China Poses Huge
Challenge on Warming
By Robert Collier

Fridley

Another international conference on global warming came and went last week, with leading nations agreeing that urgent steps must be taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But those countries did not reach agreement on what is arguably their toughest challenge — coaxing China to take more effective action to limit its surging emissions. Many U.S. experts agree. "We have to engage China directly on clean coal and on industrial energy efficiency," said David Fridley, with Berkeley Lab's Environmental Energy Technologies Division. Full story.

Lab Leads DOE, EPA
Sequestration Project

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency have begun a coordinated research effort to evaluate how the storage of CO₂, a greenhouse gas, might affect the nation's valuable groundwater resources. The three-year effort, which will be led by Berkeley Lab, is an integral part of the Energy Department's Carbon Sequestration Program. The program is designed to develop technologies to reduce greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. Full story.

Former Physics Finance
Specialist Passes Away

Weber

Paul Wesley (Wes) Weber, a longtime employee of the Physics Division, passed away on April 5 after a brief illness. He was 75. Weber was the supervisor of the Powell-Birge Group scanners and measurers of bubble chamber pictures. He later managed the Division's finances, initiating the uniform use of computers to automate record keeping. Weber, known by colleagues for his sense of humor, retired in 1986, but continued to work part-time for several years. An avid sailor and visitor to every state via his RV, Weber is survived by his wife Kathleen, her daughter Kate, his son David and daughter Christina, and his former wife Betty. The family asks that donations be made to Habitat for Humanity in Weber’s name.

Talk by 'Optimization'
Expert on Thursday

Rose

Geordie Rose, founder and chief technology officer of D-Wave Systems, will discuss “Revolutionizing Optimization and Search Using Quantum Computers Accessed Via Web Services” at 1 p.m. on Thursday in Building 50A-5132. Rose will describe solving hard optimization and search problems to build a quantum system, and review how the system works and plans for deployment. D-Wave Systems is the world's first and only source of quantum computing for commercial applications. In February, D-Wave demonstrated this technology publicly for the first time.

Commencement Season,
Traffic Starts This Week

Berkeley Lab commuters who traverse the roadways around UC Berkeley should be aware of increased traffic starting tomorrow, when the campus conducts its commencement convocation (4 p.m. at the Greek Theatre on Gayley Rd.). Departmental commencement ceremonies will be held at various campus locations through Monday, May 21.