NERSC To Help With
Hurricane Research

Secretary Samuel Bodman announced on Friday three Department of Energy (DOE) initiatives to help the people in the Gulf coast region recover from the hurricanes in 2005, as well as prevent loss of life and damage in the future. DOE will donate 400,000 hours of supercomputing time at its National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NESRC), located at Berkeley Lab, to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to assist with the rebuilding of levees. Full story.

Goats munch grass at Berkeley Lab

Symmetry, The Fermilab/SLAC physics magazine, this month features a story on "Ecoscience," in which efforts at Berkeley Lab and elsewhere to preserve and restore their sites' unique environments are described, including the Lab's use of goats to trim the hill's grasses. Also included in the article is a discussion of earth scientist Terry Hazen's work in microbial ecology and its potential use in bioremediation. Go here to read the story.

League of Women Voters members listen to energy talks at the Lab

Women Voters Club
Hears Energy Talks

About 35 local members of the League of Women Voters visited the Lab Thursday to learn about Environmental Energy Technologies Division research. They heard about energy-efficient windows from Stephen Selkowitz and Eleanor Lee, lighting from Steve Johnson, and cool roofing materials from Hashem Akbari. California Energy Commissioner and former Berkeley Lab scientist Arthur Rosenfeld provided a perspective on current state policies toward energy efficiency, and Severin Borenstein, Director of the UC Berkeley's Energy Institute, discussed California energy markets. Members of the League's Energy Committee are preparing reports for the statewide organization as it studies California energy policy issues.

Berkeley Lab science bowl participants

DOE Science Bowl Kicks
Off; Here on Saturday

Starting this week, America's next generation of scientists and engineers will put their knowledge to the test in the country's largest science tournament. The Department of Energy's National Science Bowl involves 12,000 students from 1,800 high schools across the country. This Saturday, 18 teams will engage in regional competition at Berkeley Lab, aided by numerous employees who volunteer their time as judges, scorekeepers and timekeepers. The bowl is an important part of DOE's effort to encourage America's best and brightest to explore science and engineering and ultimately help solve the great questions facing our nation and our world, says Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman. Full story.

Summer Lectures Set
For UCTV Broadcast

Five talks from last year's Summer Lecture Series at Berkeley Lab will be broadcast on the University of California's cable television station, UCTV, during February. They will be shown as part of UCTV's Teachers' P.E.T. (Professional Education for Teachers) series. Go here for a schedule of showings. Times may be different, depending upon the cable system carrying the series. Check local listings. UCTV can be seen on cable channels listed here. The programs will also be available at all times via webstream in a few weeks.

RHIC Gets New Lease
On Life with Outside Funds

Tubes inside RHIC tunnel

Brookhaven National Laboratory Director Praveen Chaudhari has announced a $13-million private contribution that will enable the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) to operate for 20 full weeks this year. The money was raised by Jim Simons, a member of the Board of Brookhaven Science Associates, which manages and operates the laboratory. This is a remarkable change in this year's outlook for RHIC, which under the FY 2006 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill was being forced to postpone its run until late this year. Full story.