Quest for Dark Energy:
High Road or Low?
By Adrian Cho

Perlmutter

A space telescope could reveal the mysterious stuff that is blowing the universe apart — if those on the ground don't do it first. Since 1929, researchers had known that the universe is expanding. But they assumed the expansion is slowing. Two teams set out to observe the slowing by measuring the distances to exploding stars known as supernovae. They found the expansion is accelerating, as if driven by some weird space- stretching "dark energy." "When we first saw the result, I assumed our data was miscalibrated," recalls Berkeley Lab physicist Saul Perlmutter. Full story.

Milestone Reached
For LED Lighting

Johnson

Cree, Inc., manufacturer of high brightness LED (Light Emitting Diode) solid-state lighting components, recently announced breakthrough performance results achieved in development of their standard white Xlamp 7090 Power LED. "These performance results indicate that the LED industry is at least two years closer to achieving the holy grail of 150 lumens per watt," notes Steve Johnson, head of the Lighting Research Group at Berkeley Lab's Environmental Energy Technologies Division. "The LED industry is advancing brightness at a far greater pace than anticipated, which is great news." Full story.

Parking Lot D (the "Pit") and the access road to this area will be closed from 11 p.m. tomorrow to 7 a.m. on Thursday to facilitate the removal of modular buildings there. Approximately 10 spots will be unavailable throughout Wednesday in preparation. Also tomorrow, the cafeteria parking lot will have limited parking to accommodate the Red Cross Bloodmobile and a conference.

Drop Off Electronic
Waste at Solano Stroll

During the Solano Stroll, on Sunday, Sept. 11, visitors can drop off computers, monitors, TVs, VCRs, modems, cell phones, laptops, answering machines and other electronic waste (other than kitchen appliances). Lamps and batteries will also be accepted. There are no residency requirements for this drop-off. Items will be accepted at "Environmental Alley," located between Masonic and Evelyn St.