BERKELEY, CA —  Buoyed by a glittering record of achievement and growth, and energized by the prospects of opportunities that lie ahead for the next decade, Berkeley Lab Director Charles Shank today delivered an upbeat State of the Laboratory address to employees on Tuesday.

LAB DIRECTOR CHARLES SHANK

"I look at what we've accomplished in the last decade, and it's a testimony to incredible progress made at the Lab," he said. "It has been one of my great satisfactions to work here. We've done pretty darn well, thanks to all of you here."

In his one-hour annual review of scientific highlights in the auditorium, Shank complimented both the research community, whose world-class production appears regularly on journal covers and in the news, and the support community, who collectively earned an "outstanding" performance rating from Department of Energy evaluators last year.

"And in order to address our vision for the future, we will need all of you," he added.

That vision includes ambitious program growth that will require building space, innovative research that anticipates the scientific challenges of the new millennium, and sustaining budgets from Washington. Although each aspect will require some creative forces to succeed, Shank exhibited a sense of optimism that told his audience anything is possible.

Interspersing results that represented the best research of this past year, he laid out a series of programmatic priorities that respond to what he refers to as "Vision 2010." Elements of that vision include a fully integrated computing capability, new energy sources and environmental solutions, efforts in quantitative biology, research in nanoscience and complex systems, and gaining a fundamental understanding of the universe.

Foremost on this roadmap was the proposed construction and launching of the SuperNova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP) satellite -- "our highest priority project right now," Shank said. "We are playing a major role in astrophysics and understanding the universe. But to take the next step, we have to move toward precision cosmology."

Hence the SNAPSAT, which will move supernova study from ground-based to sky-based observation. A telescope with a billion-pixel camera will record supernova bursts in greater numbers than ever at never-before-seen precision. The interagency project is currently circulating before prospective funders in Washington.

Shank also mentioned the 88-Inch Cyclotron (he affectionately called it the "elderly beast") as a site for future programs, which will include the newly reinstalled Gammasphere and proposed upgrades that could turn the cyclotron into a stable beams facility for nuclear physics.

At the center of Berkeley Lab's aspirations for exploring the nanosciences is the Advanced Light Source, an already productive facility that Shank said will triple its number of users in the next decade. On the drawing boards is a user and nanoscience building projected for construction adjacent to the present dome on the east side.

"Daniel Chemla and his team have enabled the ALS to move from the problems of the Birgeneau Report to a whole new facility with very positive reviews," the Director said. "They have positioned us well for going into the future." That future included a significantly expanded protein crystallography program with at least eight beamlines, superbend magnets to extend the flux and brightness of the machine, and a femtosecond pulse x-ray facility.

In light of the announcement on Monday concerning the completed rough draft of the human genome sequence, Shank said the Laboratory, and the world, stand "on the threshold of a new biology." Building upon its "amazing productivity in the biological sciences," Berkeley Lab is poised to play a major role "in a world in which sequence and structure will lead to a new understanding of function," he said. That means an integration of the physical, computing and engineering sciences to create the tools that will allow post-sequence data collection and analysis.

With the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center already among the nation's fastest unclassified facilities, Shank spoke about his vision of building the world's most powerful open computer facility on the Berkeley Lab site -- perhaps where the decommissioned Bevatron now sits. In the meantime, NERSC and much of the computing hardware will move to a leased downtown Oakland building this fall.

Shank also commented on the Laboratory's upcoming work in the areas of energy and the environment, especially efforts to reduce carbon emissions as well as to capture and sequester atmospheric carbon. "We want to help answer the questions of what to do with the carbon in the atmosphere, and how to manage carbon dioxide in the future," he said, pointing to state partnerships on energy efficiency and electricity reliability, and the Lab's investigations into oceanic and geologic sequestration.

As for budget and politics, Shank expressed caution and hope. Early markups in Washington indicate soft support for DOE science, and the impending change in administration adds to the uncertainty. However, for hope he can always look to history: over the past 10 years, Berkeley Lab has enjoyed an inflation-adjusted 42 percent growth in the budget.

Shank also pointed to three challenges that represent his top personal priorities -- space, safety, and diversity.

"We're getting more money," he said of the first item, "but many people find it difficult to find a place to sit. We have to create more high-quality space for people to do the science," which is difficult in a land-restricted environment like Berkeley Lab.

In the area of safety, he complimented the Lab for being the first to implement a validated Integrated Safety Management plan. On the other hand, he pointed to a graph which showed accident rates creeping up over the past two years. "I want you all to think about safety and our important commitment to this," he told the audience. "We've got much to do in this area."

And much is left to do in the area of improving workforce diversity. According to the director, "we've reached a compliance level, not a leadership level." He urged all to participate in broadening hiring pools, and he especially challenged division directors by requiring each to submit aggressive diversity plans for his review and approval. "This is a public institution," Shank said, "and we should be leaders in this area." He described the Lab's diversity hiring performance to date as "flat."

He concluded by commenting on the recent news attention given to security and project management concerns at the two defense labs and on what this might mean to Berkeley Lab's management contract with the University of California. He noted that each lab has its own contract with UC, not all three in one.

"I am optimistic that we won't face the same prospects (for restrictions) as the other labs," Shank said. "I also believe that all three contracts will continue with UC." He pledged to resist any attempts to impose policies or procedures that could change the nature and character of Berkeley Lab as open, unclassified, and welcoming of diverse viewpoints.