From left, Lee, Glaser, McFadden, Smoot, Townes, Chu and Birgeneau

Nobelists Featured
In Vanity Fair Magazine

A full-page photo of six Berkeley Nobel Prize winners, including Berkeley Lab Director Steve Chu and physicist George Smoot, are included in this month's issue of Vanity Fair magazine. Also in the photograph are former Lab scientist Yuan T. Lee, Lab guest Donald Glaser, UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, and the campus's Daniel McFadden and Charles Townes. Go here for more on the feature and to view a video of the photo shoot.

Climate Change Expert
Leads New Department

Collins

William Collins has joined the Lab's Earth Sciences Division to head a new department focusing on climate science. Collins arrives from the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, where he chaired the scientific steering committee for the Community Climate System Model's version 3. Collins was also a lead author of the United Nation's recent Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change report. "We're extremely pleased," says Ernie Majer, ESD's acting director. "Bill's arrival not only fits ESD's future but the Lab's future goals to build a national center for integrated climate science." For more on Collins, see the next issue of The View.

Materials Scientist
Wins Prestigious Award

Ritchie

Rob Ritchie, with the Lab's Materials Sciences Division, was chosen by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining in London as the recipient of its A.A. Griffith Medal and Prize for 2007. The award, named after the pioneer in fracture research, is given "in recognition of distinguished work which has made, or is making, a notable contribution to any branch of materials science." The award will be presented to Ritchie at the Institute's annual dinner in London in July. 

Chu Speaks on Helios
At Berkeley Rep Series

The first of a three-part series on the Lab's development of alternative fuel sources takes place at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, April 23, when Lab Director Steve Chu discusses "The Energy Problem: What the Helios Project Can Do About It" at the Berkeley Repertory Theater. Associate Lab Director Paul Alivisatos will speak on "Nanoscience at Work: Creating Energy From Sunlight" on May 14, and Jay Keasling, Physical Biosciences Division director, will talk about "Renewable Energy From Synthetic Biology," same time and location. Admission is free. Go here for more information.

Energy Expert to Speak
At State Rep's Meeting

Mills

California Assemblywoman Loni Hancock is hosting "The Temperature’s Rising! A Town Hall Meeting on Solutions to the Global Warming Crisis" this Saturday. Evan Mills, a researcher with the Lab's Environmental Energy Technologies Division, will be a participant in the meeting's panel on "Bringing it All Back Home: What Can Individuals Do to Affect Climate Change." The meeting runs from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Berkeley City College's auditorium, 2050 Center St. in Berkeley. The event is free and open to the public.

Lab Well Represented
At April 21 Cal Day

The UC Berkeley campus will hold its annual open house — Cal Day — on Saturday, April 21 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Several Lab scientists will be delivering lectures, and the Environmental Energy Technologies Division will have an exhibit displayed near the Campanile (details to follow in a future TABL announcement). Among the lecturers are Chris Somerville ("Curbing Climate Change," 2 p.m., 10 Evans Hall), Per Peterson ("Nuclear Energy for Low-Carbon Transportation Fuels," 1 p.m., 3117B Etcheverry Hall), Jay Keasling ("Synthetic Biology: From Bugs to Drugs and Fuels," 9 a.m., 390 Hearst Mining Building), and Michael Manga ("Why Do Volcanoes Erupt Explosively?" 2 p.m., 141 McCone Hall). Arun Majumdar will provide an overview of nanoscale research at 11 a.m. in Sibley Auditorium. Go here for more details on these and other Cal Day events.