Through a program called IISME, or Industry Initiatives for Science and Mathematics Education, 12 high school science teachers from throughout the Bay Area spent part of their summer working with Berkeley Lab scientists on ongoing research projects, conducting and designing experiments and helping to collect and analyze data. IISME is just one of the education programs run by the Lab’s Center for Science and Engineering Education (CSEE).

A summer job for eight high school students from the East Bay means working in a state-of-the art microbiology research laboratory on the next-step in bioenergy. The iCLEM program is a paid summer internship for high school students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds who fall outside the typical curve of academic enrichment. It is sponsored by the Joint BioEnergy Institute and the Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center.

The City of San Jose and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) today announced a partnership to accelerate the advancement of clean energy technologies while also helping San Jose and other cities achieve their environmental sustainability goals. The partnership brings together the extensive capabilities of San Jose’s ProspeCT SV, a facility to showcase and validate technologies, with Berkeley Lab’s focus on cutting-edge technology development and applied research.

Thanks to a hands-on workshop hosted by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, second-graders from LeConte Elementary School now know that the CPU is like a computer’s brain, the RAM its memory, the power supply like a heart and the motherboard its skeleton. “Our goal is to open up their minds to the world of science and computer science,” said Berkeley Lab IT staff member Tammy Campbell. “It’s very important to hit them up at a very young age and get them interested.”

In hopes of igniting a passion for science among both young and old, Berkeley Lab has initiated a number of new outreach activities in the community in the past year. Building on its successful science events for the public, the new activities aim to make an impact on individuals by enabling science education, mentoring or workforce training opportunities they may not otherwise have had.

The University of California announced today that it has identified the Richmond Field Station as its preferred site for the proposed consolidation of the biosciences programs of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).  The University of California-owned site presents the best opportunity to solve the Lab’s pressing space problems while allowing for long term [...]

Susan Murabana is working to bring astronomy education to Africa through Global Hands-On Universe, a program founded by Berkeley Lab astronomer Carl Pennypacker.

For students who choose to return to Berkeley Lab, CSEE internship programs are often pivotal in deciding their futures. “We have seen these experiences literally change lives,” said CSEE director Susan Brady. “When teachers and students conduct authentic research with exceptional scientists using world-class facilities and equipment, they are introduced to a whole new world of possibilities.”

iCLEM – the Introductory College Level Experience in Microbiology – is a summer education program for Bay Area high school students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds unlike any other. Not only does iCLEM provide the students with a hands-on science experience, it also pays them a salary. iCLEM is sponsored by the Joint BioEnergy Institute and the Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center.

The first of six public meetings was held July 13 for the potential sites for the Lab’s proposed second campus. The first meeting was held in Alameda for the Alameda Point project. A standing-room only crowd filled an art deco theater on the former Navy base.