Vegas Clubs Must Choose Food Service or Smoking
By Liz Benston

Some of Las Vegas' hottest nightclubs and lounges must ban smoking because they also operate as restaurants at other times of the day, health authorities have said. Health officials concluded that allowing businesses to operate both smoking and nonsmoking hours violates the spirit of the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act because trace amounts of pollutants can remain after smoking has ceased. As evidence, the Health District cites research by Berkeley Lab that measured the presence of pollutants that were absorbed by walls and furniture in a home after smoking had stopped. Full story.

Unplug Appliances to Shave
Watts From Power Bill
By Christopher Kirkpatrick

Home air conditioners are energy hogs, but little sources of power running quietly behind the scenes can also pile up over time, adding to costs and demand. It's cell phone chargers left plugged in, DVD clocks running day and night. Televisions, cable boxes, digital video recorders — any device with a computer chip that allows a display clock or remote control to work. Berkeley Lab estimates the power wasted from a typical home's electronics equals burning a 60-watt bulb year-round. Among the worst offenders: idle cable boxes. Full story.

Young, Veteran Scientists Get Innovation Awards

Anderson
Pines
Segalman

Berkeley Lab materials scientists Rachel Segalman and J. Christopher Anderson, both 31, have been recognized by Technology Review Magazine as being among the world's “Top Young Innovators” under the age of 35.  Segalman was honored for discovering that cheap organic molecules can be used to generate electricity from heat, while Anderson was lauded for creating tumor-killing bacteria. Anderson, along with two other TR35 winners, worked in Berkeley Lab Physical Biosciences Division Director Jay Keasling's lab. Also, Berkeley Lab Senior Scientist Alex Pines was selected as one of R&D Magazine’s top 100 innovators for his development in the area of magnetic resonance imaging that could eliminate the need for powerful magnets. Full story.

Earth Scientist to Speak
At Geochemical Meeting

Steefel

Berkeley Lab earth scientist Carl Steefel will present a keynote speech at the annual Goldschmidt Conference in Cologne, Germany next week. The conference is considered the world's top geochemistry and mineralogy meeting. Steefel will speak on “Geochemical and Model-Driven Approaches to Determining Reaction Rates at the Earth's Surface."  Go here to learn more about Steefel’s research.