[Optics Letters] The next generation of accelerator-driven light sources will produce high-brightness x-ray pulses less than 100 femtoseconds (quadrillionths of a second) long. Experiments that excite a sample with one pulse and then measure it with another have to be synchronized within this tiny interval over distances from hundreds of meters up to several kilometers. Russell Wilcox, John Byrd, Lawrence Doolittle, Gang Huang, and John Staples of the Accelerator and Fusion Research Division have demonstrated an accelerator/laser synchronization system that uses common optical-fiber telecommunications components and microwave electronics, is low-cost, easy to manufacture, and, working around the clock for two and a half days, drifts less than 20 femtoseconds over 2.2 kilometers. More>
Tomorrow is the 32nd annual running of the Berkeley Lab Runaround fun race, which begins at noon at the Firehouse. Finishers will receive a custom t-shirt and refreshments. And remember, the shuttle buses will suspend their onsite routes from about 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Offsite buses will continue service from Buildings 65 (Blue) and 74 (Green and Orange).
All new supervisors hired or promoted after Oct. 1 are required to take two courses to help them better understand their roles and the policies and guidelines they must adhere to. "Supervisor Responsibilities at Berkeley Lab" is a one-hour, online course that must be completed in the first two months of employment or promotion. The "Supervisor Scenario Workshop: HR Issues" is a 3.5-hour classroom session that must be completed within the first six months of employment or promotion. While these courses do not apply to those hired or promoted prior to Oct. 1, all supervisors are encouraged to take these courses. Other non-required supervisor workshops are available through the Berkeley Lab Learning Institute. More>
People: ALS Physicist Gets Prize for Development of SpectrometerLast week, Eli Rotenberg of the Advanced Light Source received the first-ever Kai Siegbahn Prize from Uppsala University in Sweden. He was recognized for his "development of an advanced angle-resolved photoemission spectrometer and its artful application to the understanding of quantum electronic properties of nano-phase and reduced dimensionality materials." At the ALS, Rotenberg created the "Electronic Structure Factory" and researches the electronic properties of low-dimensionality materials.
The next talk in the "Science at the Theater" series will focus on "What Science Tells Us About the Hidden Universe" and takes place Monday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. Moderated by KTVU Channel 2 Health and Science Editor John Fowler, the panel discussion will include Lab scientists Saul Perlmutter, David Schlegel and Alexi Leauthaud. The free event will be held at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre (2015 Addision St.). For those who missed the previous theater talk on biofuels, go here to watch an archived video of the discussion.
In The News: Pentagon Research Director Visits Universities in Bid to Re-Energize Partnerships[New York Times] The new director of the Pentagon’s research arm has started visiting university campuses around the country in an effort to rebuild bridges that were severed under the Bush administration. The director, Regina E. Dugan, who was appointed in July to lead the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, made visits last week to UC Berkeley, Stanford, UCLA and the California Institute of Technology. "She came by Berkeley on Wednesday and had a frank chat about the past and the future, and I’m pretty encouraged," said David Patterson, with Berkeley Lab’s Computational Research Division. "She seems to genuinely value academic input into the defense research enterprise and really wants to re-engage the research community in the DARPA mission." More>
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