UCTV: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

The Carbon Cycle Like You’ve Never Seen It with Margaret Torn

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 9:43:02 PDT

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ecologist and biogeochemist Margaret Torn chats with Sabin Russell, former San Francisco Chronicle reporter turned Berkeley Lab science writer. Torn studies the natural carbon cycle and human influence on the carbon cycle through land use and climate change. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 22553]

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The Future of Batteries with Venkat Srinivasan

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 9:43:22 PDT

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory battery scientist Venkat Srinivasan chats with Sabin Russell, former San Francisco Chronicle reporter turned Berkeley Lab science writer. They explore the problems that prevent lithium-ion batteries from being widely used in electric, hybrid-electric, and plug-in-hybrid-electric vehicles. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 22552]

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Hunting Dark Energy with David Schlegel

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 9:43:57 PDT

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory physicist and dark energy hunter David Schlegel chats with Sabin Russell, former San Francisco Chronicle reporter turned Berkeley Lab science writer. David Schlegel is an astrophysicist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the principal investigator of Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS), the largest of four night-sky surveys being conducted as part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 22550]

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Fukushima: Fact vs. Fiction

Fri, 13 May 2011 8:54:47 PDT

The nuclear crisis in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan is confusing and frightening. Three Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientists - Thomas McKone, Edward Morse and Robert Budnitz - discuss the facts about radiation safety and risks, detection and the implications for human health and the environment. Lance Knobel moderates Series: "Science at the Theater" [Science] [Show ID: 21582]

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Cool Cities Cool Planet

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 12:40:49 PDT

Berkeley Lab scientists discuss how white roofs can cool your building, your city ... and our planet, and the role of the other carbon -- black carbon -- in global warming. Series: "Science at the Theater" [Science] [Show ID: 20689]

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Putting Carbon in its Place: What You Can Do

Thu, 3 Mar 2011 14:12:51 PDT

Berkeley Lab scientists reveal the latest research on how to reduce your carbon footprint at home, work, and when you shop. Learn how even small choices can have a big impact. Series: "Science at the Theater" [Science] [Show ID: 20688]

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Trading Carbon: Can Cookstoves Light the Way?

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 12:43:42 PDT

Berkeley Lab scientists discuss how families in Africa using stoves designed by Berkeley Lab are at the forefront of global carbon reduction. Series: "Science at the Theater" [Science] [Show ID: 20690]

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Capturing Carbon

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 10:47:33 PDT

Lawrence Berkeley National Lab scientists Jeff Long of the Materials Sciences and Nancy Brown of the Environmental Energy Technologies Division discuss their efforts to fight climate change by capturing carbon from the flue gas of power plants, as well as directly from the air. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 19662]

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Visualizing Clean Energy

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 9:08:02 PDT

Juan Meza of the Computational Research Division reveals how scientists use computer visualizations to accelerate climate research and discuss the development of next-generation clean energy technologies such as wind turbines and solar cells. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 19665]

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Smart Windows

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 14:06:43 PDT

Berkeley Lab researchers Delia Milliron of the Materials Sciences Division and Stephen Selkowitz of the Environmental Energy Technologies Division talk about their work on energy-saving smart windows. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 19664]

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Wind Warriors

Fri, 8 Oct 2010 14:50:37 PDT

Learn how Berkeley Lab scientists are developing wind turbines to be used in an urban setting, as well as analyzing what it will take to increase the adoption of wind energy in the U.S. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 19663]

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Cooking Stoves in the Developing World

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 14:38:31 PDT

For millions of refugees in makeshift camps in the Darfur region of western Sudan, collecting firewood for their cooking stoves is difficult, dangerous, and the stoves produces a great deal of carbon dioxide. After visiting the region, researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory with students at the University of California, Berkeley and volunteers from Engineers Without Borders developed the “Berkeley-Darfur Stove”, a stove four times more fuel efficient than the 3-stone fires traditionally used in Darfur. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 19661]

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House of the Future

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:05:13 PDT

Learn what it will take to create tomorrow's net-zero energy home as Lawrence Berkeley National lab scientists reveal the secrets of cool roofs, smart windows, and computer-driven energy control systems. Iain Walker will explores net-zero energy houses that generate as much energy as they use. Mary Ann Piette discusses how new technologies are enabling buildings to listen to the grid and adjust demands based on fluctuating electricity prices. Bruce Nordman explores digital networks that will allow homeowners to save energy. Series: "Science at the Theater" [Science] [Show ID: 19343]

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Just Say No to Carbon Emissions

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 11:26:34 PDT

Lawrence Berkeley National Labs explores three efforts: cheap solar energy, storing carbon deep underground, and energy efficiency in China. Ramamoorthy Ramesh discusses research to make photovoltaic cells using the most abundant elements in the Earth's crust -- materials that are literally as common as dirt. Nan Zhou expliores China’s energy use and the policies that have been implemented to increase energy efficiency and reduce CO2 emission growth. Curt Oldenburg discusses a strategy to reduce carbon emissions from coal and natural gas. Series: "Science at the Theater" [Science] [Show ID: 19342]

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Dark Secrets: What Science Tells Us About the Hidden Universe

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 12:39:22 PDT

No mystery is bigger than dark energy — the elusive force that makes up three-quarters of the Universe and is causing it to expand at an accelerating rate. Join a panel of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientists who use phenomena such as exploding stars and gravitational lenses to explore the dark cosmos. Series: "Science at the Theater" [Science] [Show ID: 17426]

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Genome Science and Personalized Cancer Treatment

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 9:57:32 PDT

Results from the Human Genome Project are enabling scientists to understand how individual cancers form and progress. This information, when combined with newly developed drugs, can optimize the treatment of individual cancers. Joe Gray, director of Berkeley Lab’s Life Sciences Division and Associate Laboratory Director for Life and Environmental Sciences, focuses on this approach, its promise, and its current roadblocks — particularly with regard to breast cancer. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 17052]

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Hope or Hype? - What’s Next for Biofuels

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 9:59:31 PDT

A new breed of biofuels may help solve the global energy challenge and reduce the impact of fossil fuels on global warming. Hear from a panel of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientists who are developing ways to convert the solar energy stored in plants into liquid fuels. Series: "Science at the Theater" [Science] [Show ID: 17427]

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Geologic Carbon Sequestration: Mitigating Climate Change by Injecting CO2 Underground

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 9:29:11 PDT

Climate change provides strong motivation to reduce CO2 emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide capture and storage involves the capture, compression, and transport of CO2 to geologically favorable areas, where it’s injected into porous rock more than one kilometer underground for permanent storage. Curt Oldenburg, who heads Berkeley Lab’s Geologic Carbon Sequestration Program, focuses on the challenges, opportunities, and research needs of this innovative technology. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 17050]

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How to Bring Solar Energy to 7 Billion People

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 9:27:41 PDT

By exploiting the powers of nanotechnology and taking advantage of nontoxic, Earth-abundant materials, Berkeley Lab's Cyrus Wadia has fabricated new solar cell devices that have the potential to be several orders of magnitude less expensive than conventional solar cells. And, by mastering the chemistry of these materials—and the economics of solar energy—he envisions bringing electricity to the 1.2 billion people now living without it. Series: "Science at the Theater" [Science] [Show ID: 16917]

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Hot Technology - Cool Science

Fri, 4 Sep 2009 10:55:29 PDT

Great innovations start with bold ideas. Join a roundtable discussion with five Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientists discuss how technologies they have developed are improving the world. Todd DeSantis: Pocket-sized DNA probe. Carl Haber: Preserving history one recording at a time. Nitash Balsara: battery powered commute? Hashem Akbari: Could your roof cool the world? Katherine Yelick: Supercomputers for a greener world. Series: "Science at the Theater" [Science] [Show ID: 16916]

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Drugs for Brain Tumors

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:25:35 PDT

Trudy Forte discusses her work developing nano-sized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles that can be used as a safe and effective means of delivering anticancer drugs to brain tumors, particularly the most common malignant brain tumor in adults and one of the deadliest forms of cancer. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 13002]

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Bioremediation: The Hope and the Hype for Environmental Cleanup

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:43:50 PDT

Terry Hazen discusses when it’s best to resort to engineered bioremediation of contaminated sites, and when it’s best to rely on natural attenuation. Recent advances have greatly broadened the potential applications for bioremediation. At the same time, scientists’ knowledge of biogeochemical processes has advanced and they can better gauge how quickly and completely contaminants can be degraded without human intervention. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 13004]

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The Future of the Earth’s Climate: Frontiers in Forecasting

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:33:35 PDT

Bill Collins discusses how observations show that the Earth is warming at a rate unprecedented in recent history, and that human-induced changes in atmospheric chemistry are probably the main culprits. He suggests a need for better observations and understanding of the carbon and hydrological cycles. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 13003]

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Invention and History of the Bubble Chamber

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:44:05 PDT

Don Glaser won the 1960 Nobel Prize for Physics for his 1952 invention of the bubble chamber at Berkeley Lab, a type of particle detector that became the mainstay of high-energy physics research throughout the 1960s and 1970s. He discusses how, inspired by bubbles in a glass of beer, he invented the bubble chamber and detected cosmic-ray muons. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 11831]

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Seventy Five Years of Particle Accelerators

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:17:57 PDT

Andy Sessler, Berkeley Lab director from 1973 to 1980, sheds light on the Lab’s nearly eight-decade history of inventing and refining particle accelerators, which continue to illuminate the nature of the universe. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 11833]

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Energy Efficient Buildings and Appliances: from Berkeley Lab to the Marketplace

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:17:43 PDT

Art Rosenfeld, an appointee to the California Energy Commission and one of the architects of energy efficiency research at Berkeley Lab in the 1970s, discusses what it takes to shepherd innovative energy efficiency research from the lab to the real world. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 11832]

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Discovery of the Transuranium Elements

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:18:10 PDT

Darleane Hoffman, a nuclear chemist, chronicles the discovery of the heaviest elements — those much heavier than uranium and plutonium. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 11834]

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Nuclear Medicine at Berkeley Lab: From Pioneering Beginnings to Today

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:17:35 PDT

Thomas Budinger, head of Berkeley Lab’s Center for Functional Imaging, discusses Berkeley Lab’s rich history pioneering the field of nuclear medicine, from radioisotopes to medical imaging. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 11830]

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The Death of the Dinosaurs: 27 Years Later

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:17:25 PDT

Rich Muller, a Berkeley Lab physicist, discusses Nobel laureate Luis Alvarez and colleagues’ 1979 discovery that an asteroid impact killed the dinosaurs. He also discusses what scientists have learned in the subsequent 27 years. Alvarez’s team detected unusual amounts of iridium in sedimentary layers. They attributed the excess iridium to an impact from a large asteroid. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 11829]

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The World as a Hologram

UC Berkeley's Raphael Bousso presents a friendly introduction to the ideas behind the holographic principle, which may be very important in the hunt for a theory of quantum gravity. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 11140]

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E=mc2

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:02:30 PDT

Go behind the famous equation with Hitoshi Murayama. This famous equation, part of the theory of relativity set forth by Einstein, changed our understanding of nature at the most fundamental level. The fascinating story of energy (E) and mass (m) is still evolving a century since Einstein as we understand more of where they come from, how they shape the universe, and the missing pieces of the universe: Dark Matter and Dark Energy. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 11026]

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Seismic Imaging of the Earth's Interior

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:01:57 PDT

Earth scientist Barbara Romanowicz discusses how she explores the deep structure and dynamics of the Earth using seismic tomography. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 11025]

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Imaging the Voices of the Past: Using Physics to Restore Early Sound Recordings

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:01:34 PDT

Physicist Carl Haber and colleagues have found a way to digitize century-old recordings believed to be unplayable, and as a result, some of the music and spoken word recordings in the Library of Congress collection may spring back to life. Learn how basic scientific research done at Berkeley Lab may yield results of benefit in other areas of science and culture. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 11024]

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Physics Meets Biology

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:40:14 PDT

If scientists could take advantage of the awesomely complex and beautiful functioning of biology’s natural molecular machines, their potential for application in many disciplines would be incalculable. Nobel Laureate and Director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Steve Chu explores Possible solutions to global warming and its consequences. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 11023]

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Space Radiation and Cataracts

Eleanor Blakely, radiation biologist of the Life Sciences Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, has been a scientist at Berkeley Lab since 1975. She is studying the effect of radiation on cataracts which concerns not only cancer patients, but also astronauts. As astronauts spend increasingly longer time in space, the effects of cosmic radiation exposure will become an increasingly important health issue- yet there is little human data on these effects. Blakely reviews this emerging field and the contributions made at Berkeley Lab. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 8757]

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Next Generation Lighting Technologies: From the Lab to the Marketplace

For the past several years, Michael Siminovittch, a researcher in the Environmental Energy Technologies Division of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, has worked to package efficient lighting in an easy-to-use and good-looking lamp. His immensely popular "Berkeley Lamp" has redefined how America lights its offices. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 8756]

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Beyond The Human Genome: What's Next?

UC Berkeley's Daniel Rokhsar and his colleagues were instrumental in contributing the sequences for three of the human body's chromosomes in the effort to decipher the blueprint of life- the completion of the DNA sequencing of the human genome. Now he is turning to the structure and function of genes in other organisms, some of them no less important to the planet's future than the human map. Hear the latest in this lecture from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 8754]

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Toward An Affordable Commercial Fuel Cell

Steve Visco, a materials scientist, has come up with a solid oxide fuel cell that promises to generate electricity as cheaply as the most efficient gas turbine engine. But there's a lot more work to do before commercially viable fuel cells and pollution-free power generators become reality. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 8755]

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If Only We Could Account For Every Atom

Christian Kisielowski, an expert in electron microscopy at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, investigates ways to allow studies of single atoms using sophisticated microscopes and imaginative techniques. His goal is to account for every atom in the interior of both simple and complex materials. Find out how he and his colleagues are breaking the barriers to account for every atom. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 8758]