Rasson Named Project
Manager of Contract Transition

Rasson

Joseph Rasson of the Lab’s Engineering Division has been appointed project manager of the transition to the new Berkeley Lab management contract, which the Department of Energy awarded to the University of California on April 19. UC and Berkeley Lab senior management are required to complete specific transition activities in the next 30 days, which is the duration of the transition period, in time for the official implementation of the new contract on June 1. “We want everyone’s support to achieve a safe, smooth, and orderly transition to the new contract with no negative impact on or interruption of DOE programs,” said Rasson. “This transition process is a collaborative effort between Berkeley Lab staff, the University of California Office of the President, and DOE’s Berkeley Lab site office.” For more information and an overview of the transition process, go here.

New Emergency Response
Guide Available

The April 1999 version of the red/white Emergency Response Guide is outdated and must be replaced with the 2003 version. Designed to hang on a wall, the guides give employees directions about response during fires, earthquakes, spills, injuries or threats. To obtain copies of the guide, send an e-mail to Nikki De Jager at [email protected] that includes a name, mailstop, and number of copies needed. For more information, contact Valerie Quigley at x7032.

Neutrinos: Tiny, Plentiful
And Really Hard to Catch

Because of discoveries over the past decade, the ubiquitous neutrino, once a curiosity in a corner of particle physics, now has the potential to disrupt much of what physicists think they know about the subatomic world. It may hold a key to understanding the creation of hydrogen, helium and other light elements minutes after the Big Bang and to how dying stars explode. Now, in an abandoned mine in Soudan, Minnesota, an experiment will measure the rate that neutrinos seemingly magically change their types, giving physicists a better idea of the minute mass they carry. Full story (registration required).

Berkeley Lab Organizes
Green Building Conference

Akbari

Berkeley Lab’s Heat Island Group, part of the Environmental Energy Technologies Division, is a sponsor and organizer of the 1st International Conference on Green Buildings, which is being held today and tomorrow in the United Arab Emirates. Heat Island Group leader Hashem Akbari will give a keynote presentation and two other presentations at the conference.

Violence in Workplace
May Lead to Dismissal

It is the policy of the Laboratory to create and maintain a community in which we can work together in an atmosphere of respect and civility, free of harassing and threatening behaviors. Laboratory policies are designed to protect and promote the rights of members of the Berkeley Lab community and to prevent actions that interfere with those rights and with the Laboratory's mission. Go here to learn more about this policy.