Today at Berkeley Lab: October 24, 2007

Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2007

Today

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Procurement Lab
Equipment Vendor Fair
Perseverance Hall

11 a.m.
Nuclear Science
Muon Physics in the 21st Century
William Marciano, Brookhaven National Lab
Bldg. 50 Auditorium

Noon
CITRIS
Lessons Learned from the Internet Project
Douglas Comer, Cisco,
290 Hearst Mining Bldg. (campus)

Noon
Dance Club
Intermediate Foxtrot
Lesson
Bldg. 51 Lobby

12:15 p.m.
Yoga Club
Class with Chris Hoskins
Bldg. 70-191

3 p.m.
CXRO
Synthesis and Characterization of Nanoparticle Assemblies for Electronic Applications
Jennifer Ayres, North Carolina State U.
Bldg. 6-2202

4 p.m.
Seaborg Center
Utilizing Polyoxometalate Ligands to Probe Structural
Iaian May, LANL
Bldg. 70A-3377

4 p.m.
College of Chemistry
Influence of Protein on Surfactant Self-Assembly in Oil/Water Mixtures
Stephanie Dungan, UC Davis
120 Latimer Hall (campus)

Tomorrow

11 a.m.
Scientific Computing
On a New Type of Information Processing for Efficient Management of Complex Systems
Victor Korotkikh, Central Queensland U., Australia
Bldg. 50A-5132

Noon
Environmental Energy Technologies
Towards Safer Lithium-Ion Batteries
Guoying Chen
Bldg. 90-3122

12:30 p.m.
Engineering Division
The World Trade Center: A Memorial and the Release of Results of a Five-Year Structural Engineering Investigation
Abolhassan Astaneh-Asl, UC Berkeley
Bldg. 50 Auditorium

2 p.m.
Advanced Light Source
Proposed Quantum-limited Electron Source
Eugene Commins, U.C. Berkeley
Bldg. 2-100B

4 p.m.
Physics
C3: The New Computational Cosmology Center at Berkeley Lab
Julian Borrill and Peter Nugent
Bldg. 50A-5132

Breakfast: Chorizo Scramble with Flour Tortilla
Tomorrow's Breakfast: Popeye Omelet with Fruit Salad
Pizza: Fresh Pineapple and Ham
Grill: Grilled Salmon with Honey Dijon Dressing on Baby Greens
Deli: Sicilian Combo Prestini
Carvery: Roasted Turkey Breast with Mashed Potatoes
Entree: Chicken Parmigiana with Pasta and Veggies

B'fast:	6:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Lunch:	11 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Full menu

Another Keasling Honor:
1 of 10 ‘Hottest Nerds’





Keasling

It may not be the most flattering of designations, but Berkeley Lab Physical Biosciences Division Director Jay Keasling has been selected by the international version of Newsweek magazine as one of its “10 Hottest Nerds.” The group, which also includes scientists like Eric Lander, J.Craig Venter and Svante Paabo, was asked what the current biosciences revolution means for the 21st century. Keasling’s reaction when told of his new status? “Well, I am a nerd,” he said. Read his (see last entry) and the other nerds’ comments here.

Batteries Expert Joins
Electrochemical Society





Newman

John Newman, with Berkeley Lab’s Environmental Energy Technologies Division, was recently made an honorary member of the Electrochemical Society. Newman is the leader of EETD’s Batteries for Advanced Transportation Technologies Program. At the society’s meeting in Washington D.C. earlier this month, Newman also received the Vittorio de Nora Award for contributions to the field of electrochemical engineering and technology. Go here to read more about Newman group.

Clean Water System
Nets Gadgil UN Award





Gadgil

Ashok Gadgil has received a Global Citizen Award from the United Nations Association (East Bay branch) for his development of a low-cost water purification system. Gadgil is a researcher with Berkeley Lab’s Environmental Energy Technologies Division. He was specifically recognized for his “individual efforts to ensure his invention is in place and functioning, saving lives and improving the quality of life of the beneficiaries.” The association seeks to support the work of the United Nations and the UN Charter.

Researcher's Microbes
Are Changing the World





Artemisinin

Jay Keasling is the personification of creative destruction. The award-winning director of Berkeley Lab’s Physical Biosciences Division is the developer of an ultra low-cost source of artemisinin, the active ingredient in anti-malarial drugs. His company, Amyris Biotechnologies, engineers microbes that produce artemisinin at 25 cents per dose, down from $2.40 today. So how is Keasling the personification of creative destruction? If you’re an artemisinin producer, Keasling’s success is going to put you out of business. And if you’re Acumen Fund — a lead investor in Advanced Bio-Extracts, an artemisinin producer — Keasling changes the return on investment equation. Full story.

New Lab Computational Cosmology Center Opens





Borrill



Nugent

A new Computational Cosmology Center (C3), which brings together six scientists from the Lab’s Computational Research and Physics divisions to answer several key questions about the universe’s origin and expansion, will celebrate its opening tomorrow. The 5 p.m. launch will be preceded by a seminar given by C3 leaders Peter Nugent and Julian Borrill at 4 p.m. The event takes place at the center’s location in Building 50B-4206.

Physical Society Annual
Meeting This Week

The California Section of the American Physical Society is holding its annual meeting at Berkeley Lab this Friday and Saturday. Among the scheduled events is a two-part Nobel Symposium, which includes Lab Director Steve Chu, physicist George Smoot and life scientist Donald Glaser, which takes place Friday at 5 p.m. and Saturday at 1:15 p.m. Registration for the meeting is closed, though there may be some space available at some of the sessions. Go here for more information.

UC Open Enrollment 2008 Starts Nov. 1

Open Enrollment, the time when Lab employees can make changes to their UC health and welfare benefits plans, runs from 8 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 1, through midnight on Tuesday, Nov. 27. Employees will be mailed a green Open Enrollment booklet, which is also available online on UC's Open Enrollment website. Employees hired after Aug. 30 this year will not be able to complete open enrollment transactions online and should use a paper form. Contact the Benefits office (x6403) for more information.

WEATHER

Clear.
High: 71° (22° C)

Extended Forecast

EMERGENCY INFO

Emergency: Call x7911
Cell Phones: Call 911
Non-emergency Incident Reporting: Call x6999

SECON level 3

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