Chu, Keasling Profiled
On Energy Research

Science magazine devoted this week's issue to the topic of energy and sustainability. Among the suite of articles included in the publication is a profile of Lab Director Steve Chu, who discusses his efforts to make solar energy a "practical, commercial, and world-changing reality."  A story on Physical Biosciences Division Director Jay Keasling is also included, which explains his use of synthetic biology to "add and remove entire biosynthetic pathways to the genomes of organisms to get them to produce, among other things, fuels." Go here to read Chu's profile, and here for Keasling's (note: the links are a bit slow this morning but are operating).

Big Oil Cautious About
Clean-Energy Spending

To most people, a half-billion-dollar investment in biofuel research looks like serious money. That's the amount oil giant BP said last week it will spend to create an alternative energy research center with UC Berkeley, the University of Illinois and Berkeley Lab. The center represents the latest example of Big Oil pumping cash into the search for new sources of power. BP plans to spend $8 billion over 10 years on its own alternative energy effort, which includes building solar cells and wind farms. The company also plans to build a Los Angeles County power plant that will take petroleum coke, separate it into carbon dioxide and hydrogen, burn the hydrogen as fuel and store the carbon dioxide in oil reservoirs, deep underground. Full story.

Light-Sensing Protein
Can Switch to Solar

Liphardt
Walter

Jan Liphardt in the Physical Bioscience Division and his graduate student Jessica Walter, along with Derek Greenfield and Carlos Bustamante, have shed new light on proteorhodopsin, the light-sensitive protein found in many marine bacteria. Genetically engineering a strain of E.coli to express proteorhodopsin, they demonstrated that when the ability to respire oxygen is impaired, bacterium equipped with this protein will switch to solar power to carry out vital life processes. Microbes with a solar power option should prove very useful for producing biofuels. Read the press release here.

Investment Strategy
Workshop Tomorrow

FITSCo Senior Retirement Counselor Alyssa Valladao will conduct a “Determining a Strategy for Investing” workshop tomorrow from noon to 1 p.m. in the Building 50 Auditorium. This workshop is directed toward employees who are participating in the University of California Retirement Savings Program, the Defined Contribution Plan (DCP), Tax Deferred 403(b) Plan, and the 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plan, but who may be invested in only a single fund, or who do not know in which funds they have invested.

Technology Review Seeks Award Nominations

Technology Review is seeking nominations for its TR35 (formerly the TR100) award, which honors the world's top young innovators. The awards span a range of technologies including biotech, arts and entertainment, software development, semiconductors, transportation, energy, and new materials. Nominees must be under age 35 as of Oct. 1. The deadline for nominations is March 1. Forms are available here.