Today at Berkeley Lab: November 6, 2006

Monday, November 6, 2006



		16 More Days Left In Open Enrollment

Today

10 a.m.
EHS 22
Ergonomics for Supervisors
Bldg. 70A-3377

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
CFO - Procurement
eBuy Orientation for Computer Hardware, Software, Peripherals and Supplies
Bldg. 54-130

10:30 a.m.
Beam Physics
Overview of Tsinghua University's Scientific Research Programs in Accelerator and High Energy Physics
Kejun Kang, Chuangxiang Tang, Yuanning Gao,
Tsinghua U.
Bldg. 71-264

Noon
Berkeley Lab Institute
Dance Club Waltz Lesson
51 Bevatron Lobby

Noon
Yoga Club
Class with Inna Belogolovsky
Bldg. 70-191

Noon
EETD
Persuading a Puzzled Public to Adopt Demand Response
Chris Shockman, Shockman Consultants
Bldg. 90-3122

1 p.m.
EHS 260
Basic Electrical Hazards
Bldg. 70A-3377

4:30 p.m.
Physics Department
The Principle of Mediocrity
Alexander Vilenkin, Tufts U.
1 LeConte Hall

Tomorrow

9:30 a.m.
EHS 60
Ergonomic Awareness for Computer Users
Bldg. 70A-3377

10 a.m.
Benefits Office
Open Enrollment Employee Presentation
Bldg. 50 Auditorium

11 a.m.
Advanced Light Source
X-Ray Techniques for Tomorrow's Science: Nanometer-Scale Pictures and Sub-Picosecond Movies
J. Murray Gibson, Argonne Lab
Bldg. 6-2202

1 p.m.
EHS 278
Ladder Safety
Bldg. 70A-3377

2 p.m.
EHS 345
Chemical Hygiene for Facilities
Bldg. 70A-3377

4 p.m.
Life Sciences & Genomics
Detection of Allele Specific Copy Number Aberrations in Cancer using MIPs
Paul Spellman
Bldg. 66 Auditorium

Morning Editions: 2 Eggs, 2 Bacon Strips and 2 French Toasts
Tomorrow's Breakfast: Swiss and Avocado Omelette with Hash Browns and Toast
Market Carvery: Chicken Teriyaki over Rice
The Fresh Grille: Grilled Ham and Swiss Stacker with Fries and Coleslaw
Menutainment: Pasta Bar with Choice of Sauce, Garlic Bread and Salad

B'fast:	6:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Lunch:	11 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Full menu

Yano, left, and Yachandra

Photosynthetic Catalyst
May Aid Clean Energy

About 3.2 billion years ago, primitive bacteria developed a way to harness sunlight to split water molecules into protons, electrons and oxygen, the cornerstone of photosynthesis that led to atmospheric oxygen and more complex forms of life — in other words, the world and life as we know it. Today, scientists — including Berkeley Lab physical bioscientists Junko Yano and Vittal Yachandra — have taken a major step toward understanding this process by deriving the precise structure of a catalyst composed of four manganese atoms and one calcium atom that drives this water-splitting reaction. Full story.

Former Staff Activities
Coordinator Back at Post





Schmidt

Arabella Schmidt returns as the new coordinator of the Employee Activities Association (EAA) for FY07. A four-year veteran of the Lab's Human Resources Office, Schmidt is currently a recruiter for both the Operations and Accelerator and Fusion Research Divisions. "I am looking forward to coordinating this year's EAA. It's very important to make sure employees have various opportunities to get to know other lab employees and promote work-life balance," she said. The EAA sponsors recreational, cultural, educational and social activities at the Lab for employees. The EAA is also looking for new FY07 panel members. Those interested can e-mail Schmidt.

Electrical Switching
Takes Place Tuesday

The Facilities Division will be performing 12kV & 115kV switching to transfer the Lab's electrical load to the UC Berkeley substation tomorrow, beginning at approximately 6 a.m. This switching will allow for the safe performance of necessary maintenance and repairs to the Lab's Grizzly Peak Substation. The Lab will continue to be fed from the campus until the afternoon of Monday, Nov. 13. No power interruption is expected but the possibility always exists, so staff should take all precautions to protect personnel and property. A hill-wide announcement will precede the switching.

Veterans Day
Holiday Option

Eligible employees have the option of using Veterans Day, Friday, Nov. 10, as a paid holiday (if they have not already taken Cesar Chavez Day as one), with approval from a supervisor. Those who do, however, must use a second vacation day on Wednesday, Dec. 27. See the "Limited Floating Holiday Implementation Guidance" website for information on eligibility and time entry procedures. Laboratory policy concerning holidays is contained in the Regulations and Procedures Manual (RPM), Section 2.10. Go here to view the Lab's holiday schedule.

Spam Increases;
IT Takes Action

Due to an increase of a new type of image-based spam, Lab staff may have noticed a spike in the amount of unsolicited e-mails in their inboxes. Image-based spam contains an advertisement embedded within the message in common attachments like a .gif or .jpeg file, making it more difficult for spam blockers to identify. Some organizations have been slowed down by this increase, but Lab servers have not. The Information Technology (IT) Division blocks about 50 percent of Lab e-mail as spam. Lately about 5-to-10 percent of spam still gets through. Those who receive spam should delete it. IT is working on implementing new solutions that should improve spam control.

Active Directory
Now Includes Macs

In response to a recent meeting of the Lab's Mac Users Group, the Information Technology (IT) Division has begun to integrate Apple computers into Windows Active Directory (AD), which provides account management, print services and network file access. “Now we can help Mac users better connect to printers and provide them with password reset assistance,” said Nat Stoddard of the IT Help Desk, who was instrumental in the change. “Macs are becoming more popular and integrating them with Windows is essential. Eventually, we hope to go to a system where every platform can use the same printer and file servers — this is a step in that direction.” For details, go here.

Wrong Division Listed
For Nanomedicine Staff

The UC Berkeley press release on a new Nanomedicine Center that ran in Thursday's edition of Today at Berkeley Lab listed the incorrect home division for researchers Dirk Trauner and Richard Kramer. They work for the Lab's Materials Sciences Division.

WEATHER

Partly cloudy.
High: 69° (21° C)

Extended Forecast

SECURITY CONDITION

SECON level 3

More Information

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