AI@LBNL Webinar Series #3: Building Infrastructure for Cutting-Edge Scientific AI

Wahid Bhimji from NERSC’s Data and AI Services Group and Adam Stone, Chief Technology Officer and Director of Berkeley Lab's IT Division, discuss efforts to build infrastructure that supports pioneering scientific AI research.

AI@LBNL Webinar Series #2: Planning the Future for (and with) AI at Berkeley Lab

Carol Burns, Deputy Lab Director for Research and Chief Research Officer, discusses the ongoing efforts to develop Berkeley Lab’s AI strategy, outlines her goals for a two-day AI workshop this fall to refine that strategy, and explains how lab staff can contribute to achieving these goals.

AI@LBNL Webinar Series #1: FASST Update

Carol Burns, Deputy Director for Research hosts ALD Computational Sciences Jonathan Carter in the first of a weekly webinar series "AI@LBNL".  Join Dr. Carter as he presents an overview and 'roadmap' of DOE's FASST (Frontiers in AI for Science, Security and Technology).

Community Engaged Research: A Fireside Chat

The Laboratory Directorate is launching a Labwide speaker series on community engaged research to showcase CER researchers and projects across Berkeley Lab, and highlight examples and promising practices to strengthen community partnerships. The kick-off event was held on Tuesday, August 27th from 12:00-1:00 pm in the B50 Auditorium, with a virtual option for those unable to join in person. This fireside chat panel will feature Associate Lab Directors Mary Ann Piette and Bill Collins, Division Director Tom Kirchstetter, and will be moderated by Deputy Lab Director for Research and Chief Research Officer, Carol Burns.

Hybrid Events Training: IT AV Services

On June 10, 2024, the IT AV Services team hosted an interactive training on the best practices to follow while hosting Hybrid Events at the Lab. This lunch and learn info session with Miles Green the team lead of IT AV Services, also covered new features in the Zoom Workplace application and included a brief Q&A. Employees who joined the Lab within the past 6 months are encouraged to watch the recording.

Employees and Lab's Culture Data Scientist Talks About Culture Survey

Want to help improve your work environment? You can share your thoughts on Lab culture in a voluntary survey sent from culture@lbl.gov. It will take about 10 minutes to complete the survey, which is being distributed by the Lab's Learning and Culture Office headed by Aditi Chakravarty. The results will be shared Lab-wide, and the Lab community will be given resources to develop action plans based on insights from the survey.  In this roundtable discussion on March 18, 2024, Lab Culture Data Scientist Adi Greif answered questions about the survey and how it will be used with several Lab employees. 

Big Science: The Ernest Orlando Lawrence Legacy with Michael Hiltzik

The summer blockbuster “Oppenheimer” has inspired a groundswell of curiosity about the scientists from around the world who managed to split the atom and then, with wartime urgency, built the first atom bomb.  Among them was Ernest O. Lawrence, who Berkeley Lab employees know as the Lab’s namesake and founder. But few people today comprehend the magnitude of Lawrence’s contributions to science during the three decades before, during, and after World War II.  During the talk, Hiltzik provided an overview of Lawrence and his legacy and engaged in an on-stage conversation with Berkeley Lab Director Mike Witherell.

Enrico Fermi Presidential Award Ceremony

Two Lab scientists were honored Tuesday, June 6, with the Enrico Fermi Presidential Award, one of the most prestigious science honors bestowed by the U.S. government. The laureates are Darleane Hoffman, a pioneering nuclear chemist who joined the Lab’s Nuclear Science Division in 1984 as a faculty senior scientist, and Gabor Somorjai, a world authority on catalysis, an affiliate in the Lab’s Materials Sciences Division, where for many years he was also a faculty senior scientist.

The Fermi Award was established in memory of Enrico Fermi, who led the experiment that in 1942 demonstrated the first self-sustained chain reaction, opening the door to continuing research in nuclear energy. Nuclear energy provides not only electrical power, but is used in fields such as medical, agriculture, and industrial applications. 

ESnet6 Unveiling Ceremony

On Tuesday, Oct. 11, ESnet held an unveiling event at Berkeley Lab to introduce ESnet6, the newest generation of the U.S. Department of Energy’s high-performance network dedicated to science. For more information about the network, watch the videos and visit the ESnet6 page.  

Berkeley Lab Research SLAM

The 2022 Berkeley Lab Research SLAM was held on Thursday, September 22nd, at Berkeley Lab's Cafeteria Patio. The culminating live event was co-hosted by Sinead Griffin, Staff Scientist at the Material Sciences Division, and Bashir Mohammed, Computational Systems Engineer in the Scientific Data Division. Twelve finalists took the stage to communicate their science in a clear and concise three minutes to impress the panel of esteemed judges. Congratulations to all of our 2022 SLAM finalists!

Berkeley Lab's 15 Open Mic

During the past two-and-a-half years, the Lab has held 14 Open Mics, all on Zoom. On Wednesday, the 15th Open Mic was also the first in-person session held at the Lab's cafeteria patio. Watch the talents of the Lab community continue to shine, in this video footage.

Bevatron Particle Accelerator Honored as Historic Site by Physics Society

Celebrate the past and plan for the future, said Frances Hellman, president of the American Physical Society – and a physicist at Berkeley Lab – during a historic site dedication on May 11 to the Bevatron, a particle accelerator that operated at the Lab from 1954 to 1993.

90th Anniversary Speaker Series: Founder's Day Celebration

Join us in a virtual celebration as we culminate the Lab's 90th anniversary. Featuring special guest Jennifer Granholm, the U.S. Secretary of Energy, plus brief remarks from Lab leaders about what the next 90 years may have in store, a conversation between Lab employees and young people about the importance of mentoring and how we can tackle climate change, and the announcement of the "Happy Birthday" video contest winners.

NERSC Perlmutter Supercomputer Dedication 

Our next supercomputer will be an HPE Cray system named “Perlmutter” in honor of Saul Perlmutter, an astrophysicist at Berkeley Lab who shared the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to research showing that the expansion of the universe is accelerating.  

Dr. Perlmutter will be present at the dedication. He has been a user of our National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) for many years and part of his Nobel Prize-winning work was carried out on NERSC machines. NERSC is available to researchers from around the nation and the world and assists some 7,000 scientists annually. The name reflects and highlights NERSC's commitment to advancing scientific research.

Basics2Breakthroughs: Deciphering the Plant Microbiome

Berkeley Lab Postdoc Researcher Jonelle Basso is getting to the root of plant-microbe interactions which can lead to more efficient and sustainable crops that produce food, plant-based biofuels, and bioproducts.

Research at Berkeley Lab starts with basic science which leads to innovative breakthroughs that have changed the world. The Basics2Breakthroughs video series focuses on early career scientists discussing their research and what they hope for the future in that research.

Women @ The Lab Virtual Awards

Berkeley Lab and LBNL’s Women Scientists and Engineer’s Council (WSEC) are proud to honor an outstanding group of women Lab employees for its fourth Women @ The Lab event. Your attendance will reinforce your commitment to diversity and the development of effective scientific and operations staff at the Lab.

The celebration highlights Berkeley Lab women and their success stories - scientists, engineers, and operations staff who are working to change the world for the better. By promoting the achievements of these 15 brilliant women, we hope to continue to inspire a new generation of women to enter the STEM workforce, where their participation could lead to important breakthroughs.

Justice40 and a Transformative Vision for Energy Justice at DOE

The Justice40 Initiative promises 40% of the benefits of certain federal investments, including investments in clean energy, to disadvantaged communities. On March 19, 2021 the Department of Energy’s first Deputy Director for Energy Justice, Shalanda H. Baker, discussed the Justice40 Initiative and her transformative vision for energy justice at the Department. 

A Gentle Introduction to 5G Networks and Shared Spectrum

The first half of this talk will provide a brief introduction to key drivers and capabilities of 5G networks and highlight technologies that enable these capabilities. In the second half, we will discuss concept of shared spectrum - a key regulatory/policy innovation  Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has advanced in recent years to release new high-quality spectrum needed to remove roadblocks to  5G deployments. 

Conversation with UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May

Throughout his career, UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May has championed diversity and mentorship in higher education and the workplace. Chancellor May joined Lab Director Mike Witherell at a Lab-wide Town Hall on August 18, 2020 to discuss the challenges of achieving equity. ​