Rethinking Electronics
Of Quantum Dots

Quantum dot of gallium arsenide

Quantum dots, tiny crystals consisting of a few hundred to a few thousand atoms, sparkle with promise for uses ranging from tagging proteins in living cells to foiling counterfeiters to enabling quantum computers. The optics and electronics of these semiconductor nanocrystals are dramatically different from the same materials in bulk. But it turns out that one of the most important electronic properties of quantum dots has been misunderstood for over a

	Wang

decade. Now, Lin-Wang Wang and postdoctoral fellow Xavier Cartoixà of Berkeley Lab's Computational Research Division have shown that a quantum dot's dielectric function (a term indicating how charge responds to an electric field) does not depend on its band gap, as researchers long believed. Go here to read the press release.

‘Millennium Simulation’ Largest Ever of Universe

The Virgo consortium, an international group of astrophysicists from the UK, Germany, Canada and the USA has recently released first results from the largest and most realistic simulation ever of the growth of cosmic structure and the formation of galaxies and quasars. In a paper published in Nature, the Virgo Consortium shows how comparing such simulated data to large observational surveys can reveal the physical processes underlying the build-up of real galaxies and black holes. The "Millennium Simulation" employed more than 10 billion particles of matter to trace the evolution of the matter distribution in a cubic region of the Universe over 2 billion light-years on a side. Full Story

Bus Boarding, Schedule Changes Begin June 27

Berkeley Lab shuttle bus schedules for both on-site and Hearst routes will change as of June 27. As a result, all stop intervals will increase by two minutes, to 12 minutes between buses. In addition, drivers will now use their turn signals to indicate to those waiting at a bus stop if the bus will be available for boarding. Once the turn signal is off, the driver will close the door and not reopen it until the next scheduled stop. The changes are being made to better ensure on-time performance without compromising safety. Go here to read the complete policy change. New schedules will be published in “Today at Berkeley Lab” next week.

LANL Seeks Contributors For Computing Symposium

The Sixth Symposium of the Los Alamos Computer Science Institute, to be held October 11-13, 2005 in Santa Fe, is now seeking contributions from all areas of high-performance computing, including systems, algorithms, and applications. The symposium especially encourages research papers that address major accomplishments in the development and application of very large parallel systems. The deadline for research paper submissions is Monday, July 11; and the deadline for posters is Monday, August 22. More information can be found on the symposium submissions site.

Building 70 and 70A Power Outage Saturday

There will be a planned power outage for Building 70 this Saturday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. for an electrical upgrade project. The power shutdown will affect utilities in both Bldg. 70 and 70A. Employees should take appropriate precautions to protect their work.