Berkeley Lab

Expert Interview: Sean Peisert on Cybersecurity Research In this 10-minute audio interview, cybersecurity expert Sean Peisert shares how Berkeley Lab advances research that protects high-performance computing, the power grid, and more.

🎧 Supercomputers, the power grid, scientific data—Berkeley Lab helps keep them safe. In this audio interview, @cs.lbl.gov's @peisert.bsky.social shares how the Lab’s #cybersecurity research helps protect the systems we rely on. 🧪

“We can generate multi-GeV electron beams, and rather than it taking a kilometer, it takes meters or less to get there,” says @atap.lbl.gov Senior Scientist Jeroen van Tilborg on recent advancements in laser plasma #accelerators.

Learn more ⬇️

Congratulations to this year's cohort for completing their STEM programs at @berkeleylab.lbl.gov. These young minds will be at the forefront of advancing scientific research. Thanks to Dr. Faith Dukes, Director of K-12 STEM Education Programs, for making this possible.

💬 @mwitherell.bsky.social never lost the perspective of a working scientist. He is the kind of leader who still lights up when discussing a clever experiment or a surprising result. – @christophermichel.com, photographer

The shell and yoke structure of one of the new superconducting magnets being assembled in Berkeley Lab Engineering Building 77 for the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) at CERN.

The shell and yoke structure of one of the new superconducting magnets being assembled @berkeleylab.lbl.gov for the HL-LHC at CERN. Once installed, these will be the first niobium-tin-based magnets ever used in a particle accelerator and will increase the LHC’s luminosity by a factor of ten.

Berkeley Lab Director Mike Witherell Announces Plans to Retire in June 2026 Witherell’s transformative tenure focused on team science, a values-centered work environment, and historic investment in the lab’s future

NEWS: Berkeley Lab Director @mwitherell.bsky.social will retire in June 2026. He has led our Lab through an historic period of scientific achievement and recognized operational excellence, with a deep commitment to developing the next generation of scientists. More ⬇️ 🧪 @uofcalifornia.bsky.social

We partnered with @BerkeleyLab colleagues from @LBNL_next and @molecularfndry to take James Logan High School students around the superconducting magnet assembly, @advlightsource, and Molecular Foundry facilities

@DOEScience @ENERGY

Read more here

Illustration showing a machine learning framework for battery testing: a Gaussian Process model visualizes battery energy predictions across cycles and parameters, with model entropy highlighting areas of uncertainty for new experiments; additional graphics show cell testing results, predicted energy decline, and a gauge indicating battery C-rate from low to high.

Did you know a new #MachineLearning framework developed @berkeleylab.lbl.gov dramatically accelerates #battery lifespan predictions? By combining expert insights with advanced #AI, it delivers accurate results with far fewer experiments—saving time and resources. Learn more: bit.ly/AI_Battery

#HPC

Photo of Lisa Simirenko on a festive background with text noting her name, 23+ years of service and this inscription: Lisa joined Berkeley Lab in 2001 and moved to the Joint Genome Institute in 2013. She's had a critical role in the synthetic biology group, developing software applications to address challenges including biosecurity, export control, synthetic construct design and assembly tracking, guide RNA design, and sequence validation pipelines.

Congratulations to Lisa Simirenko on her retirement from @berkeleylab.lbl.gov! She was at the Lab for over 23 years, the last 12 of them on #TeamBioSci in the synthetic biology group at the @jgi.doe.gov. Best of luck in your next chapter, Lisa!

Side-by-side images of a spiral galaxy showing the appearance of a white dot, which is absent in the left image but marked with an arrow and label “SN 2011fe” in the right.

Researchers from the Supernova Cosmology Project created the largest-ever dataset of Type Ia supernovae. Their analysis hints that #DarkEnergy might change over time. Details: newscenter.lbl.gov/2025/07/21/s...

#cosmology #space

Thank you @psumbiome.bsky.social! 🌍
Your emoji picks help tell the powerful story of interconnectedness between systems—and the tiny 🦠 that make a big impact. Thanks for celebrating #WorldEmojiDay with us!

Dear @bsky.app followers,
🔬⚛️🧫🔋🧬🛰️
🌍🔄💡🌱💻🧠
👩🏾‍🔬👨🏻‍🔧🧑🏼‍🔬🧑🏽‍💼🤝📡
💥➡️💭➡️🚀
Happy #WorldEmojiDay!

Emojis may be small, but they help us communicate curiosity, creativity, and collaboration–across languages!

🧪🔋💡 What 3 emojis describe your work or passion for science? Drop them in the comments!

Discover how researchers at @BerkeleyLab are driving technological innovations and advancements in theory to help unlock the potential of #fusion, which promises abundant, reliable energy

@DOEScience @ENERGY @lbnlengineering @LBNLnuclearsci

Read more here

Berkeley Lab’s Biomanufacturing Unit Accelerates Biotech From Lab to Market The Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts Process Development Unit (ABPDU) helps bridge the gap between biotech innovation and commercialization by providing companies with the tools, expertise, and infra

"In order to turn bold ideas into practical solutions at a scale which benefits society, industry needs access to the scientific expertise provided by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and other national laboratories." - Deepti Tanjore, ABPDU director

A collage of profile pictures against a dark green background with the Berkeley Lab logo on the bottom left.

Today we announce our 2025 #CyclotronRoad cohort, a wild mix of scientific innovation and entrepreneurial fire.

12 scientists. 2 years. DOE + Activate support. Big ideas getting real. Meet them today!

newscenter.lbl.gov/2025/07/14/c...

@energygov.bsky.social + @activatefellows.bsky.social

YouTube video by Berkeley Lab 2023 Enrico Fermi Presidential Award Winner: Gabor Somorjai, Berkeley Lab Faculty Scientist

We’re saddened by the loss of Gabor Somorjai—a pioneering chemist, world leader in catalysis, and longtime Berkeley Lab scientist. His impact spanned from the lab bench to real-world breakthroughs in medicine, agriculture, and energy. Join us in honoring his enduring impact on science and our Lab.

Basics2Breakthroughs: Simulating pulsars for insights into fundamental physics Formed from collapsed stars, pulsars are tiny astronomical objects that emit stunning, twin beams of light from each pole. Researcher Revathi Jambunathan is developing…

Computational researcher Revathi Jambunathan knows that better understanding pulsars, the spectacular “cosmic lighthouses” of the universe, will lead to better particle accelerators and help us achieve the dream of fusion energy.

Learn more in this video! 🎥 @cs.lbl.gov 🧪

Meet our Operations Team Program Manager, Stephanie Chan Shum, who graciously agreed to discuss her role at @BerkeleyLab and share her experiences working here.

@DOEScience @ENERGY

https://atap.lbl.gov/news/3q4-stephanie-chan-shum/

How Plants Manage Light: New Insights Into Nature’s Oxygen-Making Machinery Nature’s oxygen-making machinery reveals possible blueprint for developing light-harvesting systems

New research reveals how plants harvest sunlight with near-perfect efficiency. The findings could inspire smarter, more resilient light harvesting technology. 🧪 @biosci.lbl.gov

New Discovery Reveals Hidden DNA Element That Helps Switch On Genes from Afar - Charlie Dunlop School of Biological Sciences Irvine, Calif., July 2, 2025 — How do cells know which genes to activate, and when? For decades, scientists have puzzled over how distant parts of our DNA — sometimes […]

New research on range extenders, or REX genetic enhancer elements, from @ucirvine.bsky.social, #BioEGSB scientists @berkeleylab.lbl.gov & international collaborators! These bits of DNA that regulate gene expression allow enhancers to work far away from their target.
www.bio.uci.edu/new-discover...

The 88-Inch Cyclotron at Berkeley Lab does more than explore atoms. From GPS and Mars missions to cancer treatment and fusion materials, here are some of the ways this #accelerator is making an impact. 🧪

Details ⬇️
newscenter.lbl.gov/2025/07/01/t...

@lbnlnuclearsci.bsky.social

🍄 FUNGUS ALERT 🍄

Where did all those fungi come from? A genomic perspective of fungal diversity and evolution by @jgi.doe.gov's Stephen Mondo and Igor Grigoriev

@biosci.lbl.gov @berkeleylab.lbl.gov #fungi #genomes

A new “pee-cycling” process creates a valuable stream of materials. A team from @berkeleylab.lbl.gov, @ucirvine.bsky.social, & @illinoisresearch.bsky.social modified yeast to produce hydroxyapatite—used to repair bones and teeth—from urine. Read more: go.lbl.gov/osteoyeast

#BioEGSB @jgi.doe.gov

New Membrane Technology Could Expand Access to Water for Agricultural and Industrial Use Berkeley Lab-led Water Hub supports company in advancing desalination methods

New tech, backed by the National Alliance for Water Innovation, helps remove salts & contaminants from salty groundwater–potentially expanding the nation’s water supply. 💧🔬 ⬇️ @calenergy.bsky.social @eesaberkeleylab.bsky.social
newscenter.lbl.gov/2025/06/30/n...

Jay Keasling Named 2025 Department of Energy/National Academy of Inventors Innovator of the Year The honor is awarded each year to one person chosen from all employees of the Department of Energy, its 17 national laboratories, and other DOE sites, who has translated research into tangible impacts...

🎉 Congrats to Jay Keasling, DOE Office of Technology Commercialization and Academy of Inventors “Innovator of the Year!” Keasling, an authority on synthetic biology, @biosci.lbl.gov scientist and CEO of our Joint BioEnergy Institute, holds 75 patents and has founded or co-founded 12 startups. ⬇️

Hard to blame this turkey. We might just have the best view in science. #BestViewFromALab 🦃🌄

Congratulations to Jean-Luc Vay, who heads our Advanced Modeling Program, for receiving the 2025 @IEEEorg Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society’s Particle Accelerator Science and Technology Award. Well done, Jean-Luc!

@BerkeleyLab @DOEScience @ENERGY

Read more here

Atomic X-ray Laser Opens Door to Attosecond Imaging A newly discovered X-ray laser approach is fast and powerful enough to capture details about the movement of electrons

Scientists just made the shortest X-ray laser pulses ever—as short as 60 attoseconds (that’s a billionth of a billionth of a second)!

This breakthrough could let us watch electrons in motion and uncover what a chemical bond truly is.

⚛️ Read more about the Nature study ⬇️
@uwmadison.bsky.social 🧪

Science Power-up: The Most Exciting Thing In Microelectronics Bruno La Fontaine, director of the Center for X-Ray Optics and microelectronics expert, shares how advanced X-ray tools developed at the Lab are enabling breakthroughs…

🎥 Science Power-Up: The Most Exciting Thing In Microelectronics ⬇️ 🧪

At Berkeley Lab, advances in EUV lithography are paving the way for smaller, faster, more energy-efficient chips—the backbone of tomorrow’s AI.

🔗 Learn more: www.lbl.gov/research/mic...

@als.lbl.gov

From quantum advances to next-generation electronics, here are six ways our @molecularfoundry.lbl.gov and its user community have helped drive innovation.

Details: newscenter.lbl.gov/2025/06/18/s...

🧪✨🧬