On April 26, 2022, administrators from the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity (ED) partnered with staff from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), to run a webinar for the general public about LBNL’s many collaborative business opportunities and partnerships. The well-attended Awareness, Interest, and Access Technical Assistance Webinar brought together a wide variety of Berkeley Lab’s subject matter experts. For two hours, Berkeley Lab panelists provided a broad overview of Berkeley Lab’s many internship programs, small business programs, subcontracting opportunities, partnership mechanisms, Berkeley Lab intellectual property programs, and job opportunities.
During the main session, Kelly Johnson, (Talent Outreach Program Manager) Colette Flood, (Lab Education Director for Workforce Development & Education) Phillip McCants (Small Business Liaison Officer, Office of the Chief Financial Officer), Gail Chen (Partnerships and Proposals Program Manager, Strategic Partnerships Office), Shanshan Li (Principal Technology Commercialization Associate, Intellectual Property Office, Lab Directorate) summarized the programs within their departments.
After the main session, participants joined four breakout rooms, where they had the opportunity to talk more in-depth with the panelists. There were breakout rooms about Berkeley Lab’s internship programs, job opportunities, small business programs, and intellectual property offices.
In the internship program room, Director Colette Flood and Internship Program Manager Nakeiah Harrell welcomed participants and provided a general overview of the program. Berkeley Lab’s internship programs, Flood explained, allow interns to directly collaborate with staff and prepare for their future. Berkeley Lab’s interns have worked on important projects that contribute to Berkeley Lab’s larger research initiatives. CS interns have researched ways to increase internet speeds; bioscience interns have studied how climate change will change arctic ecosystems. During their internships, all interns receive hands-on training, mentorship, and professional development opportunities that help prepare them for a career in science. At Berkeley Lab, Flood emphasized that every intern is a valued member of the research team.
One of Berkeley Lab’s guiding principles is the idea of Team Science. Berkeley Lab’s founder E.O. Lawrence believed that multidisciplinary teams of scientists and engineers could do incredible research. He was right. Since 1931, Berkeley Lab’s researchers have made incredible advances in scientific research and expanded the threshold of scientific knowledge. As Berkeley Lab’s five administrators all commented during their presentations, Berkeley Lab’s inclusive setting provides many unique opportunities for business leaders, researchers, and students. Hopefully, the webinar’s attendees will be inspired to reach out and pursue new creative collaborations at Berkeley Lab.
