Lab Hosts Science
Bowl This Saturday

The Regional Science Bowl at Berkeley Lab is part of the 2004 National Science Bowl competition coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. Since its inception in 1991, more than 80,000 high school students have participated in this "Jeopardy"-style contest. Lab staff are invited to watch the competitions this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Go here for more information.

Scientists Union Claims Findings Are Distorted

Muller

President Bush's administration distorts scientific findings and seeks to manipulate experts' advice to avoid information that runs counter to its political beliefs, a private organization of scientists recently asserted. The Union of Concerned Scientists contended in a report that "the scope and scale of the manipulation, suppression and misrepresentation of science by the Bush administration is unprecedented." Berkeley Lab physicist Richard Muller said scientists bear some of the blame for losing influence in Washington. They have allowed global warming and other issues to politicize science, he said. Full story.

Apply Now For
COSMOS Camp

Do you have a teen son or daughter who loves science and math? Then they may enjoy the California State Summer School for Mathematics & Science (COSMOS). Participants visit a University of California campus and learn about astronomy, marine mammal biology, robotics and more. It is open to talented and motivated students completing grades 8-12. Go here to learn more.

Lab Presence at SIAM
Meeting is Strong

When the 11th conference on Parallel Processing for Scientific Computing, sponsored by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), convenes this week in San Francisco, Berkeley Lab will have made a sizeable contribution. The conference, which is aimed at promoting parallel scientific computing and parallel numerical algorithms, emphasizes the mathematical and technical aspects of scientific computing on parallel machines. The conference provides a forum for communication among the scientific computing, information technology, and computational science and engineering communities. Go here to see a complete list of Lab participants and descriptions of their talks. Visit the SIAM website for more information.

	Bement

Arden Bement, Jr., became Acting Director of the National Science Foundation last Sunday. He joins NSF from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, where he has been director since 2001. Bement also served as the head of the School of Nuclear Engineering at Purdue University, and has held appointments at Purdue University in Materials Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the Krannert School of Management. He replaces Rita Colwell, who retired this month. Full story.

Mars Express Works In
Shadow of NASA Rovers

While NASA's twin rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, garner all the headlines, the European Space Agency's satellite, Mars Express, is poised to deliver just as much science, including important clues in the hunt for Martian life, at a far lower price. NASA spent more than $800 million on its project, while Mars Express cost a mere $190 million. Despite the relatively small price tag, Mars Express is well equipped. Full story.