It's raining helium on Jupiter—and as these droplets fall towards the planet's deeper interior, they are bringing neon down with them. This new result solves a 15-year-old mystery that was initiated in 1995, when NASA's Galileo probe plunged into Jupiter's atmosphere and found only one-ninth the amount of neon that should have been there based on measurements of the Sun's composition. The authors, Burkhard Militzer and Hugh Wilson of UC Berkeley, were able to answer this decade-old question with some supercomputing help from the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC). More>
The project management team behind the design and construction of TEAM, the world’s most powerful electron microscope, has won a prestigious “Secretary of Energy’s Excellence in Acquisition Award.” This award is given by the U.S. Department of Energy to management teams that have demonstrated “exceptional results in completing a project within cost and schedule.” Peter Denes, of the Engineering Division, was the TEAM project manager, and Uli Dahmen, of the Materials Sciences Division, was the TEAM project director. TEAM stands for Transmission Electron Aberration-corrected Microscope. More>
Research led by Tony Tomsia and Rob Ritchie of the Lab’s Materials Sciences Division (MSD), in which the structure of mother of pearl was mimicked to create what may well be the toughest ceramic ever, was recognized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, who awarded it Honorable Mention in the 2009 Newcomb Cleveland Prize. This prize, AAAS’ oldest, recognizes outstanding papers published in the journal Science. Co-authoring the paper, “Tough, bio-inspired hybrid materials,” which was published in the Dec. 5, 2008, issue, were Etienne Munch, Max Launey, Daan Hein Alsem and Eduardo Saiz, all with MSD. More>
Employees enrolled in the University of California’s Flexible Spending Accounts in 2009 have until Thursday, April 15, to submit their reimbursement claim forms for eligible expenses from Jan. 1, 2009 to March 15, 2010. The processing of these claims are subject to delay due to the high volume of claims being submitted at this time of year. Call Conexis (800-482-4120) for more information.
The Lab’s Philanthropy Club will be hosting a blood drive on Wednesday. The Red Cross Bloodmobile will be in the Cafeteria parking lot from 7 a.m to 1 p.m. Go here to register for an appointment (sponsor code is LBL).
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