As noted in the Sept. 28 edition of Today at Berkeley Lab, a report describing a new system for performing x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scheduled for the November issue of Nature Materials, is available in advance online publication. Ambient-pressure XPS was invented at Berkeley Lab and has already won a 2010 R&D 100 award. A News Center feature story outlines how the new technique makes it possible for the Advanced Light Source to examine electrochemical cells, including fuel cells, under operating conditions that include extreme heat – conditions previously inaccessible to researchers.
Today's race starts at noon at the Firehouse, and the Bikearound starts at 11:30 a.m. At 11 a.m. today, all traffic on the Hill will be halted. Cars entering Blackberry Gate will be stopped at the crosswalk just above Building 65. Cars entering Strawberry gate will only be allowed from Building 85 and up. Roads should begin to reopen around 1 p.m. Shuttle bus service will also be interrupted during this time.
Berkeley Lab has been chosen to lead a consortium for a U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center on Building Energy Efficiency. The Center will develop technologies for low-energy residential and commercial buildings, as well as work on commercialization of those technologies and research how human behavior affects building energy use. The Clean Energy Resource Center will receive $12.5 million over five years. The funding will be matched by consortium partners to provide at least $25 million in total U.S. funding. Chinese counterparts will contribute an additional $25 million. More>
The Joint BioEnergy Institute and the Virtual Institute for Microbial Stress and Survival (VIMSS) have created the new meta.MicrobesOnline.org web resource, which currently contains over 1,600 genomes from bacterial, archaeal, and microeukaryotic isolates, and offers combined phylogenetic gene-tree analysis of millions of genes from over 150 ecological and organismal metagenomes. Additionally, MicrobesOnline has been improved with the “Google-Like Application for Metabolic Maps" (GLAMM) to permit interactive browsing of metabolic networks and visualization of functional “omics” data. GLAMM is integrated with the many comparative genomic and functional analysis tools of MicrobesOnline. More>
[KGO-Channel 7] There's plenty of prey drawing mountain lions to the Berkeley hills and authorities are taking what may seem an unusual approach. Their plan of action is to take no action at all.
Mountain lions have been spotted repeatedly over the past few weeks on land near Lawrence Berkeley Lab. Freshly posted signs signify there is a mountain lion somewhere near the area, but no one is trying to hunt or trap this animal. Instead of rushing to kill the mountain lions, Lab officials are encouraging employees to cohabitate. More>
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a landmark civil-rights legislation that in 1988 established a foundation of justice and equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities. People with disabilities are the most underemployed people in the country. A recent study revealed that 56 percent of workplace accommodations cost absolutely nothing and the typical one-time expenditure for accommodations is around $600. The best way to accommodate people with disabilities is to ask directly what they need. Listening and learning is critical to allowing accessibility to services, programs, and continuing performance at work. For additional information, send an email to [email protected].
Outreach: Scientific-Terms Video Glossary Reaches Half-Million Hits The Lab’s video glossary, which explains in lay terms numerous scientific concepts, has proved very popular, with the website recently reaching 500,000 hits. The top video continues to be Extremophile, with 27,387 views, followed by Genomics (26,527), Plasma (26,509), Supernova (26,227), and Photon (25,856). Do you have a suggestion for a video topic? If so, send it here.
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