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) EX-Ls Newsletter Spring 2021 Page | 1 (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! EX-Ls Newsletter Spring 2021 Page | 2 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) EX-Ls Newsletter Spring 2021 Page | 3 (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. EX-Ls Newsletter Spring 2021 Page | 4 Berkeley Lab Celebrates Its 90th Anniversary in 2021 “Berkeley Lab: The Next 90” invites the community to celebrate our past and imagine our future.