Supercomputing Enters
Corporate IT Mainstream

Gates (left) and Kramer

In a keynote speech last week at the SC05 super- computing conference, Microsoft’s Bill Gates laid out his plan for entering the burgeoning scientific computing market, making a case for wider use of supercomputing technology. Berkeley Lab’s William Kramer, head of high-performance computing at NERSC, said that Gates' appearance was an indication of the growing awareness of supercomputing's importance. "The output of [high-performance computing] activities are no longer hidden behind a curtain, if you will," said Kramer, the conference's general chairman. Supercomputing is "being scaled down so more people can make use of these very complicated tools." Full story.

BES Team Leader
Bill Oosterhuis Dies

Oosterhuis

Bill Oosterhuis, a Team Leader for Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Chemistry in the Office of Basic Energy Sciences, and formerly a researcher at the Advanced Light Source, passed away on November 16. Before joining DOE, Oosterhuis was a program manager and section head in the Division of Materials Research at the National Science Foundation. From 1986-1987, he was on a detailed assignment at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and he also held a faculty position at Carnegie-Mellon University. Oosterhuis was a fellow of both the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Funeral arrangements are pending.

DOE Project Assessment
Chief to Speak on Dec. 1

Lehman

Dan Lehman, namesake of the Department of Energy’s famous “Lehman Reviews,” will visit Berkeley Lab on Dec. 1 and speak to employees on “Large Science Project Experience at the DOE.” Lehman is director of the Office of Science’s Office of Project Assessment, which conducts technical, cost, schedule and management peer reviews of construction projects and large experimental equipment. The free talk will take place at 2 p.m. in the Building 50 Auditorium. For more on Lehman’s office, go here.

Centennial Drive Repairs
To Slow Traffic Nov. 29