January
24, 2003
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January
24, 2003 |
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Daily E-Newsletter Debuts
Next Week
Daily E-Newsletter Debuts Next WeekBy Ron Kolb
Beginning on Feb. 3, Berkeley Lab employees will be receiving a new communications vehicle to help keep them up to date and informed about life and times on the Hill and in the world of science. It’s called “Today at Berkeley Lab,” and it will be delivered, like a daily newspaper, every morning by e-mail. The newsletter-style bulletin, designed by members of the Technical and Electronic Information Department, will be written and coordinated by the Communications Department in Public Affairs. It will feature a combination of hot Laboratory news, notices and announcements, news features, and various items of interest from the country’s newspapers. The goal is to get important information to employees as quickly as possible. Also included each day will be a listing of events and activities, the cafeteria menu, the local weather, and links to related websites. “As we talked with employees around the Laboratory about things that concerned them, one of the most repeated themes was a desire for better communications,” said Public Affairs Head Reid Edwards. “This daily report will hopefully address some of those concerns while at the same time unifying us through common messages and shared information.” Edwards added that the new tool is designed to consolidate multiple messages and reduce the number of e-mails and paper notices about Laboratory announcements that people receive, thus resulting in a cost-effective means of communicating. A network of viewing screens has been developed on and off site to project “Today at Berkeley Lab” in public venues to further broaden the reach of information. They will be activated at the following locations: Building 50 lobby, the cafeteria (near the coffee bar), Building 77 (main floor), Building 62 lobby (viewable from the 62-66 bus stop), Building 84 lobby, Building 90 lobby, main bus stop kiosk at Building 65, and Building 937 lobby. Employees without access to a computer will be able to receive the information via these screens or should arrange posting of a printed copy through departmental offices. “Today at Berkeley Lab” will feature brief story summaries and web links to the full stories. Images will be included when available, and occasional video reports will be accessible on desktops with RealPlayer or similar enabling software. When the Laboratory makes news in publications throughout the world, “Today at Berkeley Lab” will share it with employees. Management messages on important policies and procedures, notices of site construction and road closures, and details of special events and activities will all be featured. The daily calendar will list division and program seminars, human resources workshops, lectures and talks, special events, and other useful announcements. To have events and activities included in the calendar, send the information to a new e-mail address established for “Today at Berkeley Lab,” Today@lbl.gov. Each day’s delivery will be approximately one average computer screen in length, to keep scrolling to a minimum. A central, retrievable archive will be maintained of past issues, so that employees can dispose of their own edition each day instead of storing costly messages on their IMAP mail server account. Two prototype viewing screens and an early web-based version of the program have been operating since last March, providing the foundation for the new expanded launch. On occasion, the screens have experienced technical difficulties requiring attention or repair. If employees observe such problems at any of the newly installed screens, they should send an e-mail immediately to kiosk@lbl.gov. A technician will be dispatched to address the problem. A staple of Monday e-mail communications, “Headlines,” will no longer be produced. A preview of the coming week’s Laboratory highlights will instead be incorporated in the Monday edition of “Today at Berkeley Lab” and its calendar listings. The Communications Department welcomes feedback on the new publication. Send comments to Today@lbl.gov.
Doin’ the Wave Science Teaching on the MoveBy Paul Preuss Last December, Hakeem Oluseyi of the Physics Division spent a week in Swaziland visiting schools and orphanages with an international team of science teachers from Africa and the U.S. According to the team’s director, Jessica Darrow of Cosmos Education, a nonprofit group based at Stanford, “we taught over 600 children on this trip, and Hakeem managed to connect directly with an incredible number of them.”
High among the team’s goals were to reassure local children that they were capable of grasping scientific principles. It’s a message that Hakeem had long adopted as his own, since his first teaching stint as a graduate student in astrophysics at Stanford. Where good grades come from “I taught observational astronomy, mostly to minority students and athletes,” says Oluseyi. “A lot of them showed up because word got around that they could get a great grade in my class. They didn’t know I wasn’t doing the grading,” he says with a grin. “They earned their grades, by really getting into the subject.” After getting his Ph.D. Oluseyi kept up his astronomy teaching at Foothill College. He’d been warned that the students there weren’t motivated, but he told his classes he expected their best work. And he got it. Graduates later told him they’d been afraid they wouldn’t be able to do the work, but when they realized that they could, it changed their lives. “I found this as cool as I find scientific discovery,” Oluseyi says. “It’s fulfilling to affect people’s lives in a positive way.” Since joining Berkeley Lab Oluseyi has mentored summer interns and worked with a San Mateo high school senior, Janet Sheung, who is building numerical solutions for a problem in solar physics based on discoveries made by Oluseyi and his Ph.D. advisor at Stanford — the late, renowned African-American astrophysicist Arthur Walker II. Meanwhile Oluseyi has pursued editorial duties with the National Society for Black Physicists.
Oluseyi’s job at Berkeley Lab involves getting the Lab’s rugged, red-sensitive astronomical CCD installed in instruments at major observatories. Since the CCD plays a key role in the planned SuperNova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP), Oluseyi has been pressed into service to explain the SNAP project to local high schools. “They couldn’t get Saul Perlmutter, so they were stuck with me,” he jokes. High-schoolers haven’t been disappointed. “Thanks so much for sending us Hakeem! He was more than terrific,” wrote Benicia High School math teacher Sande Sutter to Rollie Otto of the Lab’s Center for Science and Engineering Education, noting that Oluseyi modifed his presentation each period “to appeal to more students” — and didn’t stop there. “At lunch, the science department bombarded the man with additional questions.” “This is the highest praise you can get from a teacher,” says Otto, adding that “Hakeem stays with the lesson. But he’s not talking to the ether; he establishes a personal relationship with the kids.” Under African Skies For all his experience with students in California, Swaziland was a completely new experience, his first trip to the African continent. The Cosmos Education team consisted of students, teachers, and working scientists from Kenya, Swaziland, South Africa, and the U.S., including Oluseyi and team leader Jessica Darrow. They set out on an intensive series of presentations to local schools, orphanages, and youth rehabilitation centers. “We wanted to make students aware of careers in science, we wanted to raise their awareness of environmental issues, and we wanted to teach them some facts about HIV and AIDS,” Oluseyi says. “The group had specialists in each category.” The first orphanage they visited “was like something out of a movie, with dirt floors and bare cement walls,” Oluseyi says. “There were about 30 boys there, most because their parents had died of AIDS. There were kids in wheelchairs, kids with missing limbs.” Leader Darrow noted that at this orphanage, “the deeper science was sacrificed in the interest of keeping the boys engaged.” The next day’s experience, however, was radically different.
“We visited the SOS Village in southern Swaziland, and every stereotype I had was shattered,” Oluseyi says. Many of the children here, one among scores of nonprofit SOS Children’s Villages around the world, were HIV positive, but their spirits were high. “In a demonstration about the carbon cycle the demonstrator mixed vinegar and baking soda and asked the kids to guess what gas was being given off, which he was using to blow up a balloon,” says Oluseyi. “One kid instantly says, ‘It’s probably carbon dioxide!’” At this orphanage Oluseyi debuted the wave dance for which he soon became famous, acting out the back and forth movements of sound and the right-angle movements of light. Gyroscopes and Slinky toys were also pressed into the act, as was his cell phone during a subsequent visit to another site, when he helped a girl student call California. “My point was that understanding the fundamental laws of physics allows us to understand many things — from the way elephants communicate over many miles using very low frequency sound waves, to the way humans communicate using low frequency light, radio,” Oluseyi explains. “This opened the discussion to other issues — for example, how Africans and Americans are not as different from each other as either of us had imagined. Or how someday Swaziland could be building its own cell phones instead of buying them from Finland — if the students decide to stick with science.” Oluseyi returned to the United States with a new appreciation for the African people and a philosophy of science reinforced by the experience: “Everything is subject to scrutiny. You have a right to ask anyone who tells you something, how do you know that?” The answer is that “the scientific method is what we used to reconcile our observations with what we theorize.” Here at home there’s only one drawback to the growing demand for Oluseyi’s outreach appearances. “There has to be a balance between research and outreach. I’ve had to impose a limit on myself: one outreach a month!” Whether in the long or short term, it’s evident that both science and education benefit from the mix. For more on Cosmos Education, see http://www.cosmoseducation.org/.
Director Confident Lab Contract is SafeBy Ron Kolb While acknowledging the seriousness of current financial investigations at sister national laboratory Los Alamos, Berkeley Lab Director Charles Shank reassured employees on Wednesday that he would do everything he could to preserve this Lab’s positive relationships with the University of California and the Department of Energy (DOE). “It is highly likely that (Berkeley Lab) will be operated in a manner similar to how we are operated now,” he told a full house in the Building 50 auditorium at an all-hands meeting, which was simultaneously webcast to a larger audience. “Our contract extension decision (another five years of UC management) has been made (by the DOE). I will fight hard to make sure our contract does not get affected by this political swirl.” Shank was referring to a flurry of public statements in recent days by Congressional committee members to look into charges of mismanagement and fraud at Los Alamos, one of three DOE labs managed by UC. Livermore and Los Alamos conduct most of the nuclear weapons design work for the nation. Shank said that DOE Secretary Spencer Abraham has aides assessing whether or not UC should continue its management of the labs in light of the troubling revelations. Their report is due in April. In the meantime, UC has multiplied its resources devoted to helping the Los Alamos management infrastructure, including hiring Pete Nanos, a three-star admiral, as interim director. Former director John Browne, whom Shank described as “a wonderful colleague,” resigned in December. UC President Richard Atkinson announced a high-powered oversight board to assist Nanos with the transition. Some members of Congress have vowed full-scale government audits of all three UC labs, and Shank told employees to expect a lot of attention over the next several weeks. “We will face difficult times,” he said. “We will be under the spotlight, looked at with a fine-toothed comb. I encourage you to be extremely cooperative. Be vigilant. If there are issues, things that we ought to be attentive to, we should work hard to find them.” Noting that his door and e-mail are always open for communication, he urged everyone to let him know about problems. “I never want to be on the side of having our integrity questioned,” the Director said. “Problems we know about, we can fix.” But he cautioned, “It would be wrong to deviate and not deliver on our scientific projects and the mission that we’re here for. It’s necessary to track our work, but not increase the burden in a way that we couldn’t get our work done.” Shank said he’s proud of the Lab’s record to date in property management and cost controls. The latest wall-to-wall audit accounted for 99.5 percent of all property, which rated “outstanding” with the DOE. In addition, last year’s DOE-sponsored pilot review of the Pro-card purchasing system, which looked in detail at over 2,000 transactions, found no indications of fraud, waste, abuse, or unallowable costs. That, and Berkeley Lab’s fundamentally different scientific objectives, will distinguish it from the two weapons labs, according to the Director. “The (Berkeley) Lab occupies very different space,” he said. “It’s on university land, with a clear-cut scientific mission comparable with that of the UC campuses. My expectation is that UC will fight very hard to keep this Lab, which is a very important piece of the UC infrastructure. “The DOE also looks differently at us,” he said. “Our record has been superb, with four years of outstanding performance. We’ve worked hard to create the environment for a well-managed lab.” So, while he hesitated to predict the eventual outcome of management structures for Los Alamos and Livermore, he expressed optimism that Berkeley Lab’s affiliations will continue. “We will be an important lab for the DOE in the future,” he concluded, “and I have no reason to believe otherwise.”
Washington ReportFY2003 Might Be Better Fiscally Than DOE ThoughtAn FY03 omnibus appropriations bill now under Senate consideration would provide $22.69 billion for the U.S. Department of Energy. This is about $800 million more than the Bush administration’s request, which Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham had touted as the highest ever for the DOE. The numbers could be cut by across-the-board reductions offered as amendments to the bill, and the House must enact its own version and reconcile it with that of the Senate before sending it to the President. DOE officials have expressed optimism, however, that the higher figure will hold. Most of the federal government has been operating at FY02 funding levels since the start of the 2003 fiscal year on Oct. 1 because the 107th Congress failed to pass 11 of 13 FY03 spending bills. Republican leaders of the 108th Congress have vowed to enact the leftover bills before Bush gives his State of the Union address at the end of January. Senate Republicans have proposed this omnibus appropriations bill which rolls the 11 bills into one, but at about $9 billion less than was proposed when the Senate was under Democratic control. Under this bill, DOE would get about $136 million more for fossil energy R&D and $121 million more for energy supply R&D, which includes nuclear energy and renewable energy programs. DOE science programs would get $3.32 billion, $50 million more than the request and $96 million more than FY02 levels. Office of Science Preparing 10-Year Strategic PlanDOE’s Office of Science (SC), under the leadership of Director Raymond Orbach, is drafting a strategic plan for the coming decade that aims to have a significant impact on the country’s energy future. “We’re asking you how we can develop the science office’s agenda,” Orbach told participants at an SC workshop to work on the plan. “The issues we work on are essential to energy and to basic science, and the strategic plan will guide the future of the office.” Among the issues that SC leaders are grappling with is how to measure the benefits of agency-funded research. White House Office of Management and Budget director Mitch Daniels advocates applying policy yardsticks, known as metrics, to determine whether federal programs are worth the money. This is tricky for basic research programs that may not pay off until many years down the road, or may result in surprising benefits from unanticipated technological breakthroughs. “We have no fear of being looked at in terms of our results,” Orbach told workshop participants, “but I don’t want to see discovery put on a timeline.” SC hopes to finish a draft of the 10-year plan by Feb. 11 and post it on DOE’s website for comments by Feb. 13. A mid-March target date for issuing the report has been set.
Congressional Staff Members Visit Berkeley Lab
Staff members from the Committee on Science of the U.S. House of Representatives toured Berkeley Lab last week to learn more about Laboratory programs and initiatives. They are pictured here with Miguel Salmeron of the Materials Sciences Division. Also on their itinerary was the the Advanced Light Source, the Energy Efficiency Lighting Laboratory, and the Oakland Scientific Facility. Photo by Robert Couto
Berkeley Lab Receives Two Technology Transfer AwardsTwo technologies submitted by Berkeley Lab won the Federal Laboratory Consortium’s (FLC) technology transfer award this year. Comparative genomics software called VISTA and the extreme ultraviolet lithography (EL) tool (below) were chosen for the award based on the technology transfer efforts made by researchers as well as the merits of the innovations.
The EL project was a joint effort by Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore, and Sandia National Laboratories, which included use of the Advanced Light Source. Extreme ultraviolet lithography overcomes the limitations of lenses for printing smaller chip features by using coated mirrors to bend and focus the light. The EL technology was developed in partnership with the Extreme Ultraviolet Limited Liability Company, a consortium whose members include many of the top-name chip makers. VISTA is a user-friendly computer program that allows researchers to quickly compare the genomes of various organisms. VISTA was made available for use and web downloading through the efforts of a LBNL/UCB team and is now one of the most popular and widely praised comparative genomics tools available. (For more see Currents, Feb. 8, 2002.) The judges for this award consider the significance of the technology’s impact on society as well as the success of the transfer of the technology from research lab to the public.
Molly Lawrence Memorial TodayA memorial service for Mary B. “Molly” Lawrence will held be at the Lawrence Hall of Science today at 4 p.m. The widow of Lab founder and Nobel laureate Ernest Lawrence passed away on Jan. 6 at age 92. For more information see the Jan. 10 issue of Currents.
City of Oakland Looks to the
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 This model shows how the proposed T-ray synchrotron ring would piggyback atop the existing booster ring at the ALS, inside of that facility’s electron storage ring. |
Unless they’re at a temperature of absolute zero, all objects, animate and inanimate, give off terahertz radiation, also known as T-rays, the heat from molecular vibrations. This “black-body” radiation is emitted at such low intensities — typically less than a millionth of a watt per square centimeter — that we’re unaware of it. However, T-rays have immense scientific and technological importance because their spectral range embraces the vital interface between electronics and photonics.
Using ultrafast lasers and nonlinear crystals to generate coherent light beams, scientists have already put T-rays to good use for a variety of purposes, which include the nondestructive imaging of biological and other materials and the manipulation of the electronic properties of semiconductors. It is widely believed that T-rays could be put to even better use if the power of T-ray beams could be substantially boosted.
“With high-powered coherent terahertz beams we could make full-field, real-time, video-rate movies which could be very useful in medical imaging,” says Martin. “These beams should also be useful for security inspections because terahertz radiation goes through most everything except metal and water, and you don’t have the shielding issues you do for x-rays.”
In recent years, scientists have used femtosecond lasers and semiconductors or nonlinear crystals to generate coherent picosecond pulses of T-rays at about one ten-thousandth of a watt of power. In the experiment at Jefferson Lab, using that facility’s Energy Recovery Linac (ERL), researchers were able to sustain coherent T-ray beams at an average power of 20 watts over a broad bandwidth of far-IR frequencies.
“Coherent synchrotron radiation has been measured at linacs before,” says Martin, “but this is the first time it’s been measured at a linac that runs its electron beams at a repetition rate and current comparable to what you’d get in a synchrotron ring.”
 Physicist Michael Martin, who participated in the experiment at Jefferson Lab, is shown here at the existing ALS IR beamline. Photo by Roy Kaltschmidt |
Jefferson Lab’s ERL is a superconducting radio-frequency electron accelerator that recovers the energy of spent electron bunches. The combination of superconducting accelerator cavities and energy recovery enables it to operate at a repetition rate as high as 75 megahertz, which means the average current of its electron beams, up to 5 milliamps, is much higher than the current of conventional electron linacs.
In the T-ray experiment at Jefferson Lab, which was led by Gwyn Williams and reported in the Nov. 14 issue of Nature, very short bunches of electrons — about 500 femtoseconds in pulse length — were accelerated to energies of about 40 million electron volts (MeV). These 40 MeV femtosecond pulses were then passed through the powerful magnetic field of a bending magnet with a one meter radius. This produced a sideways shove in their trajectory, which caused the electrons to shed T-rays, just as the bend magnets and insertion devices in the ALS cause electrons to shed x-rays.
“Because this was a linac rather than a synchrotron, each pass of the electron beam through the bend magnet field carried new electrons, which meant a lot of timing jitter and current fluctuations that resulted in a low signal to noise ratio,” says Martin. “With a synchrotron, where you have the same electrons passing through the bend magnets over and over again, the signal to noise ratio will be much higher. Nonetheless, this experiment was a proof-of-principle for our proposed coherent terahertz synchrotron ring because it enabled us to make the optical measurements that needed to be made.”
The T-ray synchrotron ring that Martin and his colleagues want to build for the ALS would measure about 66 meters in circumference, be stocked with 30 quadrupole and a dozen dipole or bend magnets, and would make use of the same electron linac and booster ring used to fill the ALS storage ring. It would be optimized to operate as a coherent source of T-ray beams.
The ALS T-ray ring would generate electron beams at much higher repetition rate (1.5 gigahertz) and higher current than the ERL at Jefferson Lab. It would produce terahertz light beams at an average of 50 watts of power to serve many beamlines simultaneously. The projected cost of construction runs between $10 and $20 million, which is about the cost of one to two new undulator beamlines at the ALS.
“We’ve never had terahertz beams that powerful before, so it’s difficult to say what the most important applications will be,” Martin says.
He adds, however, that the scientific interest in high-powered T-ray beams is intense and that later this year he and his colleagues expect to submit a formal proposal to the U.S. Department of Energy for a dedicated T-ray ring at the ALS.
The dedication of the Molecular Environmental Science (MES) beamline at the ALS was featured on the cover of the Dec. 2002 issue of DOE This Month, a newsletter published for the general public by the DOE's Office of Public Information.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham (pictured here with ALS Director Daniel Chemla, MES project leader David Shuh and Lab Director Charles Shank) presided over an informal ceremony launching the beamline’s commissioning phase as part of his visit to the Bay Area’s three DOE laboratories. At the ALS, Abraham listened to presentations by Carolyn Larabell of Life Sciences on recent advances in 3D tomography of single cells at Beamline 6.1.2 and by Daniel Chemla on molecular environmental science studies — such as that of magnesium oxide nanoparticles — that will be possible at the brand-new Beamline 11.0.2
By Ron Kolb
When the University of California Regents last week formally agreed to consider adding a Staff Representative to the Board, it marked a significant milestone for the University’s non-academic staff in gaining greater recognition for its work.
That staff includes those at Berkeley Lab who support the work of the scientists and engineers. Their voice is carried by delegates from all 10 UC campuses, the President’s Office, and two national labs (Livermore does not yet participate) to the Council of University of California Staff Assemblies (CUCSA). Kathie Hardy, EH&S coordinator for the Physics Division, is Berkeley Lab’s senior delegate to the Council; and Linda Rutkowski, principal contracts officer in Sponsored Projects in Financial Services, is the junior delegate. Diana Attia, senior HR generalist in Human Resources, is the Council secretary and past senior delegate for three years.
 Berkeley Lab employees Diane Attia, Kathie Hardy and Linda Rutkowski are repsentatives to the Council of UC Staff Assemblies (CUCSA). |
CUCSA (pronounced COOK-suh) has been asking for consideration of an advisory staff position at the Regents table for at least 10 years. Regent Ward Connerly requested the item be placed on the Regents’ January meeting agenda. This positive action is a far cry from the Council’s formative years in the 1970s, when staff input in institutional affairs was virtually an afterthought.
That’s why, in 1974, a group of delegates from six campuses decided to offer a collective voice on common staff issues such as sabbaticals, ombudsmen, career development, and counseling. The UC President’s Office sponsored the group. Berkeley Lab was invited to the Council in 1998, and the forthcoming UC Merced campus completed the field in 2001.
The Council, which meets quarterly, rotating at different UC locations and laboratories, is designed to offer opinions and ideas about staff-related concerns to the UC administration, and to advise about improving services throughout the system. And much of what is discussed at CUCSA is relevant to the laboratories, too. Each meeting is structured, and distinguished guests are invited. Delegates are usually greeted by the campus chancellor and are frequently visited by Regents and UC management for updates regarding the University.
“Recruitment, retention, succession planning, diversity, civility, and other employee concerns — they’re issues that we all share,” said Lab delegate Hardy. “They (University managers) ask for our input. It is important to have a place for our voice to be heard.”
In another measure of CUCSA’s growing impact, UC officials recently asked for its participation in the search for Richard Atkinson’s successor as UC president.
One of the biggest values of the organization, according to Attia, is the opportunity to share experiences and “best practices” with colleagues. “We find out how it’s done and how to improve,” she said. “We discuss how to make the staff a strong community through process improvement.” Attia noted that some of Berkeley Lab’s accomplishments, such as the new Performance Review and Development (PRD) evaluation program and the market-based compensation system, were received with interest by the group.
“It’s really a transfer of ideas,” Attia said. “We can all bring them back home and try to incorporate them into our own workplace environment.”
Added Hardy, “We get important information early and accurately, which allows us to answer questions or address rumors that might be floating around at the Lab. We also have an opportunity to provide review and critique of actions or policies before they are finalized. Information influences decision-making. That’s why Regents and the University have to be aware of what the staff thinks and needs.”
This is no insignificant power bloc. University staff number more than 100,000 systemwide. Although all of those people don’t carry CUCSA cards or pay dues, they all have standard-bearers that work hard for causes essential to employee productivity, satisfaction and welfare.
Take civility, for example. CUCSA has wrestled with the issue of respect in the workplace. In 1999, a Faculty-Staff Partnership Task Force was formed jointly by CUCSA and its systemwide academic counterpart, the Academic Council. Together, they issued a report offering ideas to further partnerships between faculty (or scientists) and staff for advancing the mission of the University by sustaining a positive work environment.
The resulting statement, which has served as a “Principles of Community,” says in part: “Our ability to excel in our missions depends on collaboration and collegial environments. A collegial atmosphere can only come about through strong partnerships based on mutual trust and respect … The faculty and staff of the University of California affirm their responsibility and commitment to creating and fostering a cooperative and professional working environment.”
A status report on conditions at campuses and labs since the partnership statement was issued is among the four priority areas of work identified by CUCSA for the coming year. Others include a dependents’ fee waiver for UC employees, an infrastructure study of membership and by-laws for staff assemblies throughout the system, and an assessment of the effectiveness of communications to and from staff.
Berkeley Lab’s representatives are serving on CUCSA under the auspices of the Human Resources Department. HR department head Randy Scott sees a critical role for the Council to play.
“Faculty, administrators, and staff all need to work collaboratively if the University is going to successfully confront and overcome the challenges that face it,” Scott said. “The CUCSA has proven to be an effective forum to bring to bear the creativity and energy of staff on the problem-solving process. Our Laboratory representative in CUCSA are valued contributors to that process, as well as the recipient of ideas that might improve our own Lab work environment.”
Hardy, Rutkowski and Attia all noted how refreshing it had been for the campuses to have welcomed Berkeley Lab participation so warmly, “which made us feel like we’re really a part of the University,” added Rutkowski.
And with a prospective place at the Regents’ table, administrative staff will have earned a University recognition that was a long time coming.
By Lisa Gonzales
David McGraw of EH&S and Dr. Peter Lichty of Medical Services accepted an award on behalf of Deputy Director Sally Benson from the American Red Cross (ARC) for the consistent support given by Berkeley Lab to their blood donation services. Presented by ARC representatives Phil Bureau and Linda Litwak, the plaque acknowledges the quarterly blood drives held at the Lab, in which 319 units of blood were donated in FY 2001-2002.
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“We are proud of our ongoing partnership with the American Red Cross and the American Association of Blood Banks,” says Charlotte Bochra of Medical Services. “We really face a challenge in getting donations on the Hill because so many of our people travel and blood cannot be donated by anyone who has been in the UK for a total of three months or in Western Europe for six months since 1980, due to mad cow disease.” Yet she acknowledges that the Lab’s blood drives usually have a good turnout, thanks to a core group of employees who donate every time.
The need for blood is even more critical now as significant blood shortages have strained the national supply, leaving many parts of the country with less than a one-day supply. Optimal levels are a seven-day supply.
“Every day in our country, blood is required in hospitals and emergency treatment facilities to save the lives of accident victims, patients with cancer and other diseases, as well as those undergoing routine surgeries,” said Karen Shoos Lipton, the American Association of Blood Banks chief executive officer. “Our goal is to ensure that blood is available to patients whenever and wherever it is needed because it is the blood on the shelves that saves lives.”
The American Red Cross provides nearly half of the nation’s blood supply to patients in 3,000 hospitals.
Berkeley Lab’s two-day Winter Blood Drive will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 5-6, in Bldg. 70A, Room 3377 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. You may register to donate blood at the BeADonor.com website (use company/group code “LBL” on the web form).
This is a time of year when blood is in short supply due to the holidays, travel schedules, inclement weather, and illness. This year’s post-holiday shortages have been compounded by winter storms that have crippled collections in some areas.
Donors can give blood every 56 days, or six times a year. They must be at least 17 years old and weigh at least 110 pounds to be eligible. More eligibility criteria can be found on the BeADonor site.
For more information about the blood drive, contact Charlotte Bochra at X4268.
The Employee Activities Association (EAA) is seeking nominations for three positions on its Advisory Panel, which will be subject to labwide election: a recreational representative, a cultural representative, and a member at large. The deadline for submitting nominations is Feb. 7.
The EAA is an employee-administered association recognized and supported by the Laboratory to promote recreational, cultural, educational, and social activities for all employees.
The Advisory Panel has five members elected to two or three-year terms. The heads of the Human Resources Department and the Workforce Diversity Office serve as ex-officio members. The EAA Advisory Panel and the activities coordinator in HR provide guidance and leadership for EAA activities.
To submit a nomination send an e-mail to eaacoordinator@lbl.gov with your name, mailstop, current position and division. Also include a brief statement of 100 words or less about yourself, the position you would like to be considered for, committees or panels you have served on, and why you are interested in serving on the Panel.
For more information about the EAA see http://www.lbl.gov/Workplace/HumanResources/EAA/. For further information e-mail eaacoordinator@lbl.gov.
Berkeley Lab is offering $70 per tour to graduate students and post-doctoral staff to lead two-hour public tours of Lab facilities approximately once a month. The Community Relations Office will hold a training session for new tour guides in February.
Participants can benefit from the opportunity to practice public speaking skills while they gain broad exposure to a variety of scientific research programs at Berkeley Lab.
For more information contact Terry Powell at X4387 or tpowell@lbl.gov.
On Feb. 1 the Lawrence Hall of Science opens a new exhibit entitled “Playing with Time.” Visitors will take part in activities to make time stand still, watch the universe expand, make flowers bloom, and see a hummingbird’s wings flap, and then manipulate the speed at which those things happen. Youngsters will discover how scientists search for clues of how nature works — quickly or over millions of years. LHS facilitators will help with hands-on activities. For more information see http://www.lawrencehallofscience.org/.
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When filmed with time lapse cameras, plants appear to dance as they change and grow. Visitors can try out blue-screen technology and do their own transformation dance. |
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In honor of the 75th birthday of former Lab Director Andy Sessler, the staff of the Accelerator and Fusion Research Division is organizing an event to celebrate his many scientific achievements and humanitarian contributions. In order to pay a more lasting homage to Sessler, AFRD will also establish a new divisionwide postdoctoral fellowship in his honor.
The event will take place in in the Building 50 auditorium on Saturday, March 15. The symposium will consist of an afternoon of talks covering the range of Sessler’s interests, and will be followed by a no-host cocktail hour and dinner at the cafeteria.
The symposium will be free and open to all who wish to attend, but RSVPs are requested for the dinner. Please RSVP to Tom Gallant (TGGallant@lbl.gov) by Jan. 31 and mention how many persons will accompany you. The cost for dinner will be announced in the near future. The dinner will be limited to 140 guests.
SHOEMOBILE
7:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., cafeteria parking lot
WINTER BLOOD DRIVE
8 a.m. – 2.pm., Bldg. 70A-3377
WINTER BLOOD DRIVE
8 a.m. – 2.pm., Bldg. 70A-3377
Send us your announcements
Announcements for the General Calendar and Bulletin Board page may be sent to MSFriedlander@lbl.gov. Seminar & Lectures items may be mailed to currents_calendar@lbl.gov. You may also fax items to X6641 or mail them to Bldg. 65. The deadline for the Feb. 7 issue is 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 3.
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS COLLOQUIUM
Superconducting Quantum Bits that (Really!) Work
Speaker: Steven M. Girvin, Yale University
4:30 p.m., 1 Le Conte Hall
UC Berkeley Campus
BIOSCIENCES DISTINGUISHED LECTURE
Rrm3p, a DNA Helicase that Helps Replication Forks
Bypass Roadblocks
Speaker: Virginia A. Zakian, Princeton University
4:00 p.m., Bldg 66 auditorium
PHYSICS DIVISION RESEARCH PROGRESS MEETING
Very Long Baseline Neutrino Oscillation Experiments for Precise Measurements
of Oscillation Parameters and Search for CP Violation
Speaker: Milind V. Diwan, Brookhaven National Laboratory
4:00 p.m., Building 50A, Room 5132
PHYSICS DIVISION RESEARCH PROGRESS MEETING
CP Violation in B Meson Decays — Latest Results from Belle
Speaker: Sven E. Vahsen, Princeton
4:00 p.m., Building 50A, Room 5132
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS COLLOQUIUM
Precision Spectroscopy with Ultrashort Pulses
Speaker: Theodor W. Haensch, Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics
4:30 p.m., 1 Le Conte Hall
UC Berkeley campus
|
Date |
Course |
Time |
Building |
|
|
2/4 |
EHS 60 |
Ergonomics for Computer Users |
9:00 – 10:30 |
Bldg. 51-201 |
|
2/5 |
EHS 116 |
First Aid Safety |
1:00 – 4:00 p.m. |
Bldg. 48-109 |
|
2/5 |
EHS 278 |
Ladder Safety |
9:00 – 10:00 |
Bldg. 51-201 |
|
2/5 |
EHS 279 |
Scaffold Safety |
10:00 – 11:00 |
Bldg. 51-201 |
|
2/6 |
EHS 256 |
Lockout/Tagout |
10:00 – 11:30 |
Bldg. 51-201 |
|
2/7 |
EHS 345 |
Chemical Hygiene for Facilities |
10:00 – 12:00 |
Bldg. 51-201 |
|
2/10 |
EHS 275 |
Confined Space Hazards |
8:30 – 11:00 |
Bldg. 51-201 |
|
2/10 |
EHS 274 |
Confined Space-Retraining |
11:00 – 12:00 |
Bldg. 51-201 |
|
2/10 |
EHS 330 |
Lead Hazards Awareness |
1:00 – 2:00 p.m. |
Bldg. 51-201 |
|
2/11 |
EHS 10* |
Introduction to ES&H at LBNL* |
8:00 – 10:15 |
Bldg. 50-Aud |
|
2/12 |
EHS 123 |
Adult Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation |
2:00 – 4:00 |
Bldg. 48-109 |
|
2/12 |
EHS 61 |
Ergonomics Evaluators Training |
9:00 – 11:30 |
Bldg. 51-201 |
|
2/13 |
EHS 276 |
Fall Protection Safety |
10:00 – 12:00 |
Bldg. 51-201 |
|
2/13 |
EHS 135 |
Earthquake/Wildland Fire Safety |
10:30 – 12:00 |
Bldg. 48-109 |
|
2/13 |
EHS 260 |
Basic Electric Hazard Awareness |
1:30 – 3:00 |
Bldg. 51-201 |
|
2/18 |
EHS 348 |
Chemical Hygiene Safety |
9:00 – 12:00 |
Bldg. 51-201 |
|
2/18 |
EHS 231 |
Compressed Gas |
1:00 – 3:30 |
Bldg. 51-201 |
|
2/19 |
EHS 530 |
Fire Extinguisher |
2:00 – 4:00 |
Bldg. 48-109 |
|
2/25 |
EHS 604 |
Hazardous Waste Generator |
9:30 – 11:00 |
Bldg. 51-201 |
|
2/25 |
EHS 622 |
Radioactive & Mixed Waste Generator |
11:00 – 12:00 |
Bldg. 51-201 |
|
2/25 |
EHS 735/ |
Biosafety/Bloodborne Pathogen |
1:30 – 2:45 |
Bldg. 51-201 |
|
2/26 |
EHS 280 |
Laser Safety |
9:00 – 12:00 |
Bldg. 51-201 |
|
2/27 |
EHS 400 |
Radiation Protection-Fundamentals |
9:00 – 12:00 |
Bldg. 51-201 |
|
2/27 |
EHS 60 |
Ergonomics for Computer Users |
1:30 – 3:00 |
Bldg. 51-201 |
|
2/28 |
EHS 432 |
Radiation Protection-Lab Safety |
8:00 – 12:30 |
Bldg. 51-201 |
* Includes EHS 392/405, followed by the orientation.
To enroll, contact Valarie Espinoza-Ross at VMEspinoza-Ross@lbl.gov or enroll via the web at https://hris.lbl.gov/self_service/training/. Preregistration is required for all courses except EHS 10. For a full, updated schedule, see http://www-ia1.lbl.gov/schedule/.
CompUSA provides onsite PC computer courses to Lab employees. The cost for all day-long courses is $199. Classes are held in Building 51L from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
|
Date |
Course |
|
2/11 |
XML |
|
2/12 |
PowerPoint 2000 Level 2 |
|
2/26 |
Dreamweaver 4.0 Introduction |
|
2/27 |
Excel 2000 Level 2 |
|
3/11 |
Presentation Skills using PowerPoint |
|
3/12 |
Excel 2000 Level 3 |
|
3/13 |
Web Publishing with Adobe Acrobat 4.0 |
|
3/27 |
PowerPoint 2000 Level 3 |
|
3/31 |
Dreamweaver 4.0 Intermediate |
Class descriptions and registration procedure are available online at the employee self-service website, https://hris.lbl.gov/. For more information, to request a class, or to provide feedback about the program, contact Heather Pinto at hmpinto@lbl.gov.
‘98 MAZDA 626 LX, 93K mi, manual, ac, all pwr, alarm, am/fm/cd, tilt wheel, cruise, sliding snrf, alloy wheels, exc cond, very clean, $6,300/bo, (925) 422-6013 day, 595-1755 eve
‘98 AUDI A6 Quattro sedan 2.8 at, 67K mi, lt green, lots of extras, $16,000/bo, David/Avril, X4868/4098, 233-3359
‘95 ISUZU RODEO 4 wd, 80K mi, manual, ac, all pwr, am/fm/cass/cd, $7,000/ bo, Kathy, X4385, 986-0323
‘92 SUBARU LEGACY SW, 136K mi, new clutch, all pwr, am/fm/cass, runs great, very clean, $4,700/ bo, Othon, X6159, 339-6749
‘91 MAZDA 626 DX sedan 4 dr, blk, at, ac, am/fm/cass, cruise, 110K mi, new tires & timing belt, clean, spacious, comp maint record, runs but needs trans work, $1,200, Fanquing, X7857, 527-3672
‘87 ACURA LEGEND, silver/grey, 4 dr, 180K, at, ac, recent major service & full service history, $2,000, Andrew, X7629, 981-1271
BERKELEY 2 bdrm/1 bth house,1,200 sq ft, 1209 Henry St, nr Gourmet Ghetto, Solano Ave & Live Oak Park, walk to UC, nr pub trans, no pets/smoking, $2,450/mo, Steven, 528-2009
BERKELEY HILLS, quiet furn suite, perf for visiting scholars, by wk/ mo, sleeps up to 3 in 2 bdrm/1 bth, elegant & spacious, bay views, DSL, cable, micro-wave, walk to UCB, Denyse, 848-1830, dchew1@mindspring.com
BERKELEY, 1 furn bdrm + study in 4 bdrm/2 bth house, share w/ 2, avail now for wk/mo/sem, DSL, satellite, hardwd flrs, parking, storage, w&d, dw, garden, $250/wk or $850/mo incl util, Amedeo/Cristina, 848-8558
BERKELEY HILLS, beautiful lge 1 bdrm apt, furn, marble bth, kitchen, priv patio, no smoking/pets, $1,295/mo + util, Helga, 524-8308, Ivankash@hotmail.com
BERKELEY HILLS, charming studio, view of Tilden Park, short drive to campus, furn or unfurn, no smoking, $700/mo incl util, 548-1942
BERKELEY, resid community of UC scientists, Lab personnel & grad students, Hearst Commons, 1146-60 Hearst nr University & San Pablo, nr pub trans & bike path, reserved parking, studio townhouses w/ decks, hardwd flrs, skylights, dw, ac, intercom, sec, 1 unit avail 2/1 @ $950/mo, 1 unit 6/03-7/03 @ $895/mo, can be partially furn for vis scientists, Alan, 666-1150, editeur@earthlink.net
CENTRAL BERKELEY, nice furn rms, kitchen, laundry, TV, DSL, hardwood floors, linens, dishes, contin breakfast, walk to pub trans/shops, $950/mo incl utils, $350/wk, Jin or Paul, 845-5959, jin.young @juno.com, Paul X7363
NORTH BERKELEY B&B for vis scholars, $650/2 wks or $850/mo, 1 person per rm, 2 rms in house, 1 garden cottage, breakfast, bike avail, close to pub trans, avail now, Helen, 527-3252
NORTH BERKELEY, bright & sunny furn big rm in exc neighborhd, close to North Shattuck, stores, pub trans, hardwd flrs, high ceilings, big windows, DSL, congenial housemates, no smoking, foreign visitors welcome, $700/mo incl weekly housekeeper, Ann, 527-1331
NORTH BERKELEY, perf for vis scholars, by wk/mo, furn lge sunny 1 bdrm apt, walk to campus & shuttle, many amenities, priv garden, gated carport, Geoffrey, 848-1830, gfchew@ mindspring.com,
NORTH BERKELY HILLS furn studio, sep ent, carpet, laundry, partial view, dishes/lines, b&w TV, priv phone, avail now, no smoking/dogs, cats neg, $750 + util, Rachelle, (415) 435-7539, 425-6094
NORTH OAKLAND, spacious & sunny 1 bdrm triplex, hardwd flrs, liv/din rm, walk-in closets, attached garage, nr trans to UC campus & shopping, avail 1/03, no pets/smoking, $1,200/mo, Janice, 428-1893
PIEDMONT, furn, 1 bdrm apt w/ liv rm, study, kitchen & patio in secluded area, $1,350/mo incl utils, avail now for short-term or until end of June, Julie, 452-0790
ROCKRDGE, 1 lge furn room in priv house, priv bth, walking dist to College Ave/Lab shuttle/BART, view of bridges & city skyline, great neighborhd, $650/mo, 655-2534
ROCKRIDGE 1 bdrm furn sublet, avail mid-Mar to mid-Aug, hardwd flrs, shared laundry & yard, walk to shops/pub trans, $1,050/mo + utils, 1st/last + $525 dep, Christine, 653-0869, chawkes@nature.berkeley.edu
WALNUT CREEK, 1601 Alvarado Ave, lge 1 bdrm apt on ground floor of 4plex, patio, carport, pool, avail after 2/1, $850/mo, Bob, (925) 376-2211
LBNL CAREER employee seeking 2-3 bdrm house in Berkeley/North Oakland, will provide landscaping, Gina, X4312
LLNL EMPLOYEE, quiet, prof woman seeks roomy apt, house, or in-law unit in Claremont area, Elaine, 704-0768, ashby3@llnl.gov
BICYCLE TRAILER/stroller combo for 1-2 children, $50/bo; high chair, $20/bo, David, X5684, 769-8271
BUNK BED, red metal frame w/ single top, dbl below, incl matt & Star Wars linens, exc cond, $125; treadmill, good cond, $50; spare tire bike rack, holds 2 bikes, $50, Sheri, X4878
DRESSERS, (2), Deco style, $300; desk & credenza, bleached oak finish, desk, $100, credenza, $50; crib & matt, Child-craft lt maple finish, $400; entert ctr, lt cherry finish, end units illuminated, $1,800; couch & love seat, Basset w/ never-used queen size hide-a-bed, neutral color, $300, David, (925) 516-2358
GO-PED, highly upgraded Bigfoot, 3.4 horsepwr, 25 mph, barely used, $750, Alexander, X7533
KENMORE MICROWAVE like new, $50, Donna, X7822, 276-2974
PIANO, ‘63 Wurlitzer spinet w/ beautiful walnut finish, exc cond & tone, $1,200, Tennessee, (925) 487-888
POOL TABLE, 6'11"x 3"9", gray felt, blk marbled sides, w/ triangle, balls, cues, chalk, etc, $200/bo; skis: Elan - FAS 190 cm w/ Tyrolia 420 bindings, $50/bo, Rossignol-Sport 180 cm w/ Salomon 447 bindings, $50/bo; ski boots, Dolomite, mens size 10, $25/bo, Rick, X7846, 482-5259
ROPER GAS DRYER, exc cond, $175/bo, Roper washer, needs belt, $100/ bo, gas bbq, $25; art on canvas, various prices, Davina, X5722
SOLOFLEX GYM SYST w/ leg ext attachment, bench & pad, weight straps total 405 lbs, some scratches but very good cond, $300, Fred, X4352, 524-6519
WALNUT BDRM SET w/ 5 drawer chest, 9 drawer dresser & detached mirror, $200, Bob, (925) 376-2211
POSTDOC in Lafayette looking to carpool, Viktor, X2685
ROSSIGNOL 195 cm downhill skis w/ Tyrolia 490 bindings, ca ’86, very good cond; Landsem med flex Xcountry track skis w/ shoes, 8.5 mens, bindings, poles; Badminton set, 4 rackets, Jon, X5974
PARIS, FRANCE, near Eiffel Tower, furn eleg 2 bdrm/ 1 bth apt, avail year-round by wk/mo, Geoff, 848-1830
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, chalet in Tyrol area, furn, sleeps 8+, sunny deck, $150/day+$75 cleaning fee, Angela, X7712, Pat/ Maria, 724-9450.
Ads are accepted only from LBNL employees, retirees, and onsite DOE personnel. Only items of your own personal property may be offered for sale.
Submissions must include name, affiliation, extension, and home phone. Ads must be submitted in writing via e-mail (fleamarket@lbl.gov), fax (X6641), or delivered/mailed to Bldg. 65.
Ads run one issue only unless resubmitted, and are repeated only as space permits. They may not be retracted once submitted.
The deadline for the Feb. 7 issue is Thursday, Jan. 30.
