Lab FY06 Report Card:
All A’s, One B-Plus

The first results of the revamped Department of Energy laboratory appraisal process are in, and Berkeley Lab is at the head of the class. A new performance-based approach to assessment, started in FY06, was used to evaluate all 10 Office of Science laboratories in areas such as mission accomplishment, science and technology program management, business systems, EH&S, and facilities maintenance. In seven of eight performance categories, Berkeley Lab received A’s (EH&S got a B+) – top score of all national science labs. Go here to see the DOE’s report and lab scores, and read more details in the March 16 issue of The View.

New Daylight Saving
Dates Affect Calendar

Due to the recent change in federal law that shifts the start and end dates for Daylight Savings Time (DST), the Lab's calendar software must be upgraded. The upgrade will take place this Sunday, and may cause some events and recurring meetings — which are scheduled between the new and previous DST days (March 11 to April 1) — to be shifted by one hour from their intended time. Those who have scheduled events should check the Lab calendar on Monday to ensure the times are correct. A follow-up item in Monday's edition of Today at Berkeley Lab will include instructions on how to fix any meeting times that did not get adjusted. A bug in the Oracle calendar software necessitates the upgrade. Similar fixes are taking place at UC Berkeley and UC Irvine.

Energy Alliance Names
Meier as ‘Unsung Hero’

Meier

The Alliance to Save Energy (ASE) in Washington has presented its annual “Unsung Hero” of energy efficiency award to Alan Meier, of the Environmental Energy Technologies Division at Berkeley Lab. In her congratulatory remarks, ASE President Kateri Callahan cited Meier’s “unerring ability to identify important energy-saving opportunities that are so far ahead of their time that they are typically unfundable for the first few years, while Alan manages to get the rest of us to pay attention.” Read her prepared remarks here.

Biofuels Talks at AAAS
Get Broad Media Notice

The nation's — and world's — press found great interest in last weekend's reports on global warming and the promise of biofuels at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in San Francisco. Berkeley Lab's Steve Chu, Chris Somerville and Eddy Rubin were widely quoted from their press conference and symposium on domestic bioenergy. The British Broadcast Corporation beamed a Chu interview live via satellite back to Britain on Friday afternoon, shooting in the sunshine at Chrissy Field. Among the hundreds of other reports were stories in the ANG newspapers, Newsday (NY), MSNBC, Technology News Daily, ScienceNOW, and CNET.

In Energy Conservation, California Sees Light
By Steven Mufson

At the height of the 1973 energy crisis, Berkeley Lab energy research veteran Art Rosenfeld had a revelation. Disturbed about having to wait in line at a gas station, the particle physicist calculated that keeping his floor of offices lit all weekend as usual would consume the equivalent of five gallons of gasoline. So Rosenfeld took what then seemed like a bold step: He turned off the lights. For 30 years, Rosenfeld has been one of the forces guiding California on a mission of conservation. And today the state uses less energy per capita than any other state in the country. Full story.

H₂ Calculations Feature
On Current Cover of PRL

Quantum calculation

Seemingly simple physical phenomena can be tough to calculate. Berkeley Lab researchers and colleagues were first to achieve the complete quantum-mechanical solution of a system of four charged particles, namely a hydrogen molecule, over a year ago. The same researchers, including Tom Rescigno and Bill McCurdy of the Lab's Chemical Sciences Division, made the cover of Physical Review Letters with new studies of the double photoionization of H₂, which is what happens when a single photon hits the molecule hard enough to send both its electrons flying. Read the article here.