Berkeley Lab photographer Roy Kaltschmidt is no stranger to outlandish photo shoots. Past assignments had him shooting out of an open doorway from a little plane flying sideways and from the top of the Golden Gate Bridge. But his recent trip to the bowels of the earth to document the Sudbury Neutrino Experiment--SNO for short--was unlike anything he had experienced before.
"You have the feeling of witnessing something futuristic, not of this earth," Kaltschmidt said. "At least on top of the Golden Gate you have a bearing of where you are. Here you feel like you lose connection to the earth."
Built two kilometers under solid rock in a cavity the size of a 10 story building, the SNO experiment involves an international collaboration of 70 scientists from the U.S. (including Berkeley Lab), Canada, and Great Britain. Its aim: to unravel the mysteries of what may be the most common particle in the universe--the neutrino.
For about half a century the tiny, elusive particle and messenger from the sun has puzzled scientists. Because of its weak interaction with atomic nuclei, the neutrino travels freely through any material object and is very difficult to observe. Deep underground, the elaborate experiment is shielded from interference with ubiquitous cosmic rays, allowing scientists to observe tiny bursts of light that take place when neutrinos collide with other particles. Among other things, scientists hope to determine why experiments over the years have noticed an apparent deficit of solar neutrinos, or whether or not the particle has even the tiniest mass.
"This experiment offers us the opportunity to look into the sun and understand how it works," said nuclear scientist Kevin Lesko, project leader for the Berkeley part of the experiment. "We can learn about the nature of the neutrino, and if it has a little bit of mass, perhaps even answer some questions about dark matter and missing mass in the universe."
The ambitious project, to be finished early next year, is made possible by what is really a state-of-the-art underground laboratory built inside a nickel mine in Sudbury, Ontario--about an hour's flight from Toronto. The core of the experiment consists of a large acrylic vessel, 12 meters across, soon to be filled with a thousand tons of pure heavy water--$300 million's worth--on loan from the Canadian government.
The membrane-like vessel consists of 120 clear plastic sheets just five centimeters thick and bonded tightly together; it is enclosed in a stainless steel geodesic sphere, 18 meters across, covered with an array of 10,000 photomultiplier tubes, which was constructed at Berkeley Lab. Peter Purgalis, now retired from the Lab, designed the geodesic sphere and Gary Koehler of the Engineering Division designed the panels and tube housings. The sphere was assembled in Petaluma and shipped to Canada four years ago.
To oversee his part of the experiment, Lesko spends up to 100 days each year working inside the mine. "When you have a laboratory like Berkeley and you want to built something, it's relatively easy," he said. "You've got the infrastructure, you've got the engineers, the people you need. We started in the middle of Canada and had to build the infrastructure from barren ground."
To put together the observatory, pieces of equipment had to be lowered into the mine shaft through an elevator the size of a closet, then carted two kilometers along a tunnel to the cavity of the observatory and cleaned or decontaminated along the way to prevent any impurities from interfering with the experiment.
This is largely what Roy Kaltschmidt had to go through himself to make it to the observatory for his photo shoot on a snowy early morning last month. Dressed in miners' overalls and a hard hat, he caught the 6:30 a.m. elevator that took the miners down for their regular shift. "We were packed like sardines in this rectangular cage, shoulder to shoulder, row to row, unable to move," Kaltschmidt recalled. "The elevator is suspended on cables, bouncing around, with the only light on the helmet."
Once out of the cage, Kaltschmidt, Lesko and a few other Berkeley colleagues walked through the two kilometer horizontal tunnel to a decontamination area, where they were stripped naked, showered and given clean room clothes. After going through an air shower, they continued to a small elevator that took them to the cavity of the observatory.
"The place is more sterile than a hospital operating room," Kaltschmidt said. "It adds to this incredible feeling."
Concurs Lesko with a chuckle: "We thought we ought to get someone from Industrial Light and Magic to shoot this place. You could do a great science fiction movie."
Once inside, small lifts raised Kaltschmidt to allow him to take pictures from under the black top of the geodesic sphere. The vessel is surrounded by low lighting to keep the photo sensors safe. Lesko helped Kaltschmidt take pictures by swinging a 60 Watt lamp around during the long exposures. "You feel like you're in the middle of the Milky Way with stars blinking around you," Kaltschmidt said.
Unfortunately, the Berkeley team only had three hours to spend at the observatory, since everyone had to be out in time for some mining blasts. Both Kaltschmidt and the scientists wish they could have set their own schedule, a luxury they do not have. Indeed, the experiments provides scientists with their fair share of frustrations.
"When I lived in Seattle, I used to have some friends who lived on the island, and they objected to how the ferry schedule ran their whole lives," commented Lesko. "That sort of thing is true here, too. To get down there, you have to meet the schedule of the mine. The cage goes down at 6:30, so you have to get up at 5. Science people are used to working 12 to 14 hour days. There you can work only six hours, like the miners. You can't get as much done as you'd like."
But for all these inconveniences, Lesko said the experience has helped him appreciate even more the wonders of science and the support that a lab like Berkeley can provide. "Every time we ran into a problem, I found the solution was already taken care of," he said. "That's what a national lab can really do well. About 95 percent of the problems were solved before we even got there."
Lesko is scheduled to return to Sudbury in early December to oversee part of the final construction phase of the geodesic sphere. About 2,000 light sensors must still be added, with the construction expected to be finished by the end of January. That's just in time for the February inaugural ceremony, for which Vice President Gore and the Canadian and British prime ministers are expected to show up.
"That will be quite a party," Lesko said.
Photo: A mile underground scientists are assembling the futuristic-looking core of the SNO experiment: a geodesic sphere covered by an array of 10,000 photomultiplier tubes. The project will help provide key information about the nature of neutrinos. (SNO-XBD7910-04027-09) Photo by Roy Kaltschmidt
Photo: Project scientists take a break from work at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory in Canada. Left to right are Berkeley Lab project leader, Kevin Lesko, and Martin Moorhead and George Doucas from Oxford. (XBD9712-04566)
Berkeley Lab has been chosen as the first Department of Energy facility to pilot a program that may result in external oversight of nuclear and radiological safety for all DOE sites in the future.
Since 1994, the DOE has been considering potential external regulation of its facilities by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in order to improve effectiveness and efficiency beyond the current DOE radiological safety programs. And in June of this year, the DOE and NRC agreed to conduct simulated regulation programs to test the feasibility of such a transition.
Berkeley Lab was selected as one of six to 10 sites that will run the pilots over the next two years. Berkeley and the Radiochemical Engineering Development Center (REDC) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will be the locations for the first two in the series. Gary Zeman, Berkeley Lab's Radiation Control Manager, said Berkeley was chosen because of its multi-program nature and because of the similarities between operations here and at other university and research laboratories.
"For the Laboratory such a change would mean greater assurance of our radiological safety by applying a single regulatory framework and uniform standards, rather than more general regulations that have been applied across dissimilar facilities," Zeman said. "It's similar to our recent `Work Smart Standards' effort, in which we identified the work here and then applied regulations applicable to the hazards. One size doesn't fit all, and the NRC will regulate us only for the work performed."
For the laboratory population and the neighboring communities, NRC oversight will offer an extra measure of assurance that scientific programs adhere to the strict and appropriate safety rules established for similar facilities, according to Zeman. For example, UC Berkeley and other UC campuses fall within NRC jurisdiction and are regulated by the State of California under agreement with the NRC. One possible outcome of the pilot is that the State of California will regulate Berkeley Lab using the same radiation safety standards and requirements that apply to all similar institutions in the state.
The memorandum of understanding for the Berkeley Lab pilot was signed in late November by NRC Commissioner Shirley Jackson and DOE Secretary Federico Peña. A subsequent visit by a team of NRC officials marked the official start of the six months pilot. Upon conclusion of the process next year, the DOE will evaluate the outcome along with other pilots and decide whether or not to seek legislation authorizing long-term NRC regulation of its facilities.
Zeman said the pilot will include an evaluation of the Laboratory's current radiation safety standards, requirements, procedures, practices and activities, and will analyze how they compare to NRC's standards. A work plan is currently being developed for implementation this month.
As part of the process, public comments will be solicited through a stakeholders' meeting on Dec. 11. The DOE and NRC have invited all those interested in the project to hear a program description and ask questions at the Oakland Federal Building, 1301 Clay Street, Room N1-7, Oakland, from 7 to 9 p.m. Those who cannot attend the session can provide input in writing through Dick Nolan, manager of the DOE site office at Berkeley Lab, MS 90-1023.
A number of background documents on the NRC oversight program with DOE are available on the World Wide Web at http://www.NRC.gov/NRC/NMSS/doepilot.html.
Artificial cell membranes designed at Berkeley Lab have performed a variety of beneficial tricks in vitro, including detecting flu virus and blocking blood-vessel receptors that can trigger dangerous and painful swelling. Recently these lab-created cell membranes have moved out of the test tube and into their first in vivo test, where they have demonstrated significant blockage of inflammation in mice.
Jon Nagy of the Life Sciences Division and his colleagues have built sets of self-assembling membranes that form spherical liposomes--shapes that may resemble the primitive precursors of living cells.
Nagy's work with artificial membranes began with flat films on solid supports when, with Mark Bednarski and Deborah Charych and other colleagues in the Lab's Materials Sciences Division, the researchers found that certain amphiphilic monomers (molecules with water-seeking and water-avoiding ends) form thin films of lipids which link together under exposure to ultraviolet light; the resulting thin-film polymer, polydiacetylene, has a deep blue color.
Sugars can be attached to the lipids to form glycolipids; the thin-film polymer becomes decorated with randomly spaced carbohydrates. Tailored glycolipids eagerly bind to specific proteins, including the coat proteins of influenza virus--and in the process the films turn pink, making for a quick diagnostic test of the presence of the disease agent.
Says Nagy, "After a year of working with glycolipid films, we found we could form nanosized glycoliposomes [particles measured in billionths of a meter] which change color in solution, not just on a solid support. And the color change is much more intense." In the case of influenza, "the viruses are really adhering tightly, as if we'd fooled them into thinking our liposomes were real cells."
Natural sialic acids on cell surfaces can be degraded by a flu-virus enzyme; the degradation process seems to be important in allowing flu-virus replicants to escape infected cells. But the carbohydrate used in the flu-detecting artificial liposomes is a form of sialic acid which cannot be easily degraded. Thus it may be possible to develop a therapeutic use for these liposomes--by incorporating them in nasal sprays, for example, which could soak up the virus and stop the spread of the infection.
Nagy started thinking about what other biological systems might be fooled by artificial cell membranes. Of several promising avenues of research, he chose to work first on anti-inflammatory agents.
When triggered by injury or infection, the delicate lining of blood vessels produces receptors for specific sugars found on the membranes of some white blood cells, called neutrophils, which rush to sites of infection and injury. Although essential to the body's defenses, excess white blood cells in the wrong place--or adhering to tissue at the wrong time--are implicated in rheumatoid arthritis, septic shock, and injuries that can follow clamping of blood vessels during surgery. A method of controlling neutrophil adhesion to the blood-vessel lining, the epithelium, could alleviate pain and tissue destruction--and in some cases save lives.
Even when not clustered in a matrix, some sugars bind weakly to epithelial receptors and thus partially interfere with neutrophil binding--but the same sugars incorporated into the polymerized membranes of artificial liposomes promise to be far more potent at preventing neutrophils from attaching to blood vessel walls. As the "matrix" lipid of the new membranes, Nagy chose 10,12-pentacosadiynoic acid, more conveniently known as PDA.
Working with other scientists, Nagy coated glass tubes with the natural receptor, then rolled white blood cells down this "model blood vessel" while gradually introducing glycoliposomes. "The more liposomes we add, the faster the neutrophils roll, indicating that fewer and fewer can find a receptor that isn't already blocked."
"We call it the Velcro effect," says Nagy. "It's a mat of interconnections, thousands of individual sugars on the liposomes binding to thousands of epithelial receptors in a concentrated patch."
"It takes very little of the scientist's time to make a highly active assembly of glycoliposomes," Nagy explains, "because we don't have to engineer every step. The membranes assemble themselves--all we do is decide what ratios of components to add, form them into balls, and shine ultraviolet light on them. On each liposome, we are giving the target receptors a buffet of sugars and other chemicals to choose from; the receptors themselves recognize the important ligands. This approach is less than rational, more like evolution, but it gets precise results."
Very recent, preliminary results of in vivo tests with laboratory animals indicate that sugar-surfaced, polymerized artificial liposomes have the potential to be powerful anti-inflammation agents. "The results are exciting," says Nagy, "and put Berkeley Lab in an excellent position to work with pharmaceutical companies to develop this technology."
The "Velcro effect" with glycoliposomes may find use in other therapies: to block allergic responses in mucus membranes, for example, or to retard cancer metastasis. Artificial structures that can mimic behaviors of living organisms, long a chemist's dream, are making their mark in the real world.
Nagy's artificial liposomes are the subject of a current patent application; earlier in vitro results are detailed in the Oct. 19, 1997 issue of the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.
Photo: Jon Nagy with a computer model of an artificial liposome. Some glycoliposomes detect flu virus. Others can block inflammation. (XBD9712-04659-01) Photo by Roy Kaltschmidt
Photo: He was the face behind the Lab's amorphous "electronic postmaster," a title that doesn't begin to describe the human being we all felt was our friend. On Nov. 20, William "Jake" Jacquith passed away at the age of 50. Turn to page three for more information about the man who for the past 14 years single-handedly oversaw the Laboratory's electronic mail system. (jake2)
Photo: Mark Ginsberg, DOE's Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy (center), congratulates Michael Siminovitch (left) and Eric Page (right) of the Environmental Energies Technologies for their work on developing an energy efficient compact fluorescent torchiere, which won Berkeley Lab the "Best of What's New" award from Popular Science magazine. (XBD9711-04522)
Mark Levine, director of Berkeley Lab's Energy and Environmental Technologies Division, was the subject of a recent interview in Salon, the hot new San Francisco-based cyber magazine. As co-author of the five-lab study on global-warming that served as the basis for President Clinton's recent proposal for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Levine was asked to defend the study's reduction goals against critics on both sides of the issue.
The interview, conducted by Fred Branfman, is a lengthy but lively discourse in which Levine scores a number of points for the integrity of science. Unlike many of the critics, who are paid for what they argue, the scientists who participated in the study did not profit from the conclusions they reached. Likewise for the influential Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Control, of which Levine is a key member.
Levine expresses candid opinions on such issues as the industrial emergence of China and India, the position of U.S. auto makers, and the arguments of environmentalists, who say Clinton's proposal is too little and too late. The interview is available on web at http://www.salonmagazine.com/news/1997/10/24news.html/.
Joan Daisey, a senior scientist in the Environmental Energy Technologies Division, has been appointed Chair of the Environmental Protection Agency's Science Advisory Board (SAB). Daisey, an indoor air pollution expert, succeeds Genevieve Matanoski of Johns Hopkins University.
As the head of the Indoor Environment Program here at the Lab, Daisey conducts research on human exposures to toxic and carcinogenic organic compounds and on the sources and transport of airborne pollutants. Daisey will chair the SAB Executive Committee that coordinates the work of 100 independent scientists, engineers and economists who advise the EPA.
All of the SAB's work is accessible to the public through the SAB website at http://www.epa.gov/sab.
Fitzgerald, known as "Bud" to his friends and family, came to the Lab when he was 18 years old and has provided electronics support services to various departments over his long career.
"He was the most talented technician in the electronics installation group when I came in," said Dick Ahart, Fitzgerald's one-time supervisor and colleague for 30 years.
In addition to his professional skills, Ahart remembers Fitzgerald fondly for his human qualities. "He was a really interesting person," Ahart said. "He was an extremely talented violinist. He was shy about playing, but would do it if we seriously asked, especially on holidays. And he always had a ham radio wherever he went."
Fitzgerald is survived by his wife of 31 years, Charlotte, and by his six children, nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild. At the request of his family, donations may be made in Fitzgerald's name to the Red Cross or the Harvest Community Chapel in El Sobrante.
On Nov. 20, eighty years after its construction on the UC Berkeley campus, Gilman Hall was designated a National Historic Chemical Landmark by the American Chemical Society. ACS president Paul S. Anderson presented a bronze plaque to the dean of the College of Chemistry, Alexis T. Bell.
Glenn T. Seaborg, Berkeley Lab's associate-director-at-large, and chemists Kenneth S. Pitzer and Michael Kasha shared their reminiscences about the College of Chemistry's legendary founder, Gilbert N. Lewis, who came to the University of California from MIT in 1912.
At the time, the chem lab--still standing decades later--was a wooden annex known as "rat hall," according to Seaborg. Lewis' terms for joining UC included the construction of an adequate research facility. Gilman Hall was finally completed in 1917.
It was Lewis' presence that attracted Seaborg to Berkeley in 1935; among his undergraduate texts was a famous work on thermodynamics by Lewis and Merle Randall. "When I came to Berkeley I met the people who wrote the textbooks," Seaborg said. "To my surprise, they were real people."
When Seaborg got his Ph.D. in 1937, "Lewis didn't recommend me for a job anywhere, which I could have regarded as a bad sign. He called me in and asked me if I would like to be his personal research assistant." Seaborg was "flabbergasted" and wondered if he was up to the job, but Lewis reassured him.
"Lewis did simple, powerful experiments," Seaborg recalled. One result was that "the laboratory sink was often filled with dirty glassware," which were left to Seaborg to wash; another part of Seaborg's job was writing up Lewis' scientific papers. "He'd walk up and down dictating, cigar in hand. His words were beautiful, in final form, and needed no editing. Every once in a while he'd say, `Mark that for small print, it's important.' He'd observed that in the Journal of the American Chemical Society the important things were always in small print."
At night Seaborg pursued nuclear research in Ernest O. Lawrence's Radiation Laboratory, located approximately where Tan Hall now stands. "After two years Lewis called me in and said, `I've been taking too much of your time'--this to his full-time research assistant!--and told me he was putting me on the faculty as an instructor." It was in an attic room of Gilman Hall, less than three years later, that Seaborg and his colleagues identified the first known isotope of plutonium.
Seaborg's contemporary, Kenneth S. Pitzer, recalled other famous chemists who worked in Gilman Hall during the quarter-century Lewis Era: Nobel Prize-winner William F. Giauque, Joel Hildebrand, whose outside interests included the presidency of the Sierra Club, and Wendell Latimer, whose 1939 paper on the "energy of hydration of gaseous ions" foreshadowed the hydrogen bomb.
Michael Kasha, Lewis' last graduate student, emphasized that Lewis' interests ranged far beyond valence theory and the generalized theory of acids, for which he is best remembered. Among many other topics, he wrote early papers on the theory of relativity; in fact, it was Lewis, not Einstein or Planck, who named the quantum of electromagnetism the "photon." The Cambridge Dictionary of Scientists says of Lewis, "Probably no man has done more to advance chemical theory in this century."
According to Kasha, "Lewis hated organic chemistry, those clumsy structures," but he became intrigued in spite of himself and spent his last years studying molecular luminescence. Kasha also told the moving story of how in March 1946 he found Lewis, age 70, dead of a heart attack in his Gilman Hall laboratory while performing an experiment on fluoresence.
Gilman Hall is the 15th site to be named a National Historic Chemical Landmark under a program begun in 1992 by the ACS Office of Public Outreach.
Photos: Paul S. Anderson, president of the American Chemical Society, presents a bronze plaque to Alexis T. Bell, dean of the College of Chemistry at UC Berkeley. (XBD9711-04520) Photos by Don Fike
Photo: Glenn Seaborg (XBD9711-04519)
Most of us knew him as "Jake"--someone we called when we needed help. Bill Jaquith, the Lab's longtime electronic postmaster, whose faithful service had created legions of friends, died on Nov. 17 from complications following unexpectedly difficult heart surgery.
Jaquith came to work at the Lab in 1983 at a time when very few of us had even heard of e-mail. Berkeley Lab was one of the first places in the world to use this new means of communication, and Jaquith was one of those who helped pioneer it. He administered what today probably is the Laboratory's primary communication system. Fourteen years ago, when Jake started, a typical day consisted of perhaps a thousand messages. Today, some 35,000 pieces of e-mail come and go through the Lab every day.
At the time when Jaquith first came to work here, the Lab still owned a computer that read data on punch cards. It was around that time that the Laboratory acquired four medium-sized computers designed for "interactive computing" (as opposed to reading cards). Initially, Jake was hired to help the Lab make use of these modern machines. Very quickly, however, e-mail became his domain.
Said Sandy Merola, deputy director of Computing Sciences: "I had the great privilege of being Jake's first supervisor. Being the first Berkeley Lab e-mail czar, he was always under pressure from those of us who are reminded--even now by Jake--to keep such things in proper perspective. No matter what the situation, he was always calm."
Jaquith was born in 1947 in Massachusetts and grew up in Warwick, RI. After serving in Vietnam with the U.S. Army, he returned to Rhode Island, bought a motorcycle, and along with a friend, set out for California. He never went back.
In California he took a job as an auto mechanic. He loved sports cars and, at the time of his death, owned three of them, personally seeing to their mechanical well-being.
Around 1980 Jaquith decided to make sports cars an avocation and to take on a new profession--computing. He enrolled at California State University at Hayward and earned a bachelor of science degree in computer science. Shortly thereafter he came to work for the Lab.
Eric Beals, a longtime friend and colleague of Jaquith's in Computing Sciences, said that when the Lab made Jake the Lab's electronic postmaster, it hired the right man for the job.
"Jake was unfailingly friendly. People who called him were looking for help, and they were often upset or angry. Their mail was lost or something wasn't working right. Jake had an inimitable, patient way of interacting. As often as not, you found yourself chuckling with him. He was dedicated to helping people, and when you spoke with Jake, you trusted that everything would be alright."
Jaquith's wife, Joyce, described her husband as a low-key, gentle man, someone who hadn't even mentioned but to a few people that he was to have heart surgery. She said that at home in Hayward, he was heavily involved in community activities. He sat on the Hayward Hills Task Force, served as president of the Woodland Estates Homeowners Association, and was a volunteer and committee member of almost all of Moreau Catholic High School's sports and special events, where he was named volunteer of the year in 1993. Jake also assisted with bringing the traveling version of the Vietnam Memorial Wall to Hayward in 1996.
Services for Jaquith were held on November 22. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made in his name to Moreau Catholic High School, 27170 Mission Blvd., Hayward, CA 94544.
In addition to his wife, Jaquith is survived by two daughters--Jennifer in Union City and Danielle in La Jolla-- his parents, Fred and Mary Jaquith of Rhode Island, and two sisters, two brothers, and their families.
As for who will replace Bill "Jake" Jaquith as the Lab's electronic postmaster, Computing Sciences' Mark Rosenberg said it best: "Technically, I suppose we will be able to find someone to do the job. But finding someone who can replace Jake--that just won't be possible."
Photo: Jake Jacquith
Photo: Berkeley Lab inventors gather for a ceremony in Director Shank's office to receive their royalty checks. The checks are awarded for inventions developed by Berkeley Lab researchers and licensed through the Technology Transfer Department. "I'm impressed that the number of Lab inventors receiving royalty checks continues to grow," Shank noted. "It's great to see one more way that research pays off." (XBD9712-04648) Photo by Roy Kaltschmidt
On Monday, Dec. 15, Lab employees will say hello to a faster, more streamlined voice mail system. Meanwhile, the Lab's Telephone Services is encouraging everyone to start preparing for the transition as early as right now.
Not only will the new system provide more features, it will also permanently disconnect that interminable beep-beep-beep-boop tone that users have had to suffer through to access their messages until now.
"We're replacing our antiquated voice mail system with a new one that will allow us to keep up with the latest technology," said Linda Smith, head of Telephone Services. "Although we'll offer new features, many of the codes will be the same and employees will still have their same ID numbers."
The changeover will officially begin at 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 12. At that time, the Telephone Services staff will begin transferring all saved voice mail messages from the old system to the new. Employees who have not reviewed and deleted their saved messages by then will have to deal with them as new messages when the new system goes into effect.
"We'd really like people to delete any messages they have saved but no longer need," said Cindy Wood, project leader for the changeover. "It will make the transition easier for everyone."
Employees can now record their new greetings and mailbox name by calling X6000, but will need to know their voice mail ID number to do so.
To help users understand the changes and learn about added features, a series of presentations are being offered in the Bldg. 50 auditorium. Sessions will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 9; noon on Thursday, Dec. 11; and 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 17.
Below are some highlights of the changeover and the new system:
Access to the old voice mail system will not be available between Friday, Dec. 12, and Monday, Dec. 15, but employees will be able to access and receive messages on the new system. Telephone Services asks that employees use the system as little as possible during the transition period. If you have any questions or need help over the Dec. 13-14 weekend, call X4777 or e-mail TSC@lbl.gov.
Additional features and applications will be added and announced during the first few months of 1998. More information about the new system is available on the Telephone Services website at http://www-cnr/ics/.
The Public Information Department has recently received an increasing number of submissions for the electronic news bulletin Headlines. Unfortunately, we cannot include all of them, but hope the policy listed below will help you with your submissions. If you have any questions about content or about publicizing your announcement, contact Monica Friedlander at X2248.
Headlines is intended to be a brief, easy to read electronic bulletin that is news oriented and covers items that are not publicized through other means, such as Currents. Some of the criteria we use to determine the suitability of an item for Headlines include:
Pre-registration is required for all courses except Introduction to Environment, Health & Safety (EHS 010). To pre-register, send your name, employee ID number, extension, class name, EH&S class code, and date you want to attend to Antoinette Czerwinski, ACzerwinski@lbl.gov, X7366.
The registration deadline is the Monday prior to the week the class is to be held. Before signing up, please obtain approval and account number to be charged from your supervisor. To register for a class, contact Lynellen Watson (fax: X5870, phone: X5999). Information about class content can be found on the World Wide Web (http://www.lbl.gov/Workplace/EDT/computers/oracle.html).
To enroll, complete the AIM Enrollment Form located on the Employee Development and Training's website (http://www.lbl.gov/Workplace/EDT/computers/PC_Classes.html) and obtain your supervisor's approval; fax it to AIM at (510) 827-1614. You will receive a confirmation call within two business days.
Cancellation Policy: Your division account will be charged for classes that have a fee unless you cancel five working days prior to the class you are scheduled to attend.
Photo: Denise Thiry, coordinator of the EET staff art exhibit, and Helmut Feustel of Environmental Energy Technologies Division admire some of the items on display in the third floor lobby area in Bldg. 90. The collection of paintings, photographs, drawings, mixed media and various other art forms make up the third volunteer exhibit staged by the EET staff. "This is a chance for all of us to get to know each other better and to acknowledge the great gifts and creative sides of everyone in the division," Thiry said. The exhibit is open through Dec. 15. (art.jpeg) Photos by Don Fike
All Lab employees are invited to attend a meeting scheduled by the Berkeley Mayor's Office to discuss Berkeley Lab's participation in the the Dual Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test project. The event will be held on Monday, Dec. 8, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center on Hearst Ave. at Martin Luther King Jr. Way. A video tape presentation of Laboratory Director Charles Shank speaking about Berkeley Lab's role in the DARHT project is scheduled to be shown during the meeting. Shank will participate via a teleconference to answer questions from the panel and the audience. Statements are expected from city officials and community interest groups. For more information about DARHT and the Lab's participation in the project, see the Nov. 14 issue of Currents.
The Laboratory's warehouse will hold a furniture sale on Dec. 3-19 on the second floor of Bldg. 903, 2700 Seventh Street in Berkeley. The warehouse will be open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. New and used items will include bookcases, chairs, desks, office tables, computers stands, cabinets, drafting tables, oak and steel tables, and light tables. Lab accounts may not be used. For more information, call Paul Stagnaro at X7123.
A special farewell lunch is being held for George Towns, who is retiring this month after 37 years of service at the Lab. All friends and colleagues are invited on Tuesday, Dec. 16, at noon at Charley Brown's in Emeryville. The cost is $24 per person, which includes a contribution towards a gift. Please make checks payable to "J.R. Camper" and forward to Sue Bielen, Bldg. 90K. The deadline for submitting checks and menu choices is Dec. 10. Call Sue Bielen at X6661 for a sign-up form.
Several Lab employees have recently been victims of petty theft, which occurred during regular office hours in offices and common spaces. The Lab's security manager would like to remind all employees to properly store and secure purses, wallets and other valuables at all times. For more information about theft prevention and workplace security, contact Jim Breckinridge at X4855 or Jbreckinridge@lbl.gov.
The Employee Buying Service (EBS) has Entertainment Books for sale-- both for the East Bay and a limited number for San Francisco. They can be purchased in the cafeteria lobby only until the holiday break. The EBS is open daily between 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. See's Candies are also available at the EBS at a considerable discount.
The Dec. 20 overnight golf tournament at Silverado is sold out. The next tournament will be held at Poppy Ridge in Livermore on Jan. 31. For information about the Lab Golf Club, call Denny Parra at X4598.
The Berkeley Lab Calendar is published biweekly here on the World Wide Web and in Currents by the Public Information Department. Employees can list a meeting, class, or event in the Calendar by using this submission form. The deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. on Monday in the week that Currents is published.In addition to the events listed below, Berkeley Lab's Washington, D.C. Projects office is hosting a Science and Technology Seminars series.
Scientific Conferences
DECEMBER
BODYWORKS
Noon to 1 p.m., Bldg. 70A conf. room
VIDEO PRESENTATION
C. William McCurdy's Open House lecture on "The Future of Computing;"
noon, Bldg. 50 auditorium; brown bag lunches welcomed.
BODYWORKS
Noon to 1 p.m., Bldg. 90-4133
NEW VOICE MAIL SYSTEM PRESENTATION
Noon, Bldg. 50 auditorium
TRIPMOBILE
Berkeley TRIP commute store, noon to 12:45 p.m., cafeteria parking lot.
Employees may purchase AC Transit, BART, and other commute tickets.
DIRECTOR'S HOLIDAY RECEPTION
3:30 to 5 p.m., cafeteria
VIDEO PRESENTATION
Mina Bissell's Open House lecture on "Breast Cancer: Can Tumor Cells Be
Rehabilitated?;" noon, Bldg. 50 auditorium; brown bag lunches welcomed.
BODYWORKS
Noon to 1 p.m., Bldg. 90-4133
TRIPMOBILE
Berkeley TRIP commute store, noon to 12:45 p.m., cafeteria parking lot.
Employees may purchase AC Transit, BART, and other commute tickets.
CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL BIOTECHNOLOGY SEMINAR
"Anaerobic Biotransformation of Pollutant Chemicals: Adventures with the
Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria" will be presented by Joseph Suflita of the
University of Oklahoma at noon in Bldg. 50A-5132.
LIFE SCIENCES DIVISION SEMINAR
"Structure of the Tubulin Heterodimer: Insights into Microtubule
Function" will be presented by Eva Nogales of LSD at 4 p.m. in the Bldg. 66
auditorium; refreshments.
Items for the calendars may be sent via e-mail to currents_calendar@lbl.gov, faxed to X6641 or mailed to Bldg. 65B. The deadline for the Dec. 19 issue is 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 15.
All employees are invited to attend the Annual Holiday Reception, to be held from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 11, in the cafeteria. The Laboratory Music Club chamber orchestra will provide entertainment; refreshments will be served.
'80 CHEVROLET Chevette, 3-dr hatchbk, 100K mi., reliable, gd tires, as is, $750/b.o. Rose, X7991, 236-6815 (eve.)
'84 TOYOTA Tercel, sta. wgn, 4X4, 2 new tires, a/t, AM/FM cass., high mi., needs some work, has run great for last 2 yr., $400/b.o.Feng, X6629, 558-1868
'85 FORD truck, extended cab, 8 ft. bed, tool box, tlr. hitch, $4200/b.o. 735-0898 (after 6 p.m.)
'85 GMC Suburban, 3/4-ton, low mi., 454ci engine, towing pkg, dual air, great cond., best offer. 376-2211
'86 MAZDA RX-7 GL, 5-spd, a/c, AM/FM cass., leather, sunroof, 110K mi., $4K/offer. X6669
'87 OLDS 98 Regency Brougham, 3.8L V6, 118K mi., a/t, a/c, p/s, all elec., leather seats, very gd cond., $4300/b.o. Andreas, X6991, 644-3213
'89 CHEVY Cavalier, 4-dr, a/t, p/s, p/b, 2.0L, 101K mi., gd cond., $2200/b.o. Mahesh, X5220, 793-8672
'89 FORD Escort wgn, 5-spd, 95K mi., exc. cond., very reliable, new tires & brakes, $3K/b.o. Vladimir, X4633, 524-3143
'89 HONDA Civic LX, 4-dr, manual trans., 93K mi., runs great, $3500. Morten, 642-6371
'90 TOYOTA Corolla DX sedan, red, 94K mi., new timing belt, $4900.Phil, X7538, 528-1331
'92 FORD Tempo GL, 1st V6 series, lic. tag Oct. '98, 4-dr, 3.0 liter, 45K mi., orig. owner, serviced quarterly, mocha w/lt. taupe int., a/t, a/c, p/s, pwr windows & locks, new front brakes, rear window defogger, elec. trunk release, tilt wheel, cruise control, stereo AM/FM/cass., $7.4K. Virginia, X4383
'93 TOYOTA DLX X-Cab truck, 4x4, 38K mi., a/c, exc. cond., new Michelin M/S tires, all records, $15K. 233-3862
'94 FORD Escort wgn LX, 25K mi., exc. cond., $8K/b.o. X5039, X7929, 526-7844
MOTORCYCLE, '82 HONDA CB450T Hawk, 16K mi., gd cond., not used for 1 yr., $600. Richard, 642-2148, Arti 547-1564
MOTORHOME,'95 Minnie Winnie Winnebago, 21 ft., 11K mi., 3 yr. extended warranty, loaded, exc. cond., $37K/b.o. X5918, 783-1943
SHOP MANUAL, '85 Toyota Camry, best offer; wheel, 185/70R13 w/Michelin MXL tire & never-used easy install chains, best offer. Mark, X6581
TENT TRAILER, '82, propane stove, ice box, sink, water tank, slps 6, $500. 735-0898 (after 6 p.m.)
VIOLIST for local string quartet, bi-weekly rehearsals. Glenna, X6839
BED FRAME, queen sz., heavy brass, modern style & heavy brass coffee table, oblong shape, 4' long, 3' wide, 1' high, modern style, photos avail., willing to meet halfway, possibly deliver, $300/b.o. Margo, X6280, (415) 871-4450
BOAT, '82 Searay cruiser, 22.5 ft., SRV225, 260 Merc outdrive, slps 4, head, galley, lots of teak, 310 hr., delta canvas, very gd cond., incl. Trailrite tandem axle trailer, best offer. 376-2211
CAMERA, Minolta Maxuum 3000i w/Minolta AF 70-210mm zoom lens, $200. Harvard, X5742, 526-5347
CHEST OF DRAWERS w/lg. side compartment, solid wood, $300; Princess House collection, many glass styles & serving pieces, 50% off retail; fish tank & stand, 55 gal., fresh or saltwater complete set up, $50; elec. drafting table w/Vemco V-Track, $40. Jason, X5873
COLOR TV, Emerson, 25", like new $120; queen sz. box spring, like new, $40; baby bouncer, $15. Anushka, 486-8153 (h)
COLOR TV, Magnavox, 20", '94, incl. TV table, $185. 938-7584
COMPUTER PARTS, Pentium-66 PCI MB w/CPU, Orchid Kelvin 64 PCI video card, 500 MB Conner HD, ProAudio Spectrum 16 sound card, sold sep. or pkg deal. 845-9154
EXERCISE MACHINE, Cardiofit, hardly used, $100 or trade. 313-9037
FLUTES (2), Waldorf, pentatonic, exc. cond., $30 ea. or both for $50. Carol, X6866
FURNITURE, single adj. bed, elec. control, w/linen, $300/b.o.; 2 recliners, $100 ea./b.o.; bookcases, various tables, dressers & lamps. Julie, X4583, 232-6919
GUITARS, for sale or trade. David, X7326
HOLIDAY CHEESECAKES, 4 types (plain, fruit swirl, chocolate chip, mint chocolate), sm. (2.75" round, $1.75, 4 for $7), med. (5.75" round, $6) & lg. (9" round, $12), adv. order. Nance, 524-1259
HOLIDAY WREATHS, Noble fir, benefits Boy Scouts, $18 ea. Dennis, X7853, 526-7388
GUITAR, elec., 3/4 sz., solid-body, 2 yr. old, used for 6 mo., perfect for beginner age 9-14, incl. sm. practice amp (Crate) in exc. cond. & soft guitar case, $150/b.o. Peter, X4157, 525-3290
JOGGING STROLLER, single, $40; trampoline for ages 1-4 yr., $30; car seat, $25; 2 tricycles, $7 ea. Carolyn, X7827
KID'S SKIS, w/bindings, 120c, $15, 150c, $45, w/o bindings, 140c, $15; boots, sizes 3-1/2, 4 & 5, $5 & $10; boy's bike, 24", $25. Ivana, 524-8308
LUGGAGE, Oscar De La Renta, 4 pc., blk/tan, $75; artwork, print of "Berry Pickers" by J. Brownscombe, walnut/gold frame, triple-matted, 43x33, $50; jewelry, 14K, 22" rope chain, 40 grms., $350; bangle, ribbed, 7", $100 & misc. other pieces. Diana, X6444
MODULAR HOUSE, wood, currently in storage, 3-bdrm, 900 sq. ft., Douglas fir, easy to assemble, meets Cal. codes, flooring, wiring & plumbing not incl., $10K/b.o. Stan, 758-8017
MOUNTAIN BIKE, 820 Treck 21", exc. cond., still under guarantee, paid $300, will sell for $200; full bed, w/mattress, gd cond., $70. Sophie, 558-9174
OSCILLOSCOPE, Tektronix type 561, CRT, type 67 Time-Base, type 63 differential amp., best offer. X6581
REVEREWARE, 9" (23 cm) open skillet, copper bottom, new, never used, $20; 1 quart sauce pan w/lid, copper bottom, new, never used, $15. 843-2097
SPANISH SHAWLS, hand-made, silk embroidery, colorful. Elyse, 814-8681
TABLE SAW, Sears, 10", flat table, modified arbor adjust, $150. John, X5523
TODDLER BED, Little Tikes cozy cottage bed, $75. Don, X4558
TOWEL RACK, brass tubing, 7 ft. high, made to fit over toilet in bthrm, like new, spacious, paid $60, asking $30/b.o. X6005
TOY, kids ride-on Kettler Kettcar, lg. sz., pedaled car w/switchable gear box & independent steering, $100; 2 - Slantfin radiant floor heaters, paid $85 will sell for $70 ea.; newer gas range (barely used), paid $500 will sell for $300. Sasha, X6560
TOY JEEP, Power Wheels, child's, elec. powered, for 1 or 2 passengers, gd cond., needs a replacement battery, cost $300 new, will sell for $100. Steve, X4304, 631-0719
ALBANY, partly furn. 2-bdrm, 2-bth condo, bayview, swimming pool, tennis, 24 hr. sec., garage parking, bus/BART to LBNL/UCB, nr shopping ctr, no pets, non-smoker, lease, avail. 1/1, $1100/mo. Rai, 524-7941 (eve.)
BERKELEY, Hillegass nr Parker, 2-bdrm apt, avail. Jan. or Feb., part. furn., pool, $1460/mo. (310) 201-4786
BERKELEY, 1815 Spruce, Northside (in "Normandy" quarter), 1 bdrm in shared lg. furn. apt, lg. living rm, alcove, kitchen, 2 bdrms w/sep. bathrms, frpl, w/d in-house, off-st. parking for 2 cars, UCB/LBNL shuttle, AC Transit 1 min. walking distance, BART 5 blks, avail. mid-Dec., $640/mo. + utils. Joachim, X5083, 883-9521
BERKELEY, Elmwood, studio sublet 12/11 - 1/18, furn. w/kitchen & washer/dryer, $146/wk + elec. & phone, deposit. Steven, X6966, 204-9494
BERKELEY, Durant/Telegraph, 1 blk from UCB, furn. 1-bdrm apt, short term sublet, Dec. 17-end of Jan., $650/mo. incl. elec. & gas. Paolo, X4739
NO. BERKELEY, furn. garden cottage, pvt. entrance, TV & phone line, 1 person only, avail. for 2 wks to 2 mo. X2902
NO. BERKELEY, share furn. 2-bdrm apt, nr BART & shopping, share bath & kitchen, one person only, must enjoy music & fitness, avail. Jan., $600/mo., util. incl. Harold, 528-8135
NO. BERKELEY HILLS, avail. Jan. 15 to June 1, furn. room w/pvt. deck overlooking Wildcat Cyn., almost pvt bath, nr bus line, 1 person, nonsmoker, $500/mo. + util. Alexander, X5946, Karen, 235-9233
OAKLAND, Lake Merritt, lg. studio w/parking, $540/mo. + elec. & phone. Jin, X7531, 452-1264
OAKLAND, 2-bdrm, 1-bth home, new kitchen, bathroom, carpets & lino., formal dining rm, inside laundry, lg. yd, gardener include., non-smoking, no pets, $875/mo. Barbara, X7840, 939-7754 (after 5 p.m.)
OAKLAND, Montclair Dist., 3-bdrm, 1-1/2 bth house, part. furn., lg. backyd, workshop, garage, hardwd flrs, skylight, bay windows, cathedral ceilings, washer/dryer, walking distance to elem. & jr. high school, avail. 1/1, $2K/mo., 1 yr. lease, 1st, last & dep., refs. & credit report req'd. Diana, 482-5420
ORINDA, rm in home, $750/mo., $300/wk, $50/night, utils. incl. Mrs. Johnston, 254-4763
PINOLE, nr I-80/San Pablo Dam Rd, 4-bdrm, 2-bth home, frpl, washer/dryer, refrig., lg. fenced backyd w/deck, nr shopping centers, $1200/mo. Stan, 758-8017
SAN LEANDRO, bay/city view, 2-bdrm house, frpl, 1-car garage, stove, refrig., washer & dryer, nr BART & I-580, 30 min. drive to LBNL, $950/mo., 1 yr. lease. 357-2778
EXCHANGE: visiting scientist & family from Paris hope to exchange housing w/LBNL family w/home in the Berkeley area who are wishing to stay in the Paris area for a 2 yr. period starting Aug. '98. Marcella, X6304
WANTED: visiting scientist seeks temporary housing for 1 person for 3-1/2 mo. beginning Jan. Jane, X6036, erol@physics.mcgill.ca
WANTED: relocating scientist, 37, single male w/2 yr. old dog seeks 2-bdrm house w/fenced yd in Eastbay, Berkeley, Oakland, El Cerrito or Albany, move in by 2/1. Sreela, X4391
WANTED: rent or sublet 2-bdrm house/apt, starting 1/1/98 - 3/31/98, for visiting scientist & spouse, w/in Albany/Berk/El Cerrito/Emeryville/Kensington/
Oak area. FRISCH@fnald.fnal.gov, Mark, X6305, Lina, 339-8113 (eve. only)
WANTED: 1 or 2-bdrm, nr Lab/UCB for visiting French researcher & wife, non-smoker, 12/97 to 12/99. Sylvan, X7030, tnwillig@lbl.gov
WANTED: furn. 3 or 4-bdrm house/apt for visiting researcher & family, Berkeley/Albany area, or a little farther away if no other choice, for 12 mo. from Jan. '98, rent up to $1500/mo. Peter R. Lyons, +61 (2) 6285 2713, +61 (2) 6285 3583 (fax), peter.lyons@eea.com.au
WANTED: starting 1/1 for one year, visiting LBNL as a post-doc w/Kannan Krishnan (X4614), interested in 2-bdrm house/apt in No. Berkeley/Albany. mohamed@ fenix.ifisicacu.unam.mx
BERLIN, convenient location in safe multicultural neighborhood in central part of city (Kreuzberg), furn. 1-room apt, $100/wk. X4718
HAWAII, Kona (Big Island), depart 4/10, return 4/18, Hawaiian Airlines, $385 RT (airfare only). Rick, X7846
HAWAII, 20 mi. below Hilo on rainy side of Big Island, convenient to Univ. of Hawaii & orchid plantation, unfurn. 2-bdrm, 2-bth house, nr schools, shopping & rec. center, 1 mi. to ocean bluff, $450/mo., possible lease-option to buy for $58K. X6005
SO. LAKE TAHOE, Tahoe Keys, 3-bdrm, 2.5 bth house, on the water, fenced yd, quiet area, nr skiing & other attractions, water & mountain views, $125/night. 376-2211
Due to the large volume of ads received each week, ads are accepted only from LBNL employees, retirees, and on-site DOE personnel. No other ads will be accepted. We encourage other readers to use local services such as LBNL's online housing listing (call X6198 for information), and the UC Housing Office.
Please note also:
Published once a month by the Communications Department for the employees and retirees of Berkeley Lab.
Reid Edwards, Public Affairs Department head
Ron Kolb, Communications Department headEDITOR
Pamela Patterson, 486-4045, pjpatterson@lbl.gov
Associate editor
Lyn Hunter, 486-4698, lhunter@lbl.govSTAFF WRITERS
Dan Krotz, 486-4019
Paul Preuss, 486-6249
Lynn Yarris, 486-5375CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Ucilia Wang, 495-2402
Allan Chen, 486-4210
David Gilbert, (925) 296-5643DESIGN
Caitlin Youngquist, 486-4020
Creative Services OfficeBerkeley Lab
Communications Department
MS 65, One Cyclotron Road, Berkeley CA 94720
(510) 486-5771
Fax: (510) 486-6641Berkeley Lab is managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy.
Flea Market is now online at www.lbl.gov/fleamarket
