More than 1,700 clean tech entrepreneurs, government officials, and others crowded into a new convention center on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. earlier this week to participate in the ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit. A booth staffed by Berkeley Lab employees featured the Lab's Carbon Cycle 2.0 initiative, with the Darfur Stove and a climate modeling globe proving to be big hits with attendees. In the above photo, from left to right, Berkeley Lab's head of Federal Government Relations Don Medley, Dan Krotz from Public Affairs, and Prabhat from the Computational Research Division chat with Congressman Brian Baird. Congressman Bart Gordon and ARPA-E Director Arun Majumdar also stopped by the booth. The Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) was established within the Department of Energy to fund high-risk, high-reward energy research projects. The summit showcased the first round of 37 winning research projects.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced $100 million in Recovery Act funding will be made available to accelerate innovation in green technology, increase America’s competitiveness and create new jobs. The three areas of focus include: Grid-Scale Rampable Intermittent Dispatchable Storage (GRIDS), Agile Delivery of Electrical Power Technology (ADEPT), and Building Energy Efficiency Through Innovative Thermodevices (BEET-IT). More>
HR Benefits: Information Sessions on Restart of Retirement Contributions As previously announced in Today at Berkeley Lab, Lab employees who are members of the University of California Retirement Plan (UCRP) will restart contributions to the pension plan. The contributions will start in mid-April and apply to May earnings. To assist staff with this transition, the Lab’s HR Benefits group will conduct webinars and live presentations throughout the month of March. Go here for specific dates, times, location and webinar registration information.
The Lab’s HR Benefits group is hosting a free workshop on “Managing Stress in Times of Change” on Thursday, March 11, at 11:30 a.m. in Perseverance Hall (Bldg 54). This workshop will discuss reactions and stress associated with change, identify common processes for change and transition, and explore common pitfalls to avoid. The guest speaker will be Laurie Yamamoto, LCSW and a senior counselor for UC Berkeley’s CARE Services. Registration is required (course #106).
Members of lightsources.org took time out from their meeting at SLAC to tour the Advanced Light Source late last month. After a brief welcome by ALS Division Director Roger Falcone, the group visited several beamlines with User Services Lead Sue Bailey before stopping for a photo under the historic dome. The group, representing synchrotron and FEL (free electron laser) sources around the world, promote the science and technology of light sources through outreach activities and the collaborative website lightsources.org.
Today at Berkeley Lab encourages comments, suggestions, and story ideas. Please send them here.
TABL is produced by Public Affairs' Communications Group
