LBNL Engineering Division

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LBNL Engineering Division

Berkeley Lab's Engineering Division creates innovative tools, technologies and solutions to further scientific research.

09/03/2026

The Engineering Division’s Bobby Besuner reflects on his career as an engineer working on high-impact physics and cosmology instrumentation projects and what it has meant to work in the Engineering Division at Berkeley Lab. He will retire in December of this year.

Learn more about Bobby’s career at the Lab: https://engineering.lbl.gov/2026/08/21/bobby-besuner-to-retire-after-an-engineering-career-dedicated-to-advancing-physics-and-cosmology/

08/26/2026

Meet the twin roller quencher, Engineering’s newest solution to an unexpected challenge. Research scientist Andrew Dopilka tasked Engineering with finding a way to quickly cool molten material for battery research. The team’s solution: a twin roller quencher. This device cools the material as it passes between two quickly spinning rollers. In the video, Dopilka pours molten material into the device.

Read more: https://engineering.lbl.gov/2026/08/24/engineering-a-custom-instrument-to-advance-battery-technology/

08/18/2026

Mechanical engineering technician Matthew Petagara measures and adjusts a section of the booster-to-accumulator transfer line—known as a raft—before its installation inside the Advanced Light Source.

“To make future adjustments easier, the magnets are aligned together so that any upcoming adjustment can be conducted using the struts located on the bottom of the raft,” Petagara explains. “This allows us to later perform raft-to-raft alignments instead of re-aligning every magnet.”

The yellow pusher blocks visible under the orange magnet allow Petagara to make ultra-fine adjustments using the associated screw for the desired axis.

The booster-to-accumulator transfer line, a critical component of the Advanced Light Source upgrade, will move electron beams from the existing booster synchrotron to the new accumulator ring.

08/11/2026

Celebrating our retirees! A cohort of 11 employees retired from Berkeley Lab’s Engineering Division this June.

These employees represent the Division’s ethos of innovation, excellence, and commitment to team science.

Read about some of our retirees' fondest memories and proudest achievements during their careers: https://engineering.lbl.gov/2026/06/29/commitment-to-science-stewardship-and-innovation-celebrating-engineerings-2026-retirees/

08/04/2026

ATLAS update! The Pixel Support Tube for the ATLAS upgrade is in the Engineering Division workshop.

We’re currently working on test bonding the rails, which will support the Pixel Detector, to the interior of the cylinder. Test bonding is important because the detector only has a few millimeters of clearance on the inside of the support tube, so the rails must be bonded in place to a tolerance of about 0.5 millimeters! Once the test confirms the rails are in the correct position, the real rails will be bonded in place and the structure will be shipped to CERN for the next stage in its construction.

07/28/2026

Explore the world of wire bonding—the specialized process of connecting a microchip to the outside world—and the ultra-delicate, hands-on work that makes it possible.

Read the story: https://engineering.lbl.gov/2026/07/23/made-in-berkeley-lab-revealing-the-secret-miniature-world-of-wire-bonding/

07/01/2026

Meet the Berkeley Lab engineering team working on the upgrade for the ATLAS experiment at CERN. Mechanical engineering associate Thomas Johnson helped build the original detector and is now working on the upgrade. Find out what it’s like to be part of team science and contribute to one of the largest and most powerful particle detectors in the world!

06/25/2026

Marcos McGee, a mechanical technician in Berkeley Lab’s Engineering Division, talks about what it’s like to work on the ATLAS detector, from the physical assembly process to the people who bring it all together.

06/17/2026

Berkeley Lab engineers helped build ATLAS, one of the largest and most powerful particle detectors in the world, and now they’re working on the next-gen upgrade. Meet engineers Todd Claybaugh, Neal Hartman, and Eric Anderssen, and hear what it’s like to be part of team science and play a role in the collaboration bringing science to life.

06/05/2026

Mike Barry, the Engineering Division’s Deputy of Operations, will be retiring after 29 years of service at Berkeley Lab. Read about Mike’s journey from the US Navy to playing an essential role in guiding and shaping Engineering at the Lab.

Read more: https://engineering.lbl.gov/2026/05/22/from-the-us-navy-to-engineering-division-deputy-of-operations-mike-barry-retires-after-29-years-of-service-at-berkeley-lab/

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https://engineering.lbl.gov/

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