Berkeley Lab has been awarded $12.8 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding by the National Institutes of Health for research into cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, radioactive decontamination and a variety of other health conditions. The grants have allowed the Lab to create new positions for scientists, technicians, research associates and postdoctoral fellows, as well as retain some jobs, said Associate Lab Director for Life Sciences Joe Gray. “We’re helping to train the nation’s next generation of scientists while also doing important research in critical areas of human health that we may not have been able to do without these funds.” More>
Berkeley Lab is matching funds with the National Science Foundation and the BioBricks Foundation to help launch BIOFAB, the world’s first open-source genetic parts production facility. Adam Arkin of the Physical Biosciences Division will co-direct the new facility — with Stanford’s Drew Endy — which is aimed at reducing the development time and cost of synthetic biology for the production of new transportation fuels, pharmaceutical drugs and other valuable chemical products. More>
Around the Lab: Somewhere, Over the Rainbow… We all know the Molecular Foundry is a repository of numerous scientific treasures, and on Tuesday — as this photo by John Turner of the Materials Sciences Division shows — a pot of gold may have been among them. Have you taken a unique photo of the Lab’s surroundings? If so, send them here to be considered for publication in Today at Berkeley Lab.
As announced last July, Cecilia Aragon of the Computational Research Division (left), Jeff Neaton of the Materials Sciences Division (right), and Sanjay Kumar of the Physical Biosciences Division were among the 100 researchers named by President Barack Obama to receive the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on early-career researchers. The awards were presented last Wednesday in a Washington D.C. ceremony and included a meeting with the President. More>
Special Event: Campus Honors Charles Townes, 50th Birthday of Laser What would life be like without the laser? No DVDs, no precision laser surgery, no high-speed optical communication, no laser light shows over the pyramids at Giza. We have a lot for which to thank Charles Townes. Fifty years ago, the first working laser was built to Townes's specifications, launching the fields of quantum electronics and photonics. In appreciation of the laser, and of Townes' role in stimulating it, UC Berkeley is hosting a LaserFest Exhibit at the Lawrence Hall of Science. As part of the event, Townes will give a talk, joined by Berkeley Lab Advanced Light Source Director Roger Falcone, at 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 25. More>
Employee Activities: Dance Club Starts Hip-Hop, Swing ClassesStaff now have two more opportunities to partake in fun and fitness during the noon hour at the Lab. The Dance Club starts their Hip Hop cardio series today, and West Coast Swing lessons on Monday. Both start at noon in the Building 76 recreation room. Lee White, with the Environment, Health and Safety Division, will lead the Hip Hop class, while Ronnen Levinson, with the Environmental Energy Technologies Division, will instruct West Coast Swing. For more information, contact Jeff Philliber.
The incorrect time was listed in yesterday’s edition of Today at Berkeley Lab for a conversation with Molecular Foundry researcher Jeff Neaton. The event begins at 11 a.m. tomorrow in the Building 66 Auditorium.
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