Today at Berkeley Lab: September 21, 2006

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Today

7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
EHS
Red Wing Shoemobile
Bldg. 56 Parking Lot

8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Benefits Office
FITSCo Counseling
Alyssa Valladao
Bldg. 26-109

8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Health Care Facilitator
Onsite Dental Mobile
Bldg. 62 Redwood Grove

9 a.m.
EHS 348
Chemical Hygiene & Safety
Bldg. 70A-3377

9:30 a.m.
Advanced Light Source
Femtosecond Photoemission Studies on Copper Photocathodes, Shockley Surface States, and Image Potential States
Emanuele Pedersoli
Bldg. 6-2202

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

Tomorrow

10:30 a.m.
Center for Beam Physics
Progress and Challenges in the Development of High Field Magnets for Future Colliders
GianLuca Sabbi
Bldg. 71-264

Noon
Yoga Club
Class with Naomi Hartwig
Bldg. 70-191

2 p.m.
UC Berkeley
DNA: Not Merely the Secret of Life
Ned Seeman, NYU
390 Hearst Mining Bldg.

2 p.m.
Life Sciences
Genome-Scale Cancer Biology
Olli Kallioniemi, U. of Turku, Finland
Bldg. 84-318

Morning Editions: Avocado and Swiss Omelette with Fruit and Toast
Tomorrow's Breakfast: Biscuits and Gravy with 2 Eggs
Market Carvery: Sweet and Sour Pork over Rice
The Fresh Grille: BBQ Beef Sandwich with Fries and Fruit
Menutainment: Spaghetti with Meat or Marinara Sauce

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

The Weirdest Type
Ia Supernova Yet





Nugent

A group of scientists affiliated with the SuperNova Legacy Survey (SNLS) have found evidence that there is more than one kind of Type Ia supernova, a class of exploding stars which until now has been regarded as essentially uniform. Supernova SNLS-03D3bb is more than twice as bright as most Type Ia supernovae but has much less kinetic energy and appears to be half again as massive as a typical Type Ia. The lead authors of the report include former Berkeley Lab physicist Andrew Howell and Peter Nugent, an astrophysicist with the Computational Research Division. These and many of the other authors are members of the Supernova Cosmology Project based at Berkeley Lab. Full story.

Avoid Overexposure
To Ultraviolet Light

In August, a Fermilab employee was planning to take digital images of a niobium plate. Normal illumination cannot be used because of the highly reflective nature of niobium, so the employee used an ultraviolet (UV) lamp from a laminar flow hood. The employee was inside the hood for 10 minutes taking pictures. The exposure occurred at noon, and at 10 p.m. the employee exhibited sunburn on the face and neck, blurred vision, and pain in the eyes. Diagnosis was sunburn and UV keratitis in the eyes. The effect of UV exposure is a mixture of length of exposure time, intensity of the source, distance to source and wavelength. Go here for more information on the dangers of UV light and how to avoid injury.

ESnet's Metzger Co-Authors Conference's 'Best Paper'





Metzger

ESnet's Joe Metzger, along with collaborators in five other countries, received the award for best paper at the International Conference on Internet Surveillance and Protection held last month in France. The paper, entitled "Complementary Visualization of perfSONAR Network Performance Measurements," can be read here.

Computer Scientist's
Talk Wins ACS Award





Schrier

Joshua Schrier, a postdoc in the Scientific Computing Group, was honored at the American Chemical Society's meeting last week for his talk on "Applications of the Charge Patching Approach to Individually Heterostructured Semiconductor Nanocrystals." The lecture won the "Emerging Technologies in Computational Chemistry" award. Go here to read more about Schrier's research.

Lab Experts Featured
In Climate Change Story





Fung

This month's issue of California magazine, published by UC Berkeley's Alumni Association, devotes much of its content to "Can We Adapt: The Science And Psychology of Climate Change." Among the stories in the special report is one entitled "Extreme Science," featuring Berkeley Lab Director Steve Chu and earth scientist Inez Fung. "Scientists are racing to determine a 'tipping point' of catastrophic climate change - and to develop technologies to prevent it," the feature begins. Also in this issue: "Jay Keasling's Synthetic Solutions," about the Lab Physical Biosciences Division Director's search for artificial genomes to address the energy crisis.

Strong Winds Signal
Critical Fire Danger

The National Weather Service is predicting strong winds and low humidity from now through Saturday. Combined with abundant dry fuels, this can create potentially dangerous fire conditions. Berkeley Lab employees are urged to be careful when using any flame or spark-producing items and to stay alert for smoke or signs of fire in and around the hills. If a fire is observed, call x7911.

Use Caution Near Deer During Mating Season

Recent sightings of male deer pursuing their female counterparts at Berkeley Lab are a reminder that fall is deer mating season, and that means the potential for attacks of humans who get in their way. Employees are encouraged to keep their distance when observing deer on the property, and not to provoke them in any way. As this story from USA Today last year attests, the clash between nature and civilization is not unusual at this time of year.

Discount Tickets
On Sale Today

Discount tickets for local amusement parks will be on sale today near the cafeteria café during the lunch hour.

Got News? We'll Help
You Share it With Lab

The editors of Today at Berkeley Lab can help departments and individuals spread important news about conferences, research, awards, and other activities with the Lab community. Know an interesting person who works here? Send along that information as well so we can share their story with others. Story ideas can be e-mailed here.

WEATHER

Clear.
High: 78° (26° C)

Extended Forecast

SECURITY CONDITION

SECON level 3

More Information

INFO