January 2019 – July 2022
Berkeley Lab’s Prakash Rao was interviewed as part of a CNBC story on ocean desalination technologies, one of several options being explored to address world water shortages. Rao conducts analysis of large-scale desalination, focusing on its energy implications. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfr82RB72U8&feature=youtu.be
Berkeley Lab’s electricity market researchers were in the news last week as experts sought to understand the cost of Northern California power outages using the ICE Calculator, a tool that estimates interruption costs and the benefits associated with reliability improvements. https://emp.lbl.gov/news/emp-news-articles-about-october-california
Seeker, a science website, recently posted a video highlighting Lab research on a new kind of plastic that can be disassembled into its constituent parts at the molecular level, and then reassembled into different shapes, textures, and colors repeatedly without loss of performance or quality. https://youtu.be/taNVuQh1-JQ
When a Berlin-based symphony composer with a fondness for converting old scientific gear into musical instruments posted to a discussion forum: “Any nuclear scientists here? 184[-inch] cyclotron question,” he launched a search that eventually led back to the Lab. https://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/upcycled-instrument-tied-to-auspicious-accelerator
Last year, Berkeley Lab researchers completed a first-ever analysis of computer gaming energy use. ETA’s Norman Bourassa (left) recently presented the results at GamesCom 2019 in Germany. German national media published several articles, including a Spiegel Q&A with Bourassa and Evan Mills. http://greengaming.lbl.gov/media/spiegel-online-august-21-2019
The monthly Media Report features video, audio clips, and Lab mentions in publications like The New York Times, Wired, Science, and other top-tier news outlets. Click post to sign up. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScphfNcHakO-alZ95izNvVNGAOl_AFAsMRPKYpvqR-ICVYrxg/viewform?usp=sf_link
The Lab’s Michael Wehner notes that warming can be lethal in a Rolling Stone article on extreme heat that references a study on how growing emissions could expose 74% of the world’s population to heat waves hot enough to kill by the year 2100. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/climate-crisis-goodell-survive-extreme-heat-875198/
An international team, including climate scientists from Berkeley Lab, investigated the Amazon rainforest’s ability to absorb C02 and found that previous models did not take into account phosphorus-deficient soil. The paper was published in the journal Nature Geoscience. https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2019/08/20/amazon-rainforest-absorbing-less-carbon-than-expected/
JBEI’s Jay Keasling was featured on NHK World’s program “Direct Talk.” Keasling discussed the positive impact synthetic biology can have in people’s lives as well as its safety concerns. Direct Talk is broadcast to 300-million households in 160 countries in six different language subtitles. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/video/2058523/
