Today at Berkeley Lab: December 19, 2005

Monday, December 19, 2005

Today

10 a.m.
EETD
Heat Transfer Through Materials: Application to Silica Aerogels
Berangere Lartigue, Carnegie Mellon U.
Bldg. 90-3148

Tomorrow

No Events Scheduled

Morning Editions: 2 Eggs, 2 Bacon Strips, 2 French Toasts
Tomorrow's Breakfast: Swiss and Avocado Omelet with Hash Browns
Market Carvery: Pasta Bar with Meat or Marinara Sauce
The Fresh Grille: Roast Beef and Swiss Cheese Sandwich
Menutainment: Teriyaki Chicken Bowl over Rice

B'fast:	6:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Lunch:	11 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Full menu

New Business Council Enables Info Exchange

A new discussion forum, the Division Business Council (DBC), has been established to enable cross-functional information-sharing among business administrators and analysts at the Lab. DBC co-chair Ellen Ford of Physical Biosciences said the group was formed "to get out in front of the issues and partner proactively and effectively with other departments on initiatives and process improvements." The DBC will meet every other Friday. "Our purpose is to be a bridge between the divisions and other departments, give feedback, and help assess the potential impacts of new projects and the changes needed to make them successful," Ford added. Ann Tomaselli from the Information Technologies Division is the other co-chair. Go here to read the group's charter and membership.

Chemical Sciences Student Wins Excellence Award





Haxton

UC Berkeley graduate student Daniel Haxton won the Student Excellence Award at the annual Gaseous Electronics Conference, held in October in San Jose. Haxton is a member of the Atomic and Molecular Theory Group in the Chemical Sciences Division of Berkeley Lab and is doing his Ph.D thesis work under the direction of Lab scientists William McCurdy and Thomas Rescigno. He won the award for his groundbreaking theoretical work on dissociative electron attachment to water.

Study Identifies Bone
Quality Regulator





Osteoblast cells producing bone matrix

A molecule known as "transforming growth factor beta" regulates the quality of bone matrix, a key component of bone structure, say UC San Francisco scientists. Their findings suggest a possible target for preventing and treating bone fractures associated with aging and genetic diseases. Ravi Nalla and Robert Ritchie of Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division contributed to the study, which was reported last week in the online Early Edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Full story.

SQUID Physicist Focus
Of Webzine Article





Clarke

UC Berkeley and Berkeley Lab scientist John Clarke has spent his career studying SQUIDs. But the SQUIDs he works with are not the cephalopods of calamari and Jules Verne novels. SQUID is an acronym for Superconducting Quantum Interference Device, a machine used to detect incredibly weak magnetic fields. As science's most sensitive energy-detecting devices, SQUIDs are having a dramatic impact on fields as diverse as medical imaging, cosmology, and computer architecture. Go here to read a ScienceMatters@ Berkeley story on this research.

Holiday Schedules May
Affect Order of Supplies

Most Berkeley Lab suppliers will be open on Friday, Dec. 23. With New Year's Day falling on a Sunday, many suppliers will be closed on Monday, Jan. 2. Lab employees are encouraged to plan supply needs and place orders accordingly.

New Agreement
For Industrial Supplies

S and S Supplies & Solutions has been awarded a "Business-to-Business" agreement from the Lab for the purchase of industrial equipment, including tools, hardware, safety supplies, among other items. The company's prices and services are competitive with incumbent suppliers of these products. Go here for information about the B2B agreement and ordering. This agreement replaces the B2B with Grainger that expires Dec. 31. Beginning Jan. 2, Grainger orders will require a requisition.

WEATHER

80% chance of rain.
High: 60° (15° C)

Extended Forecast

SECURITY CONDITION

SECON level 3

More Information

INFO