Amazing Light: Visions for Discovery Symposium An International Symposium Honoring Nobel Laureate and Physicist Charles H. Townes October 6-8, 2005 UC Berkeley campus

Join some of the greatest minds in physics and cosmology, including 18 Nobel laureates, for a three-day exploration of awe-inspiring challenges in 21st century science. Early registration deadline is September 1.

Seeing Space

Most of us are enchanted by the twinkle of the stars in the night sky. For astronomers though, that twinkle represents a problem that has plagued stargazers since the days of Galileo. The twinkle of stars is caused by atmospheric distortion, air turbulence that warps the light waves as they travel to the Earth's surface. UC Berkeley astronomer James Graham is focused on fighting that distortion. Someday, his work could enable scientists to directly photograph planets orbiting distant star.

Sweet Bioscience

UC Berkeley professor Carolyn Bertozzi keeps a close watch on carbohydrates, but it's not because she's on a trendy diet. In her chemistry laboratory, Bertozzi pays close attention to the carbohydrates that dot the surface of cells. These sugars decorating the cellular landscape are implicated in myriad biological processes, from intracellular communication to the growth of tumors. Bertozzi, a professor of chemistry and of biochemistry and molecular biology, and her graduate students have devised new chemical tools to uncover how the sugar structures change based on various factors. Someday, their research could aid doctors in diagnosing cancer and other diseases.

Signaling Brain Cells

UC Berkeley neurobiologist Lu Chen believes that one of the best ways to learn about the brain is to build one of its key components. She and her colleagues are exploring how synapses form between neurons to make the circuits of the nervous system. Their approach is to identify the fewest ingredients necessary to create a synapse, mix them together in a "test tube" of non-neuronal cells, and let biology do the rest.

A sodium dye laser beam pierces the sky over Mt. Hamilton's Lick Observatory on July 22, 2003. The laser is the final piece of the laser guide star adaptive optics system that allows twinkle-free viewing of the entire nighttime sky. The beam, which reaches 60 miles into the upper atmosphere, is visible in scattered light for several kilometers. The yellowish cast of the dome is due to the street lights of nearby San Jose, Calif. (Marshall Perrin/UC Berkeley)