Biosciences News

On May 4, 2016, EERE hosted a National Lab Impact Summit at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to celebrate recent National Laboratory successes and bring together the nation’s public- and private-sector energy leaders to formulate the next stage of clean energy technology innovation. The full-day program included keynote presentations, break-out panels by technology, discussions with industry-leading Chief Technology Officers, interactive exhibits, networking opportunities and tours.

Jennifer Doudna, biochemist faculty scientist in Molecular Biophysics & Integrated Bioimaging, has been named a foreign member of the prestigious Royal Society. Doudna, who is also a professor of molecular and cell biology and of chemistry and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, was honored for “her work on CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology that is revolutionizing the fields of genetics, molecular biology and medicine.” She is one of 10 new foreign fellows and 50 new fellows who will be joining many of the world’s most eminent scientists in this scientific academy, which is dedicated to promoting excellence in science. Read the Royal Society announcement.

Three scientists affiliated with the Molecular Biophysics & Integrated Bioimaging Division – Robert Glaeser, Krishna Niyogi, and Susan Marqusee – were among four Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab)-affiliated researchers elected as members to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) this week. The election to the NAS recognizes their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

The three U.S. Department of Energy-funded bioenergy research centers (BRCs) – the Joint BioEnergy Institute, the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, and the BioEnergy Science Center provided a briefing on Capitol Hill highlighting their intellectual property outputs. The briefing was followed by a celebration of their research successes, including their 500th invention disclosure which was reported last month.

Congressional members and staff had the opportunity to meet the scientists from the BRCs and industry partners to learn about research advancements in the production of fuels and chemicals from cellulosic biomass, and the collaborations that are bringing these technologies to the market.

Several Biosciences researchers and staff participated in the 2016 East Bay STEM Career Awareness Day on April 27 along with other neighboring East Bay-based businesses, organizations, and professionals. Together, they co-hosted nearly three hundred East Bay high school students from four school districts – Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, and Richmond – who took part in this one-day career exploration event at which they were introduced to careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The event took place at Wareham Development’s Aquatic Park Center in West Berkeley, home to the Biosciences Aquatic Park Operations Center and several Biosciences research activities.