McSlarrow, Alper, Werwa

Lab Shows Wares
At Nano Summit

Berkeley Lab Molecular Foundry Deputy Director Mark Alper and 20 students joined others working in Department of Energy (DOE) nano-scale research facilities for a Nano Summit in Washington D.C. last week. Go here to read remarks made by DOE Secretary Spencer Abraham during the summit on the ethical, environmental and societal implications of nano-scale research. Shown in the photo above is DOE Under Secretary Kyle McSlarrow (left), Alper (center), and Eric Werwa, a staffer for Rep. Mike Honda.

Whistleblower Policy
Gets an Update

The University of California has issued the latest version of its Whistleblower policy. Go here to read information on how to report improper activities while being protected from retaliation for whistleblowing.

T's of All Sizes, Colors
Just in Time for Summer

Taylor

Dining Services recently received a shipment of new t-shirts with the distinctive Berkeley Lab logo, now on sale in the cafeteria store next to the coffee bar. Among the selections is a baseball shirt, which Tim Taylor, a Lab mover, is modeling above. Featuring a variety of colors and sizes, the shirts are priced at $12 and $15.

Lab to Operate PIER
Response Center

Piette

The California Energy Commission is providing $8 million in funding over three years for a new Demand Response Research Center that will be managed by Berkeley Lab. It is sponsored by the Commission's Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program. Demand Response facilitates the quick, automatic reduction of energy use in buildings, industrial facilities and homes, in response to a rising price in the cost of power or an emergency on the electric grid. The director of the new center is Berkeley Lab Environmental Energy Technologies scientist Mary Ann Piette. Full story.

IBM Now Leads Super
Computer Rankings

IBM has widened its lead in computing firepower over Hewlett-Packard, according to the latest ranking of the top 500 most powerful computers. The list is created by Berkeley Lab and other institutions. The elevation in status gives IBM claim to bragging rights in a rarefied strata of the computing universe. Berkeley Lab's Horst Simon, director of the Computing Sciences Division, explained how supercomputing has changed dramatically since the first Top 500 list of supercomputers in 1993. "The standard laptop today is more powerful than the number 500 entry on the Top 500 list then," he said. Full story.

Honolulu Paper Reports
On SNIFS 'First Light'

Aldering

An international group of astronomers and astrophysicists is taking a closer look at supernovas with a powerful new tool mounted on a University of Hawai'i telescope atop Mauna Kea. The Supernova Integral Field Spectrograph, or SNIFS, achieved "first light" earlier this month when the new instrument locked on to its first astronomical target — a Type Ia supernova in the constellation Cygnus. "Better knowledge of these extraordinarily bright and remarkably uniform objects will make them even better tools for measuring the cosmos," said Berkeley Lab astronomer Greg Aldering. Full story.