Did Comet Kill Mammoths And Restart Last Ice Age?
By Jeanna Bryner

Firestone

An extraterrestrial object with a three-mile-wide girth appears to have exploded over southern Canada nearly 13,000 years ago, wiping out Ice Age megafauna such as mastodons and mammoths and killing uncounted Stone Age humans. "Based on the distribution of material, it looks like this impact probably occurred in southern Canada near the Great Lakes, over what at that time would have been a major glacier," said Berkeley Lab nuclear scientist Richard Firestone at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union yesterday. Full story.

Scholarship for Female Physicists Available

Applications for the M. Hildred Blewett Scholarship for women physicists are now being accepted.  This scholarship was established to enable women to return to physics research after interrupting their careers for family reasons. The scholarship consists of an award of up to $45,000.  Applications are due on Friday, June 1. Eligibility information and an online application can be found here.

Reduced Cafeteria
Menu on Friday

Due to the Memorial Day holiday, the Lab's cafeteria will be reducing its menu on Friday.  Selections will include the Burrito Bar, Grill, Salad Bar and Pizza Station, as well as a selection of pre-made sandwiches. The Coffee Bar will close at 2 p.m.

Share Thoughts on Food Service Through Survey

Employees are asked to fill out a brief, five-minute survey on the food services provided at Berkeley Lab. The feedback will help the cafeteria offer the best possible customer service. Go here to take the anonymous survey.

Chu Urges Graduates
To Be Energy-Conscious
By Barbara Rodriquez

Boston University graduates

As the Boston University Class of 2007 graduates stood at the brink of entering a new chapter in their lives, they were urged by a Nobel-winning physicist to be more energy-conscious to ease the effects of global warming at the 134th Commencement on a drenched Nickerson Field. "I truly believe that this problem is the single-most important problem that science and technology must solve in the coming decades," said Commencement speaker Steven Chu, a 1997 Nobel Prize winner in physics and director of Berkeley Lab. Full story (registration required).

Beware the Wild Turkey: Tips on Avoiding Conflicts

Amid reports of wild turkeys accosting Berkeley Lab employees in recent days, now is a good time to review the bird's habits, especially during mating season. Males engage each other in dominance displays during this time and could attack passers-by who get too close. The most important advice, says EH&S compliance engineer Chris Byrne, is 1) don’t ever feed the birds, and 2) stand up to and scare turkeys who attack. Other tips can be found here.

Former Lab Employee
Dies; Memorial Today

Tilden

Cynthia Tilden, who worked at Berkeley Lab from 1991 to 2001, passed away May 15 in Oakland at age 55. Tilden originally worked in the Sponsored Projects Office, then with the Director's Office as the Lab contact for DOE's prime contract clauses and conditions, federal policies, and management directives. Funeral services are today at 11 a.m. at the Newall Chapel of Cypress Lawn Funeral Home in Colma. Contributions can be made to Amnesty International, the Sierra Club or a charity of your choice.