Chemist Named to National
Science Medal Committee

Hoffman

A UC Berkeley professor and Berkeley Lab nuclear scientist renowned for her discoveries in nuclear chemistry was appointed by President Bush last month to the President’s Committee on the National Medal of Science. Darleane Hoffman, who received a National Medal of Science of her own in 1997, will join 11 other former medalists in reviewing nominations and recommending honorees to the President for the medal, the nation’s highest scientific honor. Full story.

New Security Operations
Manager Named

Brewington

Tony Brewington has been named by Landmark Protection Corporate Security as the new operations manager at Berkeley Lab. Landmark Protection took over the Lab’s security contract in August. Brewington will manage over 30 Landmark Protection employees at the Lab. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 2001 to 2007, where he oversaw personnel, infrastructure, and electronic-security programs. He succeeds Kevin Perez, who was acting operations manager and will assist Brewington through the transition.

Clarification of New
E-Mail Charges

As announced in Monday’s edition of Today at Berkeley Lab, the IT Division has lowered its cost for e-mail storage. As of Oct. 1, e-mail is free of charge, including up to 3 GB of storage. Storage above 3 GB will cost $10/month and be prorated to actual average usage.

Tips on Using Lab’s
Blood Pressure Machines

To encourage the prevention and monitoring of heart disease, the Lab’s Health Services Department has set up blood pressure machines in the lobbies of the cafeteria and Building 26. Staff are encouraged to use the machines, but should follow these guidelines to ensure accurate measurements.

Energy-Efficient Lab
Equipment for All

Mathew

If you live in the United States, it's easy to spot the most energy-efficient appliances at your local home electronics store. Thanks to a joint program of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy, more than 50 types of products sport an "Energy Star" label. But leaf through a catalog of lab equipment, and you'll find no such guides. Paul Mathew hopes to change that. The staff scientist at Berkeley Lab’s Environmental Energy Technologies Division has been working with the EPA for more than a year to put Energy Star labels on lab appliances. Full story.

Chu's Talk Inspired
Solar Thermal Innovator

John O'Donnell started thinking about saving the world In the late 1970s, working to harness fusion at Princeton's Plasma Physics Lab. "The sense was, if it was successful it would change the world," O'Donnell recalls. It wasn't successful. Now he's convinced he's found something else important: miles of mirrors focusing the sun's rays onto pipes to heat water to run hulking steam turbines. For O'Donnell, the journey began in 2005, when he heard Nobel laureate and Berkeley Lab Director Steve Chu talk. "Chu said that everything you've heard about climate change is wrong. It is much worse than people know, and every engineer should be working on it," O'Donnell recalls. Full story.

HILAC Engineer Newell
Passed Away Last Month

George Newell, Jr. died at his home in Alameda on Sept. 25 after a long illness. He was 84. Newell served in the Army from 1942 to 1946 then, in 1956, began working at the Rad Lab (Berkeley Lab’s former name) on the Heavy Ion Linear Accelerator (HILAC). During his tenure, he assisted the scientific team that discovered the elements Rutherfordium (#104) in 1969 and Seaborgium (#106) in 1974. He retired as a Staff Scientist Mechanical Engineer in 1984. Donations in Newell’s name can be sent to the National Parkinson Foundation. Full story.