January 2019 – July 2022
Nominations for Exceptional Achievement and the Berkeley Lab Prize-Lifetime Achievement Awards are due June 30. The awards recognize staff for significant accomplishments in advancing the Lab’s mission and strategic goals. Honorees will be celebrated at a ceremony in the fall. https://recognition.lbl.gov/
Lab researchers Roger Falcone, Pamela Ronald, Uros Seljak, and Omar Yaghi have been elected into the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their exemplary original research. The four new members bring the number of Berkeley Lab scientists elected as NAS members to 84. https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2019/04/30/new-nas-members-2019/
A new 3D particle-in-cell simulation tool developed by Berkeley Lab researchers and CEA Saclay is enabling cutting-edge simulations of laser/plasma coupling mechanisms that were previously out of reach of standard PIC codes used in plasma research. https://cs.lbl.gov/news-media/news/2019/a-breakthrough-in-the-study-of-laserplasma-interactions/
Based on data on California winters, Lab researchers have developed an advanced statistical method for quantifying and visualizing changes in environmental systems that accounts for the effects of interacting variables. https://eesa.lbl.gov/new-statistical-technique-finds-la-nina-years-more-favorable-for-mountain-snowpack-than-el-nino-years/
Two Berkeley Lab scientists – climate scientist Inez Fung of the Earth and Environmental Sciences Area, and chemist Martin Head-Gordon of the Energy Sciences Area – have been elected to the Royal Society of London, the oldest scientific academic society in continuous existence. https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2019/04/25/royal-society-of-london-elects-two-berkeley-lab-scientists/
Researchers at Berkeley Lab have 3D-printed an all-liquid “lab on a chip” that, with the click of a button, can be repeatedly reconfigured on demand to serve a wide range of applications – from making battery materials to screening drug candidates. https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2019/04/25/researchers-3d-print-a-lab-on-a-chip/
The Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program has awarded Lab researchers a three-year grant for studies aimed at mitigating health impacts of exposure to thirdhand smoke, the toxic residues from tobacco smoke that linger on indoor surfaces and in dust long after a cigarette has been extinguished. https://biosciences.lbl.gov/2019/04/23/new-round-of-funding-for-thirdhand-smoke-research/
The C&EN podcast looks at what it takes to make a new superheavy element, starting a half century ago and tracking the making of new elements through time. Former Lab researcher William Lester is interviewed for the piece, and the contributions of the late Jim Harris and element 104 are discussed. https://cen.acs.org/physical-chemistry/periodic-table/IYPT-Podcast-Scientists-share-what-it-takes-to-make-a-superheavy-element/97/i17
At an April 23 news conference in Berkeley on collaborations to lessen fire danger near urban areas, Governor Gavin Newsom asked Biosciences ALD Mary Maxon to answer a question on the use of biomass from forest-thinning. She discussed bio-based strategies to utilize forest biomass in biorefineries. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/04/23/newsom-warns-of-wildfire-risk-to-urban-communities-across-state/
Susan Hubbard, Kam-Biu Luk, Jeffrey Long, and Claire Tomlin have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a prestigious, 239-year old honorary society that recognizes accomplished scholars, scientists, and artists in academia, the humanities, arts, business, and government. https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2019/04/19/american-academy-elections-2019/