DOE Science Director
Will Visit Lab Friday

Orbach

Dr. Ray Orbach, Director of the Office of Science for the Department of Energy, will be making his annual visit to Berkeley Lab on Friday for meetings, tours and program updates. In the morning, he will help to dedicate a new metropolitan area network (MAN) at the Oakland Scientific Facility, and he will follow with a tour of the new Potter Street biosciences center in West Berkeley. On site, he will visit with users of the Advanced Light Source, talk with scientists about optical accelerators, and meet with the lab’s Safety Review Committee.

McGraw

Tight Fit, But Necessary
In Case of Emergency

Associate Laboratory Director for Operations David McGraw demonstrated the “duck, cover and hold on” maneuver during last week’s emergency earthquake drill sponsored by Environment, Health and Safety. It is suggested that, when the effects of an earthquake are felt, employees should get under their desks for protection against falling debris. For some, it’s a tight squeeze, but necessary if it’s the difference between life and death.

How to Cool a Hot City:
Lab Expert Tells Dubai
By Mildred Fernandes

Akbari

Buildings, roads, parking lots and pavements are the foundations of every city. They are also responsible for raising summer city air temperatures, sometimes by as much as 4 degrees Celsius (between 5 and 7 degrees Fahrenheit) more than surrounding areas, creating an urban heat island. This phenomenon affects a city, its government and its residents in a number of ways, including public health. That’s what readers in Dubai learned in May from Berkeley Lab’s Hashem Akbari, leader of the heat island group at the Lab, when he addressed the first International Conference on Green Buildings in the United Arab Emirates. Go here to read the report in Gulf News.

Happy First of Summer;
Celebrate This Friday

The summer solstice happens today, longest day of the year with approximately 15 hours of daylight. The official time at which the sun was farthest north was 11:36 last night. Go here to watch a Quicktime movie illustrating the tilt of the Earth's equatorial plane relative to the sun which is responsible for the seasons. It is also a traditional time to celebrate the first harvest and renewal. Berkeley Lab will do so this coming Friday at its fourth annual Classic Car Show and Barbecue. It takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the cafeteria.