Berkeley Lab

In the world of science, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is synonymous with “excellence.” It fosters groundbreaking fundamental science that enables transformational solutions for energy and environment challenges, using interdisciplinary teams and by creating advanced new tools for scientific discovery. Research areas include Biosciences, Computing Sciences, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Energy Sciences, Energy Technologies, and Physical Sciences.

Berkeley Lab’s User Facilities provide state-of-the-art resources for scientists across the nation and around the world. About 10,000 researchers a year use these facilities, representing nearly one third of the total for all Department of Energy Office of Science User Facilities. These include the Advanced Light Source (ALS), Joint Genome Institute (JGI), Molecular Foundry, National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), and the Scientific Networking Division - Energy Sciences Network (ESnet).

13 scientists associated with Berkeley Lab have won the Nobel Prize. Fifty-seven Lab scientists are members of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), one of the highest honors for a scientist in the United States. Thirteen of our scientists have won the National Medal of Science, our nation's highest award for lifetime achievement in fields of scientific research. Eighteen of our engineers have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, and three of our scientists have been elected into the Institute of Medicine. In addition, Berkeley Lab has trained thousands of university science and engineering students who are advancing technological innovations across the nation and around the world.

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 4,200 scientists, engineers, support staff and students.

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.