LAB REPORT

An energetic Siberian husky named Oreo has been appointed Livermore Ambassadog for 2025 by the nonprofit Valley Humane Society and Livermore Area Recreation and Park District.

As Ambassadog, Oreo will attend civic events and help promote a dog-friendly community.

“We are thrilled to see Oreo take on this role,” said Valley Humane Society President Melanie Sadek. “Oreo embodies the values of compassion and companionship that guide our work, and we look forward to her contributions to our community.”

Oreo is owned by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Director Kim Budil, who was presented a proclamation and official Ambassadog leash at last week’s park district board meeting.

On March 5, the National Lab Research SLAM brought together 17 early career scientists from the Department of Energy’s national laboratories to present their cutting-edge research in a fast-paced, engaging competition.

The event was sponsored by the House Science & National Labs Caucus and the Senate National Labs Caucus, to give federal science agencies an opportunity to showcase their role in advancing innovation and developing the next generation of STEM leaders.

On the Federal Drive with Tom Temin, the Federal News Network’s Eric White spoke with Christine Zachow, manager of the Academic Engagement Office & Science Education Operations at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Meg Rodriguez, director of the Career Pathways office at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, to learn more.

Ever wonder how jittery consuming a can of energy drink or cup of coffee will make you? Or how much distance you cover with your natural gait?

The answers are as close as your cell phone.

For the first time in a full series of labs at Cal Poly, students are using smartphones and an innovative physics curriculum to collect and record data related to motion, force, energy, pressure, velocity and other physical actions.

Physics Department Chair Jennifer Klay collaborated last fall with David Rakestraw, a senior scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the Bay Area, to launch his Physics with Phones curriculum at Cal Poly.

Ethan Klein, an emerging technology policy adviser during the first Trump administration, has been nominated to be the White House’s chief technology officer, the Office of Science and Technology Policy confirmed Tuesday.

After serving in the first Trump White House, Klein completed a Ph.D. in nuclear science and engineering at MIT, where he worked to develop nuclear tech for arms control and nonproliferation with funds from a fellowship through the National Nuclear Security Administration.

Klein also spent time at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which is operated for the NNSA and focuses on weapons development, stewardship and national security.

Much like a tongue freezes to a frigid metal pole, ice can cause speed up the adsorption, or stickiness, of molecules. An icy surface can also cause molecules to degrade in the presence of light, releasing trace gases. Before researchers can measure these reactions and incorporate their impacts in global atmospheric models, researchers first need to understand the structure of ice itself.

To that end, a recent study from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) used a combination of spectroscopy, simulation and machine learning to examine the surface of ice.

In the inner bulk of ice, the team found that the protons are disordered: while the oxygen atoms are fixed in a distinct pattern, the hydrogen atoms are randomly oriented. In contrast, at the surface of ice, they discovered that the protons are ordered: both the oxygen and hydrogen atoms are fixed in place.