Alivisatos to Step Down
As 'Foundry' Director

Alivisatos

Associate Laboratory Director (ALD) for Physical Sciences Paul Alivisatos has announced that he will resign his post as Director of the Molecular Foundry in order to devote full-time to his roles as ALD, Materials Sciences Division Director, and researcher. Berkeley Lab Director Steve Chu accepted the resignation "knowing that he will continue to be closely involved with the facility, which will remain as part of the Materials Sciences Division." Chu also cited Alivisatos' "extraordinary vision and outstanding leadership." Acting Division Director for the Advanced Light Source, Janos Kirz, will chair a search committee for a new Foundry Director. Go here to read Director Chu's memo to the Lab community.

Closer to Nanoscale
Photonic Technology

Yang

One day our electronic technology, which is based on the manipulation of electrons, could be supplanted by photonics, which is based on the manipulation of light waves (photons). If the promise of photonic technology is realized, the high-speed processing and movement of data today will seem sludge-like. Photonic technology is still a ways off, but the goal is a few steps closer, thanks to Berkeley Lab materials scientist Peidong Yang, who has guided pulses of laser light through a variety of complex structures, even within a liquid. Full story.

Ask Physicists
About Their Job

Heeger

Quantum Diaries, an online journal created in conjunction with the World Year of Physics, is sponsoring a cyber dialogue whereby youngsters can learn more about a career in physics. Questions can be submitted here, today through Friday, and a Quantum Diarist will respond. The diary follows the lives of physicists, including the Lab’s own Karsten Heeger, around the world via blogs, photographs, and video clips.

Sumatra Quake Ripped
Large Gash in Earth
By David Perlman

Romanowicz

The monster earthquake that ravaged Sumatra and the Andaman Islands in December, killing 300,000 people in a tsunami that crossed the entire Indian Ocean, was of such epic proportions that even scientists accustomed to puzzling out the complexity of Earth's behavior are awed. Berkeley Lab earth scientist Barbara Romanowicz and others have developed theories for the way the earth “relaxes” after the violence of such powerful quakes. Full story.

Gold Nanoparticles:
A Better Way to Tag
By Robert Service

For researchers looking to monitor the nanoscale movement of biomolecules, good techniques are hard to come by. But a group of scientists, including Berkeley Lab materials scientist Paul Alivisatos, has discovered a way to use pairs of gold nanoparticles to measure distances out to 70 nanometers and keep track of their targets indefinitely. Nanoparticles offer the opportunity to gauge the proximity of molecules across stretches equivalent to large complexes of proteins. That, in turn, may make it possible to track events from the binding of DNA strands to one another, to the ability of proteins called transcription factors to bind with and initiate genetic transcription. Full story.

Lab Calendar of Events
Now Available for Use

The Lab’s Communications Office has created a new online calendar where employees can go to view, search for, and add events taking place here, such as lectures, conferences, training classes, employee activities, special gatherings, and other functions open to the general Lab community. Go here to learn more about how the calendar works and the various features it offers.

Parking Limited Due
To Event Tomorrow

To accommodate parking for the Charles Shank Symposium taking place at the Lab tomorrow, the H-1 (Building 50) and H-2 (Building 70) parking lots will be closed. Also, 15 spaces in K-1 (cafeteria) lot will be unavailable. Those who normally use these areas should consider parking in other lots, or use alternative transportation.