It seems like an impossible problem to solve: how can you protect yourself and your surroundings from radioactive contamination while studying radioactive actinides such as uranium or plutonium in a mass spectrometer? John Gibson, David Shuh, and Travis Bray (pictured on right, with Roy Copping sitting on other side of glove box) of the Chemical Sciences Division found a solution — a custom-built glove box with a specially engineered interface that connects to the spectrometer, preventing radioactive materials from being released into the laboratory. More>
Public Affairs: Survey Seeks Feedback on Internal Communications at LabAs part of an effort to improve internal communications at the Lab, both within specific divisions and Lab-wide, the Public Affairs Department invites all employees and guests to fill out an anonymous, online survey on this issue. Those who complete the survey can enter their e-mail address into a drawing for a Starbucks Coffee gift certificate. Twenty $5 gift certificates will be given away. The e-mail prompt is separate from the survey, so anonymity will be preserved. Be sure to include “survey” in the subject line. Go here to access the survey.
An enhanced version of Phytozome.net, a web portal for comparative plant genomics geared to advance biofuel, food, feed, and fiber research, has been released by the Joint Genome Institute. Phytozome provides a central “hub” for web access to a rapidly growing number of plant genomes, and includes tools for visualization of plant genomes and associated annotations, sequence analysis, and bulk, as well as targeted plant data retrieval. More>
Commuting: Staff Unaware of Mass Transit Programs, Says SurveyThe Lab stacks up pretty well against Alta Bates Hospital and Kaiser Oakland when it comes to alternative commuting by its employees, a recently published survey reveals. But more than half of the respondents said they were unaware of the Lab’s mass transit incentive programs. And with decreasing parking due to construction, getting staff out of their cars is crucial. More>
Yung-Jin (Joey) Hu of the Nuclear Science Division (NSD) has won the prestigious Graduate Student Award for the 59th Lindau Meeting of Noble Laureates and Students, to be held in Lindau, Germany, the week of June 28. Hu was nominated by NSD’s Heino Nitsche, his thesis advisor in UC Berkeley’s Department of Chemistry, who calls the award “a wonderful recognition of one of our Chemistry Department's and Berkeley Lab's top graduate students.” The Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings, held annually since 1951 in the medieval city near the Swiss Alps, are devoted to the transfer of knowledge between generations of scientists. More>
Onsite seminars on Matlab (a high-level technical computing language for algorithm development, data visualization, data analysis, and numeric computation) and Simulink (an environment for multidomain simulation and Model-Based Design ) have been scheduled for tomorrow in Perseverance Hall.Staff who use these programs are encouraged to attend. More>
To accommodate a conduit proving operation, seven manholes will need to be accessed along Lawrence Road, with work continuing until the end of the month. This will require occasional lane closures. Flaggers will direct traffic during these times. Drivers and pedestrians in the area are urged to use caution and obey flagger directions and posted signage.
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