Cloud computing is gaining traction in the commercial world, but can such an approach also meet the computing and data storage demands of the nation’s scientific community? A new program funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the Department of Energy will examine cloud computing as a cost-effective and energy-efficient computing paradigm for scientists to accelerate discoveries in a variety of disciplines, including analysis of scientific data sets in biology, climate change and physics. Through this program, the scientific capability of cloud computing will be tested at the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility and Berkeley Lab’s National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center. More>
The Molecular Foundry and Advanced Light Source Joint Users’ Meeting kicks off this morning with a full program of keynote speakers, poster sessions, workshops, and vendor exhibits. This year, 29 vendors will be on hand to display a range of scientific equipment, including A & N Corporation, Alcatel Vacuum, Blake Industries, Hilger Crystals, MICOS USA, Nor-Cal Products, and Varian, Inc. Lab employees are invited to visit the exhibits, located in a tent near the ALS Patio, today from 10 a.m. to noon, and 1 to 3 p.m., and tomorrow from 9 a.m. to noon.
Stimulus Update: Revamped ARRA Website Highlights Lab’s FundingThe Lab has been awarded more than $220 million in funding so far through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. A redesigned Recovery Act website shows how that figure breaks down in five categories: Science, Energy, Computing, Infrastructure and Health. The largest projects are the Advanced Networking Initiative, which was awarded $61.8 million, and the Berkeley Lab Laser Accelerator (BELLA), which will receive $20.7 million. News clips have also been added to the page, along with a complete index of all news releases related to Recovery Act projects. More>
A recent Inspector General audit of Office of Science Labs disclosed that final reports were not being filed as required by DOE at the conclusion of many CRADA projects. Principal investigators on CRADAs are required to complete a final report and send it to both Report Coordination and their Contracts Officer at the Office of Sponsored Projects and Industry Partnerships (OSPIP). Final reports are provided to the Department of Energy’s Office of Scientific and Technical Information by Reports Coordination and to the Berkeley Site Office by OSPIP. More>
From June 24 through July 24, the Lab had proposed a policy revision to RPM §2.26 (Catastrophic Leave Sharing). The policy revisions proposed at that time included the following changes: (1) redefining the meaning of catastrophic illness or injury, and (2) adding catastrophic casualty loss and catastrophic bereavement loss as additional components for requesting leave donations. In addition, the Lab proposes to change the name of the policy from "Catastrophic Leave Sharing" to "Leave Sharing," and to make the program available to those employees in "good standing." Go here to read the proposed policy. This policy applies to non-represented employees only. Represented employees should contact their union representative or consult their collective bargaining agreement. To comment on this proposed change, contact [email protected] by Oct. 23.
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