Radio Report: Can
Termites Save World?

Living on Earth, a weekly environmental news program that airs on 300 public radio stations nationally, took a look at biofuels and their potential for replacing carbon-based fuels. In interviews conducted at the American Association for the Advancement of Science national meetings in San Francisco, reporter Bruce Gellerman asked the experts — Berkeley Lab Director Steve Chu and physical bioscientist Chris Somerville, and Caltech's Mel Simon — how termites and weeds can become the good guys in the fight to slow climate change. Listen here (Realplayer).

Symposium to Honor
Chemical Scientist

Lester

The campus will host a symposium honoring the 70th birthday of William Lester, a UC Berkeley chemistry professor and researcher with Berkeley Lab’s Chemical Sciences Division, March 27-31. Lester is best known for extending the powerful quantum Monte Carlo method to the range of chemical problems that form the traditional domain of quantum chemistry. More information about the symposium can be found here.

New Research Featured
In Latest Issue of SABL

Fruit fly embryo

The latest issue of Science at Berkeley Lab, or SABL, is now available online. Included are articles on how the "Seebeck Effect" could produce clean energy from waste heat, the maturation of methods to manipulate genes, and the imaging of fruit fly embryos in 3-D. These and other stories are available here.

Discounted Tickets
For Rep's 'Pillowman'

The Berkeley Repertory Theatre is offering Lab employees a 20-percent discount on tickets for their current show, The Pillowman. Go here to read a description of the play, which runs through March 11. Tickets can be purchased here (use promo code 2123).

Two Nonresident Tax
Workshops in March

The Lab's Payroll and International Researchers and Scholars offices will conduct two Nonresident International Tax Workshops in March. An overview of tax forms, tax treaties, and resources will be presented. Attendees can also get answers to visa questions relating to nonresident taxation issues. The sessions will be conducted on Tuesday, March 6, from 9 to 11:30 a.m. and Thursday, March 29, from 2 to 4:30 p.m., both in the Building 50 Auditorium.

'Warm Coats' Collected
At the Lab Distributed

The Lab's Philanthropy Club sponsored a One Warm Coat drive earlier this month, yielding 185 garments, says club president Sharon Buckley Hernandez. The coats were donated to the Bay Area Rescue Mission, which provides services to the homeless and impoverished. The Philanthropy Club is currently developing a calendar of events. Those interested in participating can contact Hernandez.