Gray performs the Whetting of the Sword ceremony with a member of the University of Tempere staff.

Gray Receives Honorary
Doctor of Medicine

Life Sciences Division Director and Associate Laboratory Director for Life and Environmental Sciences Joe Gray received an honorary Doctor of Medicine from Finland’s University of Tampere on Sept. 16. The university awarded Gray the doctorate to acknowledge his central role in fostering molecular cancer research at the institution, which has led to the establishment of several productive cancer research groups. The ceremonial conferment of the doctoral degree followed Finnish academic traditions such as the Whetting of the Sword, which marked the beginning of the festivities.

Trees Felled in Hills
To Lessen Fire Risk
By Matt Krupnick

High up on Frowning Ridge, the poison oak is potent and rattlesnakes slither through the bushes, but chain saws and tractors are removing the area's greatest risk. UC Berkeley and several other agencies, including Berkeley Lab, are clearing tens of thousands of eucalyptus and Monterey pine trees from the Oakland and Berkeley hills, hoping to prevent future fires from turning into catastrophes. For university officials, most of the work is focused on the hundreds of acres of wilderness south of Grizzly Peak, mostly within the Oakland city limits. Officials estimate as many as 150,000 eucalyptuses and Monterey pines are on UC Berkeley's hills; they plan to remove up to 50,000 trees. Full story.

'Red Flag Warning'
Will Signal Fire Danger

During this fall period of high temperatures, low humidity and strong winds, "Today at Berkeley Lab" will inform employees of the days when fire danger in the hills is at its highest — the so-called "Red Flag Warning" days. Under those conditions, the "weather" box will display a red flag, and a link will take readers to the notification by the Emergency Digital Information Service web site for the State of California. On such occasions, employees are urged to exercise extreme caution when traversing the hills, and to be alert for any signs of fire.

Listen Up for Test
Of Lab PA System

The monthly test of the Lab's hill-wide public address system will take place tomorrow at 10 a.m. Employees who cannot hear the address can contact their building manager or Nikki De Jager to let them know.

Renowned cosmologist Stephen Hawking will be making a rare public appearance in Oakland on Nov. 10 to discuss "New Perspectives on the Origins of the Universe," and Berkeley Lab employees have been offered a 20 percent discount in ticket prices. The event at the Paramount Theatre will begin at 8 p.m. In order to qualify for the discount, staff is instructed to go to this link, follow the instructions and insert the special offer code printed there. Regular prices are $85 to $125 for orchestra seats, and $35 to $85 for balcony. Hawking is author of the best-selling book "A Brief History of Time" and currently holds the Lucasian Chair at Cambridge University.