Video Looks at Lab,
Campus Green Efforts

The first installment of ZDNet’s video series on “The Green Enterprise” focuses on the efforts of Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley to conduct business in energy-efficient ways and their research on clean energy technologies. The 12-minute-long segment includes Molecular Foundry director Carolyn Bertozzi on the building's green construction methods, materials scientist Dave Kavulak on the new generation of solar cells , and Allan Chen, with the Environmental Energy Technologies Division, on the Lab’s windows facilities. Go here to view the story. 

Collaboration Agreement
For Homestake Outlined

Members of the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority are making strides toward developing an interim lab at the 4,850-foot level of the old Homestake Mine within the next year. Principal Investigator and Berkeley Lab physicist Kevin Lesko and other key leaders met in mid-August with the National Science Foundation Deep Underground Science and Engineering Lab (DUSEL) project manager to outline an agreement between the NSF and Berkeley Lab for the Homestake proposal for DUSEL. Full story.

Training Postdocs:
Communication is Key

The postdoctoral years are typically a stepping-stone to a position as head of an academic or industrial laboratory. To help them reach this goal, postdocs rely on regular feedback from their supervisors. Some use formal evaluations for giving feedback. "Each employee at Berkeley Lab goes through an annual process of evaluation," says physicist Natalie Roe. "It forces everyone, at least once a year, to check in." Kyle Dawson, a Berkeley Lab postdoctoral fellow in physics, also received feedback on how to supervise undergraduate students. "I did not know how to do that so I got advice," said Dawson. Full story.

From l-r, Roe, Wang, Lee and Wong

Staff Volley, Serve, Hit
At Tennis Tournament

The Lab’s Tennis Club held its annual tournament last week on campus, and after two evenings of doubles matches, two teams emerged as winners. The overall victors were Taek Soon Lee (Physical Biosciences) and Sherman Wong (Office of the Chief Financial Officer). Winners of the consolation bracket were Natalie Roe (Physics) and Kuan-Yu Wang (Environmental Energy Technologies Division). Go here to see a photo of tournament participants. The Tennis Club normally plays on campus at noon during the week, though other times can be arranged. For more information, contact Csaba Toth.

Nuclear Forensics Topic
Of Physics Meeting

Nuclear forensics will be the main topic of discussion at the next dinner meeting of the Northern California Chapter of the Health Physics Society, a group that includes several Berkeley Lab scientists. David Smith, with Livermore Lab, will start the discussion with his talk on “Following the Clues: The Role of Nuclear Forensics in Preventing Nuclear Terrorism.” The event takes place Thursday, Sept. 13, at Francesco’s Restaurant in Oakland. To attend the talk, register here by Thursday.

Nuclear Research Teams
Receive Grant Funding

The Department of Energy announced the selection of 11 university-led grant recipient teams for cooperative research projects under its Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (NERI) for up to $30.7 million over three years.  NERI is an initiative focused on developing advanced nuclear energy systems and providing state-of-the-art research concerning nuclear science and technology. Berkeley Lab is among the members of a team looking at advanced aqueous separation systems for actinide partitioning. Full story.