January 2019 – July 2022
DOE has awarded $115 million to the new Quantum Systems Accelerator center led by Berkeley Lab. The center will forge the technological solutions needed to harness quantum information science for discoveries, energize U.S leadership in quantum R&D, and accelerate lab-to-marketplace applications. https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2020/08/26/quantum-systems-accelerator/
Research Scientist Vi Rapp in the Environmental Technologies Area is featured in the just-released DOE’s STEM Rising poster series. It aims to encourage girls to pursue STEM careers to close the gender gap in the workforce of the future. Download your own set of posters. https://www.energy.gov/articles/download-these-inspiring-posters-today
Berkeley Lab founder Ernest Lawrence was born 119 years ago on August 8. His invention of the cyclotron earned him a Nobel prize, but he was also the inventor of the modern way of doing science. Click here for a photo feature on his life and legacy. https://berkeleylab.exposure.co/eo-lawrence-birthday?source=share-berkeleylab
Millie Firestone is the new deputy program manager of the Lab’s Office of National and Homeland Security which matches researchers with national security research opportunities. Firestone came from Los Alamos and compares the Lab’s wildlife with the less tame counterparts in New Mexico. https://stratcomm-elements.lbl.gov/2020/07/31/three-questions-for-millie-firestone/
Join ORNL, PNNL, and two industry partners in a discussion of industry-lab collaborations for downstream technologies that are reducing the cost and improving the performance of many energy applications. Registration for this CarbonX webinar is free but required. First come, first served. https://netl.doe.gov/carbonx/xlabvirtual-series.html
On Thursday, DOE unveiled a report that lays out a blueprint to accelerate research in quantum science, emphasizing the creation of a quantum internet, a network that can connect distributed quantum computers. In this Q&A, ESnet Director Inder Monga (right) discusses his group’s role in this effort. http://es.net/news-and-publications/esnet-news/2020/new-doe-blueprint-to-pave-the-way-for-a-nationwide-quantum-internet/
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine hosts a workshop today on reopening U.S. research universities. Director Witherell will moderate a session at 12:45 p.m. on “The Academic Research Environment and Federal Support for Research,” and will participate in a roundtable talk. https://www.nationalacademies.org/event/07-21-2020/reopening-us-research-universities-confronting-long-standing-challenges-and-imagining-novel-solutions-an-exploratory-virtual-workshop
The DOE’s Agile BioFoundry has announced eight new projects with industry and academic partners. These projects will leverage national laboratory capabilities to address challenges in the field of biomanufacturing. Berkeley Lab is among the partners forming the Agile BioFoundry. https://agilebiofoundry.org/agile-biofoundry-selects-new-projects-to-accelerate-biomanufacturing/
The University of California’s contract to manage and operate Berkeley Lab on behalf of DOE has been extended for five years through May 2025. The initial contract was signed in 2005 and has been reviewed every five years. https://www.ucop.edu/laboratory-management/contracts/lbnl/index.html
Researchers including materials scientist Feng Wang (pictured) reflect on how the DOE Early Career Award funding they received as 2010 winners changed their careers. This year’s Early Career Award winners are expected to be announced soon. https://www.energy.gov/science/listings/early-career-program