.
The Berkeley Lab Learning Institute will offer half day classes on Wednesday, June 10, on the new and enhanced features available in Microsoft Office 2007 for Excel and Word. The classes, taught by CMC, are $50 each. Due to limited space, interested employees are encouraged to sign up soon. Go here for information and to register, or call Karen Paris (x5122).
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