January 2019 – July 2022
In this Q&A, Berkeley Lab’s Michelle Newcomer discusses her research on the causes of harmful algal blooms. These blooms are thought to have a number of contributing causal factors, and can shut down beaches, contaminate drinking water, and kill fish, birds, and other wildlife. https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2019/08/28/tiny-toxins-how-algal-blooms-affect-coastal-systems-through-a-complex-web-of-interactions/
Jennifer Doudna of the Biosciences Area has received the 2019 Welfare Betterment Prize, a relatively new Hong Kong-based prize, for her pioneering discovery of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing. The award is given for advancing world civilization and inspiring people to build a more harmonious world. https://news.berkeley.edu/story_jump/doudna-awarded-prize-for-helping-build-a-better-more-harmonious-world/
This new Lab video and article highlight the decades of discoveries, achievements, and progress in particle accelerator R&D at Berkeley Lab, such as the production and discovery of new elements, the development of novel types of medical imaging, and insight into the nature of matter and energy. https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2019/08/27/video-accelerators-drive-decades-discoveries/
In a study in Nature Plants, a team of Berkeley Lab researchers projects that the combination of climate change and increased wildfires will cause the iconic evergreen conifer trees of Alaska to get pushed out in favor of broadleaf deciduous trees, which shed their leaves seasonally. https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2019/08/26/wildfires-could-permanently-alter-alaskas-forest-composition/
For researchers bringing technologies out of the lab, career pathways are seldom linear or predictable. Cyclotron Road is co-hosting an event about programs to aid the transition of science to product. The Sept. 5 event (3 to 5 p.m.) includes refreshments. Cyclotron Road applications open Oct. 1. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/turning-tech-to-traction-meet-citris-foundry-cyclotron-road-tickets-68661453255?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
ALS scientists have shown that a material’s electronic and magnetic properties can be repeatably tuned using laser light, suggesting the possibility of creating microelectronic devices that use lasers to record information in materials engineered for random-access memory and data storage. https://als.lbl.gov/tuning-material-properties-with-laser-light/
Lessons learned from the successful summer internship program for high school students, iCLEM, are being shared in hopes of having it replicated at other labs. The program, now in its tenth year, has guided 95% of participants to college, with 80% of them majoring in a STEM field. https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2019/08/19/iclem-recipe-for-success/
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/
Carl Steefel of the Earth & Environmental Sciences Area has been named by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) as a 2019 AGU Fellow. The program recognizes members who’ve made exceptional contributions to the Earth and space sciences. His research intersects the fields of geochemistry and hydrology. https://eesa.lbl.gov/15552-2/
Have you invented something unique and commercially useful, or developed computer software to distribute outside the Lab? Submit a Record of Invention (ROI) or Software Disclosure form online, via the the Intellectual Property Office’s Innovation Portal. https://ipo.lbl.gov/for-researchers/inventions_software/