Tonight's 'Friends' Talk:
SUV's Safer Than Cars?

Tom Wenzel, a researcher in Berkeley Lab's Environmental Energy Technologies Division, will address automobile safety risks in his talk tonight in Perseverance Hall sponsored by the Berkeley Lab Friends of Science. Employees are invited to the 5:30 presentation, entitled "Are SUV's Really Safer Than Cars?" Wenzel and his colleague in vehicle risk studies, Marc Ross of the University of Michigan, have been quoted in recent national stories on the subject, including a January feature in the New Yorker magazine.

Energy and Environment Focus of 'Science Beat'

The latest edition of "Science Beat" is now available online. Articles in this issue highlight energy and the environment, such as the use of sandstone and shale formations deep under the Gulf of Mexico as a place to put waste carbon; a new simulation program that may lead to better combustion technology; and a program that rapidly tests new battery materials from labs around the world. Go here to read these and other stories.

Top Students Head
To Sciences

While the US economy's recent woes have had the typical cyclical effect of prompting more top students to graduate school in the sciences and engineering, without long-term steps to make science careers more rewarding, the allure of academia could dim once more if the economy revives, cautioned researchers at the annual American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) last week. "Recessions don't last forever. The problems with our scientific institutions and their career paths remain," said University of Washington researcher William Zumeta, who along with Joyce Raveling, presented new findings. Full story.

Piette

Lab Reports Gains on Demand-Response System
by David Jones

Researchers at Berkeley Lab said they have wrapped up a successful trial run of an Internet-based system designed to avoid blackouts and help large electricity users cut their bills -- without utility operators or building managers having to lift a finger. The test was designed to "explore how a utility, an ISO [independent system operator] or the grid might communicate in the future" with customers to manage electricity use in large buildings whenever blackouts or excessive electricity demand threaten the grid, or when high prices might encourage large power users to reduce their energy use, Berkeley Lab scientist and project principal investigator Mary Ann Piette said. Full story.

Lab-on-a-chip Developed to Detect Toxins

Chediak (left) and Luo

Engineers at UC Berkeley-- including Berkeley Lab guests Alex Chediak and Zhongsheng Luo -- have taken a common piece of tabletop lab equipment used to detect toxic substances and biochemical agents and mini-sized it to a device that fits on a tiny computer chip that could be perfect as a low-cost tool in the field. The researchers said that those most likely to benefit from the achievement are law enforcement or environmental pollution investigators, military medics or anyone needing a cheap, portable device that can identify the presence of specific toxins or DNA on site rather than in a laboratory. Go here to read Sarah Yang's UC Berkeley press release.