Regents’ Action Preserves
Option to Compete for Labs

The University of California Board of Regents yesterday took action that would preserve the university's option to compete for the contracts to manage three national laboratories, including Berkeley Lab. While the board did not make a decision to compete, its action allows the university to continue to prepare as if it will participate. "The regents' action allows UC to take the necessary steps with the Department of Energy, including the extension of the laboratory contracts for up to two years, to ensure that the vital missions at each laboratory continue to be met," said UC President Robert C. Dynes. "This action is about ensuring that the university is able to compete, and compete successfully, should the regents make a decision to move forward with competition." Full story.

Zeiss Technology Group To Hold Product Fair

Representatives of the Carl Zeiss, Inc., technology group, makers of microscopes and bioscience instrumentation, will visit Berkeley Lab next Tuesday to demonstrate its product line. At the invitation of Life Sciences Division Deputy Director Damir Sudar, Joon Lee and colleagues will be in room 84-202 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. All interested employees are invited to stop by, especially those who work in metals, plastics, composites, ceramics and crystals. For information, call 5746.

PG&E To Perform
115-kv Switching

Pacific Gas and Electric will be performing switching on the 115-kilovolt transmission line to the Laboratory tomorrow and on Thursday and Friday, Jan. 22 and 23. The procedures will be transparent to the Laboratory community and it is highly unlikely that an interruption of power will occur. However, the possibility of an electrical power interruption always exists. Please take all necessary precautions. For additional information please contact Jim Murphy at 4175 or Mahesh Gupta at 5220.

Lab Closed Monday For King Holiday

Berkeley Lab will join in the federal observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday and will be closed for normal business. “Today at Berkeley Lab” will resume publication on Tuesday.

Science of the Small
Inspires Big Dreams
By Jackie Burrell

BERKELEY - Star Trek, X-Files and Terminator sequels -- for the past 10 years, nanotechnology has starred in some of the most action-packed, science fiction thrillers. But where Tinsel Town sees trendy plot devices, scientists see a golden future. The creation of miniaturized devices, some as small as 1/50,000th the diameter of a human hair, holds the promise of non-invasive cancer treatments, vast solar power cells, and blindingly fast computer processors. But it won't be today's white-coated scientists and rumpled engineers who bring the nanodream to fruition. It will be today's teenagers -- the targets of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's latest educational outreach program. Full story.

‘Big Hit’ Will Mark
Start of 51B Removal

At high noon today, Lab Director Charles Shank, Deputy Director Sally Benson and Facilities Director George Reyes, along with Berkeley Site Office Manager Dick Nolan and DOE Project Manager Warren Yip, will join with a representative of Evans Brothers, Inc., for an "It's a hit!" demolition ceremony at the Building 51 External Proton Beam (EPB) Hall. Golden hammers will be wielded by the participants to kick off removal efforts the will continue over the next few months. More details will appear in next Friday’s issue of The View.

Unions Can Be Certified
Via 'Proof of Support'

A new California state law (AB 1230) that went into effect Jan. 1, 2004, now allows a union to represent a unit of employees at state universities, including Berkeley Lab, without a sanctioned election among members of the proposed unit. Previously, a union was required to furnish to the Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) "proof of support" of at least 30 percent of the proposed unit as a pre-condition to a representation election, but an election always was held. If the majority of the votes cast supported a union, then PERB certified the union on the basis of the election results. Now, if the showing of interest is greater than 50 percent, no election will be held and the union will be certified by PERB upon the evidence of signed cards alone. Read the legislation here.