Schackwitz with Tech Trak campers

Lab, JGI Women Share
Wisdom With Youngsters

Women scientists and staff members from Berkeley Lab and the Joint Genome Institute last week shared stories about their educational and professional experiences with middle-school girls attending Tech Trek — a math and science camp hosted by Mills College in Oakland. Participants included Wendy Schackwitz and Susannah Tringe (JGI), Peggy Norris and Reina Maruyama (Nuclear Sciences), Sally Lafferty (Information Technology), Jennifer Huber (Life Sciences), and Sarah Wan (Sponsored Projects). Tech Trek is sponsored by the California chapter of the American Association of University Women.

Proposals Sought
For NERSC, Oak Ridge

Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman last week announced that the Department of Energy's Office of Science is seeking proposals to support computational science projects to enable high-impact advances through the use of some of the world's most powerful supercomputers.   Successful proposers will be given the use of nearly 90 million computing hours at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) at Berkeley Lab and Oak Ridge National Lab. Full story.

Enrollment for Incident
Response Course is Open

Employees can learn what they should do, and what they shouldn't do, if their computer system has an actual or suspected security breach. To find out, attend the Computer Protection Program's incident response course in Perseverance Hall on Tuesday, July 12, from 9 a.m. to noon. A course description is available here. There is no charge for attending, but enrollment is limited on a first-come, first-served basis. To enroll, go here.

Proper pipetting techniques can help reduce or prevent ergonomic injury

Watch Signs to Prevent Ergonomic Injury

About one-third of the injuries at Berkeley Lab are from ergonomic causes. Many involve repetitive motion or cumulative trauma from tasks such as keyboarding, pipetting, driving vehicles, hand tool use, manual materials handling, etc. These injuries cause pain for weeks or longer and can result in permanent damage. Over the next few weeks, Today at Berkeley Lab will highlight specific actions and techniques that can be used to avoid ergonomic injuries. First in the series: recognizing early warning signs, prompt reporting and intervention. Go here for details.

Info on Rules Governing
Whistleblower Protection

In accordance with state laws and regulations, the University of California has a responsibility for the stewardship of University resources and the public and private support that enables it to pursue its mission. The University has a responsibility to investigate and report to appropriate parties allegations of suspected improper governmental activities and the actions taken by the University. Go here for more information.