January 2019 – July 2022
Before DESI, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, can begin its five-year mission from an Arizona mountaintop to produce the largest 3D sky map yet, researchers first needed an even bigger 2D map of the universe. https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2021/01/13/building-a-giant-2d-map-of-the-universe-to-prepare-for-the-largest-3d-map/
A team of researchers co-led by Berkeley Lab and Columbia University has developed a new material called avalanching nanoparticles that, when used as a microscopic probe, offers a simpler approach to taking high-resolution, real-time snapshots of a cell’s inner workings at the nanoscale. https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2021/01/13/nanoparticles-bioimaging-real-time/
The Department of Energy has announced that Susannah Tringe and Dan Kasen, two Berkeley Lab scientists, will receive the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award, one of DOE’s highest honors. Additionally, former Berkeley Lab scientist M. Zahid Hasan was also named as one of the eight recipients. https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2021/01/12/two-berkeley-lab-scientists-honored-with-the-lawrence-award/
Rachel Slaybaugh, associate professor of nuclear engineering at UC Berkeley, has been tapped to lead Cyclotron Road. She brings together a highly regarded nuclear engineering and supercomputing research background with her exceptional experience as an undergraduate and graduate teacher and mentor. https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2021/01/07/rachel-slaybaugh-to-lead-berkeley-labs-cyclotron-road/
In a recent edition of WIRED magazine, the Joint Genome Institute’s Stephen Nayfach and Emiley Eloe-Fadrosh discussed their recent Nature Biotechnology paper that expands known diversity of bacteria and archaea “by a whopping 44 percent.” https://www.wired.com/story/a-new-field-guide-for-earths-wild-microbes/
In a recent Symmetry Magazine article, Lab physicists discuss quantum computing’s “exponential” ability to perform multi-faceted calculations that can simulate the quantum processes happening inside their experiments and its potential to improve our theoretical understanding of the world. https://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/simulating-subatomic-physics-on-a-quantum-computer
Will Stringfellow (EESA) spoke with the BBC about Berkeley Lab’s work to advance technologies for extracting lithium from unconventional resources. Stringfellow said that the area around California’s Salton Sea, which has been dubbed “lithium valley,” is like a new gold rush. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20201124-how-geothermal-lithium-could-revolutionise-green-energy
A recent Nature cover story on the first detection of neutrinos produced by the Sun’s secondary solar-fusion cycle features contributions by Nuclear Science’s Zara Bagdasarian, and peer review and article by Gabriel Orebi. This research sheds light on the Sun’s structure and massive star formation. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03238-9
Tim Bogdanof, mechanical technician in the Engineering Division, is competing in Season 10 of Battlebots. The new season returns Dec. 3 on the Discovery Channel at 8 p.m. PST. Behind-the-scenes footage will be shared on his YouTube channel (Unburnable Trash) following the television premiere. https://physicalsciences.lbl.gov/2020/12/01/engineering-technician-competes-in-battlebots-on-discovery-channel/
Strategic Communications responds to dozens of news media inquiries every month. It has launched an Experts Directory to assist reporters looking for scientists to interview on a given topic. Questions about the directory can be sent to communications@lbl.gov. https://berkeleylabexperts.lbl.gov/