DOE SciDAC-2
Proposals Sought

The Department of Energy's Office of Science and the National Nuclear Security Administration are seeking applications for projects in the Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) research program. The SciDAC program was initiated in 2001 as a partnership involving all SC program offices — Advanced Scientific Computing Research, Basic Energy Sciences, Biological and Environmental Research, Fusion Energy Sciences, High-Energy Physics and Nuclear Physics — to fully realize the potential of emerging petascale computers for advancing scientific discovery. More information about the SciDAC-2 project, including application forms, can be found here.

New Weight Watchers
Session to Start Up

The next on-site session of Weight Watchers, sponsored by the Lab's Health Services Department, begins Wednesday, Jan. 11. The 45-minute meeting begins at 1:15 p.m. in Building 26-109. Weekly meetings for the 14-week session will continue on the same day at the same time and location. Cost is $168. Those interested in joining should contact Cathy Wentworth at x5334 by Jan. 9.

Breast Oncology
Retreat Jan. 24-25

Berkeley Lab Life Sciences Division Director Joe Gray is among the hosts of UC San Francisco's annual Breast Oncology Program Scientific Retreat, Jan. 24-25 at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco. The retreat will focus on the concept of "Integrating Molecular Medicine into Practice" in the context of breast cancer. Lab employees interested in attending can go here for more information and to register.

The 'Eyes' Have
It in January

The Lab's Health Care Facilitator office would like to remind employees that January is National Eye Care Month. It is important to consult your eye doctor once every two years. Diminishing eyesight may be nothing more than natural aging, but it might also signal a more serious problem, such as Glaucoma. This disease has no initial symptoms, but can cause blindness if not detected and controlled with medication. University of California vision benefits can be accessed here. Also, staff who have eyeglasses they don't use anymore can drop them off at Health Services (Building 26) for donation to those in need.

UC Berkeley Tests
New Hydrogen Car

Researchers at UC Berkeley received an unusual gift for the holidays — a new hydrogen fuel cell car. For the next two years, they will get to drive the vehicle, courtesy of the DaimlerChrysler Corporation — as part of a project to study the vehicle's use in real-world conditions. This project is part of an effort by the Department of Energy to assess the viability of hydrogen vehicles. Full story.

Using a new laser "virtual star" at the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii, astronomers have taken the first clear picture of the center of our Milky Way galaxy — including the environs of a supermassive black hole at its very center. The 10-meter Keck II Telescope is the first instrument of its size to incorporate Laser Guide Star adaptive optics. Full story. Former Berkeley Lab astrophysicist Jerry Nelson aided in the original design of the Keck telescope.