EX-Ls Retiree Newsletter

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory – May 2021

Join Us for the EX-Ls FREE ZOOM Speaker

TITLE: SURF and its Connections to California and LBNL through History, Science and Education

Date: Thursday, May 20, 2021

Speaker: Peggy Norris, Ph.D. formerly of LBNL, now Deputy Director for Education and Outreach at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, S.D.

Location: Virtual ZOOM Meeting Time: Speaker: 1:00 to 2:00 pm Practice Connecting 12:30 to 1:00 pm

Registration Online: https://berkeley.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJctf-msrjouHdDPGwTYQVxYmidZZqQfrQgu For help, please contact Kathy Bjornstad, EX-Ls Activities Coordinator, at [email protected]

IN THIS ISSUE: Berkeley Lab 90th Anniversary ...... 5 Berkeley Lab 75th Anniversary ...... 6 May 20th Talk ...... 1 In Memoriam ...... 7 President’s Report ...... 3 2021 EX-Ls Officers & Other Information ...... 11

(Speaker’s Abstract and Biography continues on page 2)

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(Speaker’s Abstract and Biography continues from page 1)

EX-Ls is proud to have SPEAKER: Peggy Norris, Ph.D., formerly of LBNL, now Deputy Director for Education and Outreach at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, S.D.

ABSTRACT: The Lakota people of the Northern Plains have a saying in their language: Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ – We are all Connected (or Related). The strings that connect California, home of LBNL, and South Dakota, home of the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF), are varied and rich in history, with familiar names like Hearst, Lawrence and Davis. In this talk, I will introduce you to SURF and its connections to California and LBNL through three lenses – history, science and education: • First, we will look at the transformation of SURF from a gold mine to a major science laboratory. • Next, we will look at the science experiments of SURF, focusing on three with ties to Berkeley Lab: the search for mysterious and elusive dark matter, understanding the nuclear reactions that happen in the core of stars and working towards enhanced geothermal energy. • Finally, we will look at how the history, science and many other facets of a scientific facility in rural South Dakota are changing the educational landscape of the state and region in STEM, and how the pandemic has led to challenges but also new opportunities to give all students access to high-quality, engaging, relevant, equitable and rigorous science education.

BIOGRAPHY: Peggy Norris, Ph.D. After receiving her education at Rice University (B.A.) and Columbia University (Ph.D.) in chemical physics, Peggy Norris was a postdoctoral associate at LLNL for two years before joining Berkeley Lab in 1983. She began as a postdoc in the Moretto/Wozniak group in the Nuclear Science Division, then was hired in 1985 by Jose Alonso and AFRD to join the user support team at the SuperHILAC accelerator in Building 71. When the user program at the HILAC closed, she slid down the hill to the Bevalac and joined the team there. When that accelerator also closed in 1992, she slid even further downhill to the 88” Cyclotron, rejoining the Nuclear Science Division at a time when Gammasphere was nearing completion and the Cyclotron user program was expanding. She served as User Liaison at the 88” for a decade and a half, helping establish the Berkeley Accelerator Space Effects Facility along the way. She served as a member and later head of the LBNL Diversity Committee. As a member of the NSD Education Committee, she helped develop and publish the Nuclear Science Wallchart; this became a national effort by the broader nuclear science community and led to national opportunities in physics education, including being named a Fellow of the American Physical Society.

In 2008, Jose Alonso recruited Peggy for a second time – to join the effort to build a new laboratory in South Dakota that included an integrated education program from its inception; an effort that has become the Sanford Underground Research Facility

Save the Dates for the EX-L’s 2021 Virtual Luncheon Talks

Please hold the dates below for the Ex-Ls Virtual Luncheon Talks. While we are labeling them as our “Quarterly Virtual Luncheon Meeting” in hopes we can return to our luncheon format and talks in November 2021. While we do not have a crystal ball answer for moving back to “normal luncheons,” we will continue to have talks on these dates.

August 19, 1:00 – EX-Ls Virtual Luncheon Meeting November 18, 1:00 – EX-Ls Virtual Luncheon Meeting

In planning our program for the rest of the year, the Board would like your feedback on what might be of interest to you. The use of ZOOM this past year has given us much more flexibility in what we can offer and has provided a means for many EX-Ls to participate who are otherwise unable to come to our traditional luncheon meetings. Please contact Howard Hatayama (Email: [email protected]) or Kathleen Bjornstad ([email protected]) with your ideas!

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President’s Report – Ben Feinberg

I hope that our members are faring well in this extraordinary time. The advent of three approved vaccines provides hope for a more normal future. Speaking for myself, I want to encourage our members who are medically able to receive one of the COVID-19 vaccines to please arrange for a vaccination. I can attest that for anyone with family or friends in the area, getting together with other vaccinated family members or friends for a dinner party or social gathering is a well-deserved blessing after a year of abstinence.

At this point we are still using Zoom for our virtual luncheons, and I don’t see that changing for a while. Our last virtual luncheon with Patricia Valdespino Castillo describing her research in Antarctica was fascinating.

We are still looking for a new Development and Participation Coordinator. The person chosen for this critical position will work hand-in-hand with the Activities Coordinator (Kathy) to encourage retirees to participate in EX-Ls activities, keep track of our active participants, and work with the President and EX-Ls board to encourage fund raising. Please volunteer or suggest a fellow retiree with the right skills for this important position. All suggestions will be appreciated and can be kept anonymous, if desired. Please send a note to [email protected] .

Also, I want to encourage everybody to make use of the UC Berkeley Retirement Center (UCBRC) website for keeping connected: https://retirement.berkeley.edu/keeping- connected-during-covid-19. The list of lectures, museum collections, and performances is impressive.

Finally, if you’re interested in the activities of your fellow UC retirees, below is a link to the UC Retiree survey conducted by the Council of UC Retiree Associations.

Here is the link to the report http://cucra.ucsd.edu/survey/2020/CUCRA-2020-Survey- Report.pdf. The report summarizes the activities and accomplishments of 4,980 University of California retirees who responded to a recent survey conducted by the Council of UC Retiree Associations. The survey of retired UC staff and non-Senate academics suggests that many retirees remain curious, vibrant and productive, with a commitment to civic engagement and public service, for many years after their retirement.

The survey’s most striking findings concern the extent to which respondents remain committed to the University’s mission of public service. A total of 3,495 (70%) respondents reported volunteering in their communities, 1,233 (25%) volunteered for the University, 2,092 (42%) provided professional services and 1,035 (21%) published written works.

“Thousands of retiree donors contributed more than $60 million to UC campuses during the past four fiscal years.”

(President’s Report continues on page 4)

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(President’s Report continued from page 3)

Most survey respondents do not take the conventional view of retirement as a time of rest and relaxation. They eagerly share their experience and wisdom while contributing to the public good, pursuing creative endeavors, engaging in lifelong learning, caring for loved ones and participating in a wide range of other activities. The majority of survey respondents devoted more than 20 years to the University and many expressed a lifelong sense of loyalty to the institution. For them, retirement is not a disengagement from UC, but rather a shift in the relationship.

See the report at: http://cucra.ucsd.edu/survey/ ______

Late 1930’s - Mass Transit to the Radiation Laboratory

From the 1873 opening of the University’s new Berkeley campus; professors, staff, and students lived outside of the Berkeley City limits and took “mass” transportation to campus. This late 1930’s Shattuck Avenue postcard scene above is just south from today’s Downtown BART Station It sports the catenary – overhead wires - bringing commuters on the Southern Pacific Red Trains from the Oakland Mole to Berkeley and from the north. Even in the late 1930’s, it only took 45 minutes from San Francisco to Berkeley. A commuter could then walk east up the hill and onto the University campus. If the commuter wanted to take mass transit closer to the “Rad Lab”, they could transfer along Shattuck to Key System streetcars, known locally at the “Key”. To eliminate the long walk up to the “Rad Lab”, the commuter would exit the Red Trains on Shattuck and transfer to the Key #6 to take a streetcar up Bancroft to College and then enter campus at College Ave.

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Berkeley Lab Celebrates Its 90th Anniversary in 2021

“Berkeley Lab: The Next 90” invites the community to celebrate our past and imagine our future. The 90th anniversary campaign recognizes the diverse contributions of the Lab community as well as our commitment to discovery science and how it can lead to solutions for the nation and world.

There are numerous ways you can connect with Berkeley Lab’s 90th anniversary celebrations: • Attend a virtual talk, watch videos, or listen to podcasts that highlight the Lab’s scientific legacy and research that’s on the horizon. • Hear from scientists and take a peek inside the facilities they use by taking a virtual tour. • Check out a timeline that chronicles some of the Lab’s key milestones.

Learn more about these and other activities — including a charitable giving campaign, social media posts, and a “90 Breakthroughs” collection — by visiting the 90th anniversary websites:

https://berkeleylabnext90.lbl.gov/

Excerpted in part from LBNL Elements February 2021

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A Look Back – The Lab’s 75th Anniversary in 2006 – Part I

By Don Grether

This year the Lab is celebrating its 90th Anniversary. To date, given the pandemic, the celebration has been online. You can check it out at lbl.gov. Things were rather different back in 2006 when we celebrated the Lab’s 75 Anniversary. Among the events was an all-day Scientific Symposium held in the Building 50 Auditorium on November 14th, followed by a reception in the Cafeteria and a Gala dinner at the Claremont Hotel. The very welcome announcement in October that George Smoot had won the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics added to the Celebration. For pictures of the first cyclotron built by Ernest O. Lawrence in the “Radiation Laboratory”, The Lab’s 75th Anniversary archive can be accessed here: https://www2.lbl.gov/Publications/75th/ .

As part of the 75th Celebration, Pam Patterson and Roy Kaltschmidt constructed a video entitled: 75 Years of World Class Science – a Ken Burns style presentation using photos from the Lab’s archives. The video was encoded on DVDs and covered 123 photos in 15 minutes, or about seven seconds per photo. The DVD had a musical soundtrack but no narration. Working with Pam and Roy, I put together a narration that I would give while showing the DVD – including at the November 2006 EX-Ls Luncheon. [Full disclosure: I am in Image 51. My seven seconds of fame.]

Our fellow retiree Rich Sextro had remembered the DVD and the narration and brought them to the attention of Jennifer Tang in the Lab’s Government and Community Relations Office. Jennifer and I had a number of email exchanges, which led to my receiving permission to go up to the Lab (the only time in a year) to retrieve a copy of the DVD. We are working on making this DVD available to you and hope to provide a link to it in the second part of this article.

His Royal Highness, Prince Philip visits Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. Bio- organic Group leader Melvin Calvin, right, shows the visiting prince a series of x-ray chromatographs used in his Nobel Prize- winning work on photosynthesis. (The Morgue Collection 1962. Photographer: Donald Cooksey. The Morgue Collections was transferred from Lawrence Berkeley Lab to the National Archives)

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In Memoriam

James (Jim) E. Galvin 1945 – 2021

By Will Waldron, Joseph Chew and Kathy Bjornstad

James (Jim) E. Galvin, Sr. Electronics Engineering Associate, in Berkeley Lab’s Engineering Division, passed away March 3, 2021 at age 76.

Even at a lab known for long careers and for the invaluable technologists and engineers who help make team science happen, Jim’s accomplishments and dedication stood out. Across 42 years of service at the Lab, (and he continued as a retired affiliate part time, over the course of the past 7 years), he contributed to efforts that ranged from energy-efficient lighting to neurons on a chip. He was associated longest and most closely with ion-source development and applications in ATAP’s predecessor, the Accelerator and Fusion Research Division.

Jim’s contributions in retirement continued as he assisted the Ion Beam Technology Program, the NDCX-II heavy-ion accelerator facility, and the ALS Upgrade Project. Over the last several years, Jim’s contributions have been critical to the MOSFET-based inductive voltage adder pulsers used to drive the stripline kickers that will be crucial to ALS-U.

It was the culmination of a career that began in 1971, when he was recruited to work on a team led by another engineering legend, Bill Baker, that was developing neutral-beam injection systems for heating and plasma confinement in magnetic fusion energy experiments. Jim’s other early efforts included helping develop ion sources for the SuperHILAC, a heavy-ion linear accelerator famed as the discovery site of several elements.

Jim developed broad experience with RF and pulsed electronics as well as with careful measurement techniques—an invaluable skill set at an accelerator lab. He also amassed a vast collection of microscope hardware, light calibration equipment, and electronics calibration equipment, which he used to help many groups take high-quality measurements.

His interest in optics led him to the Windows and Daylighting Group in what was then the Energy and Environment Division, which needed precision measurements of light. Among other contributions, he was an early adopter of high dynamic range (HDR) techniques, now familiar in consumer products but then at the cutting edge.

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In a crossover from his usual work for Ian Brown in the Plasma Applications Group, he also contributed his imaging skills to Life Sciences Division researchers with the Neural Matrix CCD. A spinoff of the group’s work on biocompatible diamondlike- carbon (DLC) coatings, it enabled biologists to learn how neurons in the human nervous system communicate. Other potential uses for this technology include cultivating interconnected nerve cells for testing drugs, or for sensing toxins, and someday it may even play a role in restoring the use of limbs and eyesight. The development was honored with an R&D 100 Award in 2005 and one of the five patents on which he was a co-inventor.

Patterned Arrays of Neurons on CCD Chips The Neural Matrix CCD team of (l-r) James Galvin, Jim had particular expertise in designing low-noise Eleanor A. Blakely, Chris J. Rosen, Ian G. Brown, instrumentation and RF amplifiers. His career spanned the Kathleen A. Bjornstad (not pictured Othon years between analog technologies to expanding and growing Monteiro) 2005. (Berkeley Lab/Roy Kaltschmidt) digital technology which grew more and more prominent, and he eagerly embraced these new developments. He became a prolific designer of a wide variety of printed-circuit boards for many applications, from early field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based digital electronics to custom high-voltage switching electronics and diagnostics.

Jim’s professional interests in optics and imaging, as well as his friendliness and willingness to help others, carried over into his personal life, where he introduced many people to the wonders of science. Not even the urban lights and frequent cloud cover of the inner Bay Area deterred him from sidewalk astronomy and the accompanying public outreach at his home in the Watergate Emeryville complex. He also helped organize art shows at the Watergate’s Clipper Club, and was known for generously sharing his time, expertise, and high-tech tools and toys.

The dark nighttime skies, clear dry air, and unique scenery of Death Valley saw several of Jim’s interests in full flower. Spending one or two months there every winter, he became Jim (l.) as mentor, making calibrated light the unofficial scientist-in-residence of the Stovepipe Wells measurements with Center for Science Hotel, showing other visitors the secrets of the night sky or and Engineering Education student switching to a microscope to examine minerals. Michael DeChenne, 2008 (Berkeley Lab/Roy Kaltschmidt) As Jim recalled, “One night I had my telescope set up on the moon, and many people stopped by. One said she had a group of geology students, camping across the road, and asked, could they look. Of course! So the next night they started arriving. There were 45 high school students. There were clouds, but I had brought a differential interference contrast or Nomarski microscope, EX-Ls Newsletter Spring 2021 Page | 8 so I showed them protozoa and bacteria from Salt Creek. I also showed them crystals with polarized light. The next night was clear, so I showed them the moon and the pics I had taken of the Orion Nebula and the Andromeda Galaxy. They were amazed. As they were leaving a few days later I went over to their camp and gave their leader some of my postcards. She thanked me, and I got a round of applause. They wanted to make sure I would be there next year.”

By day as well as night, Death Valley was also an inspiring location for one of his other passions, photography, including large-format work. Several of his pictures are on display at the hotel. So many people have expressed their appreciation of working with Jim and his love of science and discovery. A life well lived, and he will be missed by many.

https://sites.google.com/a/lbl.gov/lbnl-photography-club/_/rsrc/1541537318755/winners/badwater.png

“Badwater,” a 2013 LBNL Photography Club winner. (Jim Galvin)

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2021 EX-Ls OFFICERS, INFORMATION & CALENDARS

EX-Ls BOARD OF DIRECTOR 2020 EX-Ls Board Meeting Calendar President: Ben Feinberg January 14, 3:00 - EX-Ls Board Meeting 1st Vice-President: Howard Hatayama April 8, 3:00 - EX-Ls Board Meeting 2nd Vice-President: Kim Williams July 8, 3:00 - EX-Ls Board Meeting Secretary: Esther Schroeder October 14, 3:00 - EX-Ls Board Meeting Treasurer: Howard Matis

Development/Participation Coordinator: Open 2021 Virtual Luncheon Meetings & Events Activities: Kathy Bjornstad February 18, 1:00 - EX-Ls Virtual Luncheon LBNL Liaison: Margaret Dick May 20, 1:00 - EX-Ls Virtual Luncheon CUCRA Representative: Nancy Brown/Bob Cahn August 19, 1:00 - EX-Ls Virtual Luncheon UCBRC Advisory Board: Bob Cahn/Ben Feinberg November 18, 1:00 - EX-Ls Virtual Luncheon Editor EX-Ls Newsletter: Phyllis Housel Gale UCBRC Director and Liaison: Cary Sweeney 2021 Newsletter Deadlines AROHE*: Howard Hatayama January 28 - Newsletter Deadline April 29 - Newsletter Deadline EX-Ls Address at UCB Retirement Center July 29 - Newsletter Deadline Mailing Address: LBNL EX-Ls; 101 University October 28 - Newsletter Deadline Hall, Berkeley CA 94720-1550

*Association of Retirement in Higher Education Website: https://retirement.berkeley.edu/ex-ls

Webmaster: Camille Koué, UCBRC

PAST PRESIDENTS

Bob Cahn - 2020 Bob Fulton – 2003 Nancy Brown - 2019 Bob Birge – 2002 Henry Rutkowski -2018 Per Dahl – 2001 Lee Schroeder – 2016-17 Tom Beales – 2000 Cheryl Fragiadakis – 2016 Ken Mirk – 1999 Connie Grondona – 2015 Paul Hernandez – 1998 Trudy Forte – 2014 Clay Sealy - 1996-98 Joe Jaklevic – 2012-13 Igor Blake - 1994-96 Rollie Otto – 2011 Conway Peterson –1992-94 Richard Sextro – 2010 Howard Browne – 1990-92 Don Grether – 2009 Ethel Skyrdlinski – 1989 Jose Alonso – 2008 Al Amon – 1988 Janis Dairiki – 2007 Ken Lou – 1987 John Kadyk –2006 Virginia Cherniak – 1986 Gene Binnall – 2005 Bill Bigelow – 1985 Sig Rogers – 2004 Ted Bowers – 1981-84

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About the EX-Ls

EX-Ls is an organization of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory whose purpose is to provide social, cultural, and intellectual relationships among retired and/or ex-employees, their spouses, widows, or widowers. Your participation is important to us.

If you enjoy the newsletter and would like to contribute an article or provide a remembrance of an employee, please contact our Newsletter Editor, Phyllis Gale via [email protected].

If you would like to change your email address, please send an email to: [email protected] with the words “Address Change” in the Subject line. Include your name and the old and new email addresses in the body of the email. Thank you and enjoy belonging to the Ex-Ls.

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