What You Need to Know
In Event of CUE Strike

If the prospective strike by members of the Coalition of University Employees (CUE) takes place next Monday through Wednesday at Berkeley Lab, the main Blackberry gate will be open during normal hours, and the Grizzly gate will be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Strawberry gate will be a "reserved" gate available only to contractors and employees working on the Molecular Foundry construction project. Go here for more details, and for information on employee absences during the strike.

Lab Presents 'Best, Final'
Wage Offer to CUE Union

Berkeley Lab's bargaining team, in negotiations with the Coalition of University Employees, the union which represents about 240 mostly clerical workers at the Lab, presented its "best and final" wage proposal for a four-year labor contract agreement on Wednesday. It eliminates the allocation for posted promotions and reclassifications and shifts that money to a merit pool for each fiscal year - a retroactive 3 percent in merits for FY05, and 2.5 percent for FY06-08. Average wage increases this year would average 3.6 percent. Go here for more details.

Lab Technology Licensed
For Near Infrared Imaging

Fairchild Imaging announced yesterday that it has signed an agreement with Berkeley Lab for use of its HiRho Charge Coupled Device (CCD) technology. This new technology enables the production of CCD imagers with dramatically improved performance in the red to near infrared regions of the spectrum. These devices have found favor with astronomers, but will also provide tremendous benefit to scientists and engineers in aerospace, defense, medical and scientific imaging applications. Full story.

EETD Scientist Wins
Engineering Award

Sherman

Max Sherman, a scientist in the Environmental Energy Technologies Division, has received an "Exceptional Service Award" from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). Sherman is leader of EETD's Energy Performance of Buildings Group. ASHRAE notes that one of Sherman's biggest contributions to the industry was overseeing the committee that wrote Standard 62.2, the only nationally recognized indoor air quality standard developed solely for residences. Full story.

DOE Tabs $100 million
for Sequestration Studies

Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman announced yesterday that DOE will provide $100 million to seven regional consortiums working to develop and commercialize carbon sequestration technologies used to capture and permanently store greenhouse gases. Berkeley Lab is a member of one of the consortiums, the West Coast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership. The consortiums are part of a national network of regional carbon sequestration partnerships created by DOE in 2002 to serve as the backbone of this country's sequestration research network. Full story. A San Francisco Chronicle report, featuring quotes from Berkeley Lab earth scientist Sally Benson, can be read here.

Purchase Discounted
Waterworld Tickets

A representative from the Lab's Employee Activities Association will be in the cafeteria today from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. selling discounted tickets for Waterworld in Concord. The tickets are good for June 18, 19 and 26. The cost is $10 for each ticket, which is a $10 savings over the regular price.