Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory in Berkeley, California.

The LBNL (also known as Berkeley Lab) is a highly reputable national laboratory. Eleven scientists associated with the Lab have won the Nobel Prize. In addition, thirteen have won the National Medal of Science, the United State's highest award for lifetime achievement in fields of scientific research.

Berkeley Lab is a member of the national laboratory system supported by the U.S. Department of Energy through its Office of Science. It is managed by the University of California (UC) and is charged with conducting unclassified research across a wide range of scientific disciplines. Located on a 200-acre site in the hills above the UC Berkeley campus that offers spectacular views of the San Francisco Bay, Berkeley Lab employs approximately 4,000 scientists, engineers, support staff and students. Its budget for 2009 was approximately $650 million. Studies estimate the Laboratory’s overall economic impact through direct, indirect and induced spending on the nine counties that make up the San Francisco Bay Area to be nearly $700 million annually. The overall economic impact on the global economy is an estimated $1.4 billion a year. Technologies developed at Berkeley Lab have generated billions of dollars in revenues, and thousands of jobs. Savings as a result of Berkeley Lab developments in lighting and windows, and other energy-efficient technologies, have also been in the billions of dollars.

History

Berkeley Lab was founded in 1931 by Ernest Orlando Lawrence, a UC Berkeley physicist who won the 1939 Nobel Prize in physics for his invention of the cyclotron, a circular particle accelerator that opened the door to high-energy physics. It was Lawrence’s belief that scientific research is best done through teams of individuals with different fields of expertise, working together. His teamwork concept is a Berkeley Lab legacy that continues today."

Bringing Science Solutions to the World

Berkeley Lab is an incubator for ideas, innovations and products that helps society and explains how the Universe works, including:

• Renewable energy sources such as biofuels and artificial photosynthesis
• Energy efficiency at home, at work, and around the world
• The ability to observe, probe and assemble materials atom by atom
• Climate change research, environmental science and the growing connections between them
• The chemistry and physics of matter and force the Universe—from the infinite to the infinitesimal
• Computational science and advanced networking to enable discovery and remote collaborations
• Biological sciences for human health and energy research.

Berkeley Lab hosts six major national user facilities that attract 3,200 visitors a year to conduct joint research, run experiments and analyze sample materials:

• Advanced Light Source
• Energy Sciences Network
• Joint Genome Institute
• Molecular Foundry
• National Center for Electron Microscopy
• National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center

Energy & Environment Capabilities

Climate Change Research

• Earth Science Division’s Climate and Carbon Sciences Program
• Environmental Energy Technologies Division’s Atmospheric Studies Program

Developing Fuels from Sunlight

• Energy Biosciences Institute (biofuels)
• Joint Bioenergy Institute (biofuels)
• Solar Energy Research Center (artificial photosynthesis)

Energy Resources

• Earth Sciences Division’s Energy Resources Program studies three major areas: oil and gas exploration and development, geothermal energy exploration and development, and methane hydrate exploration and development
• Advanced Energy Technologies, including batteries and low-emission combustion

Energy Efficiency

• Environmental Energy Technologies Division’s Buildings Department works closely with industry to develop technologies that increase energy efficiency. Areas studied include:
  • Cool Roofs and Heat Islands
  • Commercial Buildings
  • Demand Response
  • Lighting Systems
  • Simulation Tools
  • Windows and Daylighting

International Projects

• China Energy Group
• International Energy Studies
• Energy and Health Solutions for the Developing World
  • Darfur stoves
  • Removing arsenic from water
  • UV Waterworks
  • Low-cost malaria drug
  • Off-grid LED lighting

Resources

LBNL Tools

• BEST-Cement for China
• Benchmarking and Energy Saving Tool
• Bottom-Up Energy Analysis System (BUENAS)
• Climate Change Mitigation in the Energy and Forestry Sectors of Developing Countries
• Cool Roofs and Heat Islands
• DOE-2 Building Energy Use and Cost Analysis Software
• Development based climate change adaptation and mitigation—conceptual issues and lessons learned in studies in developing countries
• Generalized Comprehensive Mitigation Assessment Process (GCOMAP)
• Home Energy Saver
• Home Energy Scoring Tool
• Industrial Energy Audit Guidebook: Guidelines for Conducting an Energy Audit in Industrial Facilities
• Policy Analysis Modeling System (PAMS)
• ProForm
• Radiance: Synthetic Imaging System
• Retrofit Energy Savings Estimation Model
• Simulation Problem Analysis and Research Kernel

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LBNL Programs

• Berkeley India Joint Leadership on Energy and Environment
• China-International Industrial Energy Efficiency Deployment Project
• Cool Roofs and Heat Islands
• India-International Industrial Energy Efficiency Deployment Project
• LBNL China Energy Group
• LBNL Developing Countries Studies
• LBNL International Energy Studies
• LBNL Renewable Energy Market and Policy Analysis
• LBNL-Climate Change and International Studies
• LBNL-Cookstoves Projects

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