'Open Innovation' Talk Features Harvard Prof

Chesbrough

Berkeley Lab's Technology Transfer Department and the Environmental Energy Technologies Division are co-sponsoring "Open Innovation in Research," a talk by visiting Harvard Professor Henry Chesbrough of the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. The May 10 program at noon in Perseverance Hall will be based upon Chesbrough's new book, Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology. A review in Publisher's Weekly can be read here. For more on Chesbrough, go here.

Give the Gift of Life
At Blood Drive

In May, the American Red Cross is trying to build a large reserve of blood due to an expected drop-off in the summer due to donor vacations. Blood is needed for many medical and surgical procedures, but also saves the lives of accident victims, cancer, cardiac, and organ transplant patients. To help with this effort, the Lab is hosting a blood drive on Wednesday, May 12, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Thursday, May 13, from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Both events will take place at Building 70-3377. Go here to make an appointment (use sponsor code "LBL") or call Charlotte Bochra at x4268.

LANA Scholarship Honors Club President's Mother

The Technical Electronic Information Department (TEID) recently presented Alice Ramirez — president of the Lab's Latino and Native American Association — with $800 for the group's scholarship fund. The gift, collected from employees at the Lab, was given in honor of Ramirez's mother, who recently passed away. "Here I was going through something painful," recalls Ramirez, "and yet something good was coming out of it." This boosts the club's scholarship fund to $1,800, which will be distributed to high school students at a special Cinco de Mayo celebration tomorrow. Those interested in donating to the Paula S. Ramirez LANA Scholarship should contact Alice Ramirez or Flavio Robles.

The Joint Genome Institute (JGI) yesterday announced the publication of a high-quality draft genome sequence of the white rot fungus, Phanerochaete chrysosporium. These are the only known microbes capable of efficiently degrading the recalcitrant aromatic plant polymer lignin, one of the most abundant natural materials on earth. White rot fungi such as Phanerochaete chrysosporium play a pivotal role in the carbon cycle — the circulation of carbon from the atmosphere into organisms and back again. They also have demonstrated the ability to remediate explosive contaminants, pesticides and toxic waste with similar chemical structures to lignin. Full story.

'Synthetic Life': Lab Featured in Report

Keasling

Leadership Class
Offered Next Week

The ASD Academy is offering a FranklinCovey "Four Roles of Leadership" course at the Lab. A pre-work session (ASD0226) will be held next Thursday, May 13, from 2 to 4 p.m. in Building 2-100B. The workshop (ASD0227) will be held June 22 and 23. This workshop is for managers or supervisors only. The course provides tools for managers to significantly improve strategic thinking, long-term vision, and positive influence on others. Throughout the course, participants work on current issues affecting their department or circle of influence. Go here to register.