Most Powerful Computer
Coming to Livermore
By Ian Hoffman

Simon

An experimental supercomputer destined for Livermore Lab has seized the unofficial title as the world's most powerful, toppling a Japanese machine that bested U.S. dominance in the field three years ago. IBM today will announce that the first 1/100th of its unfinished Blue Gene/L supercomputer was able to perform a sustained 36 trillion calculations a second, known as teraflops. For three years running, the fastest supercomputer has been NEC's Earth Simulator in Japan, capable of 35.86 teraflops. "The fact that a non-U.S. vendor like NEC had the fastest computer was seen as a big challenge for the U.S. computer industry," said Horst Simon, director of the supercomputing center at Berkeley Lab. "That an American vendor and an American application has won back the No. 1 spot — that's the main significance of this." Full story.

Vocational Education
Builds Teen Confidence
By Jackie Burrell

With help from building-trade unions, the run-down wood shop at Richmond's Kennedy High School has been reincarnated as a training ground for tomorrow's contractors, carpenters and plumbers. This pre-apprenticeship class is part of a new vocational education movement, which pulls businesses, communities and schools into large-scale partnerships, all aimed at preparing students for life beyond the diploma. In July, collaborative partners Berkeley Lab, BioRad, John Muir Medical Center and the Joint Genome Institute helped support a countywide summer biotech camp for teens. Full story.

Bank Discounts
for UC
Employees, Retirees

Bank of America, Union Bank of California, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo now offer special benefits to University of California faculty, staff and retirees who bank with them. The discount programs — which vary among each institution — may include such benefits as reduced rates on installment or home equity loans, free checks and travelers checks, discounts on safe deposit box rental, and the waiving of minimum balance requirements and some fees. Go here to compare services and fees and for instructions on enrollment. Contact individual banks for questions about this program.

Reminder About Lab
Traffic Regulations

Did you know the maximum speed limit on roads at the Lab is 25 miles per hour, that in-line skating is not permitted on the premises, or that operators of Lab-furnished vehicles must pay for any tickets they receive? Go here to read more about the Lab's traffic policies.

Asia Must 'Catch Up,'
Says Nobelist Lee

Lee

Grow the market locally to check brain drain here, said Nobel laureate and former Berkeley Lab scientist Yuan Tseh Lee — during a recent interview in a New Delhi newspaper — about the lack of Nobelists from Asia. "The realization has already dawned on the developing countries that progress in science and technology is the key to economic development," said Lee. "Especially for the Asian region, I must admit that the 21st century is critical for us to catch up on and even leapfrog technology." Full story.