January 2019 – July 2022
As part of the International Year of the Periodic Table, Lab Director Mike Witherell discusses his favorite element: xenon. He is part of the LUX-ZEPLIN collaboration, which will use about 10 metric tons of liquid xenon in attempting to detect interactions with dark matter particles. https://youtu.be/dtNlAgo3B6A
CERN scientist Paul Lecoq will speak at a special Interdisciplinary Instrumentation Colloquium on “Picosecond Timing Resolution with Scintillators for a New Generation of HEP Detectors and Time-of-Flight PET Scanners” on Thursday, April 18, from noon to 1 p.m. in the Building 50 Auditorium. https://indico.physics.lbl.gov/indico/event/866/
There are a large number of unauthorized financial advisers who solicit UC employees with retirement information. Most messages are intentionally misleading and suggest that UC is endorsing their services. Click to learn how you can receive legitimate retirement financial information. https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/2019/04/alert-be-careful-about-financial-adviser-solicitations.html
Congrats to Rachel Carl in Human Resources for finishing the Boston Marathon on Monday. Read more about how taking up running later in life led her to Boston. https://stratcomm-elements.lbl.gov/2019/04/11/lab-employee-striving-for-best-time-at-boston-marathon-monday/
Biosciences Area and Michigan State University researchers are the first to characterize a protein that helps protect cyanobacteria from getting too much light. They collected X-ray diffraction data in the Berkeley Center for Structural Biology at the Advanced Light Source. https://biosciences.lbl.gov/2019/04/10/first-look-at-new-light-absorbing-protein/
In this video, Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) project participants share their insights and excitement about the project and its potential for new and unexpected discoveries. https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2019/04/12/video-the-making-of-the-largest-3d-map-of-the-universe/
The Red Cross Bloodmobile will be at Berkeley Lab on Thursday, April 18, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Click post to schedule an appointment (code is “LBL”). Walk-ins are welcome if space is available. Donors will receive GoT poster and chance to win full-size iron throne. https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/dlp/hbogameofthrones.html
Spring is the birthing season for deer and there are numerous fawns and mothers roaming the Lab’s hillsides. They often dart across roadways, so drivers should be aware and use caution. If one deer passes, wait a few moments. Often a mother or baby will follow. Click for more tips. https://www.nativeanimalrescue.org/understanding-deer/
Single-use items compose a big part of the Lab’s waste stream. Help the Lab reach its goal of zero waste by bringing your own mug, cup, cutlery, and containers. You receive 25 cents off your coffee in the cafeteria when you bring your own mug. Click to learn more tips. https://sbl.lbl.gov/your-role/#Bring-your-own
Researchers used a variety of approaches to learn more about the regulation of photosynthesis and metabolism in the green alga Chromochloris zofingiensis, with the addition of glucose while in the light. Findings from this work could lead to beneficial bioproducts for energy, food, and human health. https://biosciences.lbl.gov/2019/04/10/regulation-of-algal-photosynthesis-and-metabolism/