Today at Berkeley Lab: October 24, 2006

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Today

8:30 to 10:15 a.m.
Human Resources
New Employee Orientation
Bldg. 50 Auditorium

10 a.m.
EHS 62
Worksmart Ergonomics
Bldg. 70A-3377

10:15 a.m.
EHS10
Intro to EH&S at Berkeley Lab
Bldg. 50 Auditorium

Noon
Environmental Energy Technologies
International Comparison in Electricity Tariffs
Sunghan Jo, Andong National U., Korea
Bldg. 90-3122

1:15 p.m.
EHS 735/739/738
Bloodborne Pathogens/Biosafety Training
Bldg. 70A-3377

3 p.m.
EHS 730
Medical/Biohazardous Waste
Bldg. 70A-3377

4 p.m.
Life Sciences & Genomics Divisions
Histone Replacement and Epigenetics
Steve Henikoff, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Bldg. 66 Auditorium

Tomorrow

9:30 a.m.
EHS 604
Hazardous Waste Generator
Bldg. 70A-3377

11 a.m.
EHS 622
Radioactive/Mixed Waste Generator
Bldg. 70A-3377

Noon
Yoga Club
Class with Chris Hoskins
Bldg. 70A-3377

Noon
Yoga Club
Class with Naomi Hartwig
Bldg. 937-302

3 p.m.
Advanced Light Source
High Energy Photoemission in Soft X-Ray Regime: Two Case Studies With (V1-xCrx)2O3 and Li0.9Mo6O17
Sung-Kwan Mo, Stanford U.
Bldg. 6-2202

Morning Editions: Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Sandwich with Roasted Potatoes
Tomorrow's Breakfast: Breakfast Burrito with Bacon and Eggs
Market Carvery: Brisket of Beef with Baked Potato and Vegetables
The Fresh Grille: Patty Melt with French Fries
Menutainment: Fiesta Taco Salad

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

Facilities' Reyes Resigns; Merola Interim Director





Reyes



Merola

Lab Director Steve Chu announced yesterday that he has accepted the resignation of Berkeley Lab Facilities Division Director George Reyes, effective October 31. Director Chu appointed Deputy Chief Operations Officer Sandy Merola as interim director. "I can speak for all of us in acknowledging George's contributions to establishing modern facilities at the Lab, and we all wish him well in his future endeavors," Chu said. Reyes cited his desire "to seek new opportunities outside of the Laboratory. I am excited about starting a new phase in my professional life. In doing so, I will genuinely miss one of the finest groups of people it has ever been my pleasure to work with." Reyes came to the Lab as Director of the Facilities Division in 2002.

Ronan Remembrance
Today On Campus

Michael Ronan, a Berkeley Lab physicist who died last week at age 57, will be remembered in a memorial service to be held at 6 p.m. today in Room 1 of LeConte Hall on the UC Berkeley campus. Those who knew Ronan are invited to share their feelings, observations, and remembrances of him. Following the service, light refreshments will be served in 375 LeConte. Go here for more on Ronan's life.

Good Housekeeping
Prevents Fire Hazards

A recent fire at another DOE facility emphasizes the importance of good housekeeping and the use of electrical devices that have been tested by an independent testing laboratory. A small fire under a desk triggered a fire alarm and set off building fire sprinklers. Fire fighters extinguished the blaze and no injuries occurred. An investigation concluded that a surge protector/power strip overheated due to clothing lying over the device that prevented proper cooling. It was also suspected that the power strip was not an Underwriters Laboratory (UL)-approved device, based on the spacing between the plugs. Go here to find out what people can do to prevent this from occurring at Berkeley Lab.

Researcher Engineering
A Better World
By Betsy Mason





Galitsky

Ambitious, idealistic students often dream of making the world a better place. What sets Christina Galitsky apart is that she is living that dream. Galitsky, with the Environmental Energy Technologies Division, divides her time at Berkeley Lab among devising ways to slow deforestation and protect Sudanese refugees from violence, developing technology to remove poison from water in Bangladesh and helping various industries become more energy efficient. It is all in a day's work for the 33-year-old chemical engineer. Full story.

Grants Allow Faster
Crystal Structure Solutions





Physical bioscientist Paul Adams, left, and the ALS's Corie Ralston

With genome sequencing having reached nearly a mass-production mode and new genes being identified on a regular basis, there is a growing demand for faster methods of identifying the structures of the proteins and nucleic acids being produced by these genes. Two new grants to researchers at Berkeley Lab are aimed at helping to meet this demand by further automating the crystallographic process. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute has awarded $4.8 million to upgrade the robotic capabilities of their crystallography beamlines at the Advanced Light Source, and the National Institutes of Health has awarded an $8.2 million grant to further develop a software program called PHENIX, which automates crystallography data acquisition and analysis. Full story.

Revised RIF Policy
Is Now In Effect

Effective immediately, the Laboratory has updated its policy on Reduction in Force (RPM §2.21(B)). The changes brought the policy into conformity with University policy and to provide a trial employment period to employees targeted for layoff but not yet terminated. Go here to see the revised Reduction in Force policy. This policy applies to non-represented employees only. Represented employees should contact their union representative or consult their collective bargaining agreement.

WEATHER

Clear.
High: 67° (19° C)

Extended Forecast

SECURITY CONDITION

SECON level 3

More Information

INFO