News and Upcoming Events
National Postdoc Appreciation Week (September 21-25, 2026)
Save the date for National Postdoc Appreciation Week (NPAW)! This week will be filled with great events in honor of postdocs. Hosted in partnership with the Careers Pathways Office, come for a full week of networking, connecting and celebrating, as well as a free lunch voucher and the special NPAW gift.
National Laboratories Postdoctoral Leadership Community of Practice NPAW Meeting
Thursday, September 17, 9:00-10:00
Virtual (Microsoft Teams)
The NLPL-CoP is an organization of postdocs across the national lab system with the goal of increasing dialogue and collaboration between labs. This meeting will include a short presentation from the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA), announcements from the NLPL-CoP, and an opportunity for an open discussion between postdocs from our 17 national laboratories. Come join us to network, present ideas, or provide feedback on how NLPL can facilitate collaboration between labs and improve the postdoc experience.
Official NPAW Photo and Trivia Contest
Monday, September 21, 12:00-13:00
Building 91, 3rd floor terrace
Free gift: Building 91, 1st floor, 11:30-13:00
Marking the start of NPAW, we will have an official group photo followed by a friendly trivia contest. Test your knowledge of Berkeley Lab history and science. Additionally, the Career Pathways Office (CPO) is providing all postdocs with a free gift of a Berkeley Lab souvenir and a lunch voucher (to be spent at the food trucks any time this week). But you must collect it in person (from the 1st floor, between 11:30 and 13:00), so make sure to come and join the festivities while you’re here.
National Postdoc Association 2026 NPAW Kickoff Panel
“150 Years of U.S. Postdocs: Issues of Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow”
Tuesday, September 22, 10:00-11:00
Virtual (register here)
Board members of the NPA, national host of NPAW, will dive into issues facing the postdoctoral community today, while keeping one eye toward the past and another toward the future. Leaders at institutions that house postdocs and postdoctoral scholars themselves will honor and celebrate the hard work being conducted today by researchers, explore the adversity faced by many, and imagine positive changes the future can bring through intentional collective efforts.
Games, Cornhole, and Ping-Pong Competition
Tuesday, September 22, 12:00-13:00
Building 91, 3rd floor
Free gift: Building 91, 1st floor, 11:30-13:00
Gather again for further opportunity for fun and competition for the NPAW festivities. Also, if you couldn’t get your lunch voucher and free NPAW gift on Monday, you can also collect it today (1st floor, 11:30-13:00).
Berkeley Lab Research SLAM
Wednesday, September 23, 15:00-17:30
Building 50 Auditorium, followed by Building 91, 3rd floor
Free gift: Building 91, 1st floor, 11:00-12:00
Join us for the main event of NPAW at LBNL, where 12 postdoc finalists will deliver engaging presentations of their research in only 3 minutes. Come to cheer on the postdocs from your area and vote in the People’s Choice awards. Stay around afterwards for the reception, with food, drinks, and the award ceremony.
P.S. Your last chance to collect your NPAW gift is today, Building 91 1st floor, 11:00-12:00.
PoSTDOC Seminar Series – Peter Winegar – Biosynthesis and Synthetic Biology
Thursday, September 24, 10:00-11:00
Building 66 Room 316, or Zoom (link)
We continue to promote the science of postdocs with the Postdoc Science & Technology DoE Outreach & Colloquium (PoSTDOC) Seminar Series. This cross-national-lab initiative showcases the research of postdocs in a friendly seminar format. For NPAW, we are privileged to host Peter Winegar from Berkeley Lab, who will be sharing his research on bioengineering yeast to create new pharmaceuticals.
JBEI NPAW Lunch
Thursday, September 24, 12:00-13:00
Emeryville station East
Not on the main site? No problem. CPO is coming to JBEI to provide an exclusive lunch for the postdocs there. Take a little time to appreciate being a postdoc.
Karaoke
Friday, September 25, 17:00-19:00
Building 91 Room 310
Finally, cap off NPAW with some Friday night karaoke and a pizza dinner. That’s right, free pizza (while supplies last). Get together, have some fun, and bring your favorite songs to celebrate being a postdoc.
NPAW 2025 Scavenger Hunt
Join the Hunt!
To celebrate National Postdoc Appreciation Week 2025, we’re launching a scavenger hunt—and you’re invited to be part of the adventure!
Form a team of 3 to 5 members and rally your fellow postdocs (or postdoc-adjacent allies) for a challenge that blends collaboration, curiosity, and creativity. Non-postdocs are welcome, but each team must include at least one postdoc to be eligible for prizes.
Choose a team name that reflects your spirit, your science, or your sense of humor.
There’s also a photo prize—so bring your camera-ready game! To enter, send your team’s best hunt photo (with team name) to Kas (kandrle@lbl.gov) by Thursday, September 18th at 3:00 PM. Please be safe while snapping your masterpiece.
The hunt officially begins on Monday, September 15th, when the first clue will be sent out.
The winning team will be announced on Friday, September 19th at 3:00 PM in Building 91, Room 310.
Ready to play? Sign up your team here → https://forms.gle/PT6YYNuu2yL4Y56y5
For any questions, reach out to one of the organizers, Kas, at kandrle@lbl.gov.
Let the hunt begin!
Join BLPA!
Are you ready to make an impact? Love career fairs, engaging seminars, or fun social events? Help bring them to life and become a leader in our postdoc community!
Why join?
- Build leadership skills and gain valuable experience
- Score free swag and make lasting friendships
- Be part of the vibrant team shaping postdoc life at LBL
Get involved today!
Explore: postdoc.lbl.gov/about-us/committees
Express interest here or Contact us at postdoc@lbl.gov
Stay tuned for BLPA Board elections—your next opportunity to lead!
Slack Fun Space
We have launched a new Slack “fun space” for all LBNL and affiliated postdocs.
We have dedicated spaces to chat about housing, healthcare, taxes, COVID-19 & vaccination, hobbies & events, food, movies & tv, childcare, sell or buy stuff and even to post photos of your pets! Sign up here and join the conversation.
Past events
Hike in Point Lobos
It was great.
Read More "Hike in Point Lobos"
Camping trip to Lassen Volcanic National Park
During the weekend 18-20th of July, some of our postdocs went for a camping trip. We slept in tents and cooked meals at gas stoves....
Read More "Camping trip to Lassen Volcanic National Park"
Hike to Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve
Last Saturday, Berkeley Postdocs and their friends hiked in beautiful redwood forest in Armstrong State Natural Reserve. Greetings from 1400 years old Colonel Armstrong.
Read More "Hike to Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve"
Weekend trip to Yosemite
During the weekend 7-8th of June, BLPA postdocs and their friends visited Yosemite National Park. They hiked in Mariposa Grove and at Upper Yosemite Fall.
Read More "Weekend trip to Yosemite"
City Hike at Lake Merritt
On May 10, 2025 our postdocs changed the hiking environment into Oakland. They enjoyed a walk around Lake Merritt admiring lake and Botanical Garden at...
Read More "City Hike at Lake Merritt"
Hiking: Alamere Falls on May 3
On Saturday, May 3, the BLPA hiking group explored the Pacific coast and reached the Alamere Falls.
Read More "Hiking: Alamere Falls on May 3"
Hiking: Mount Diablo from bottom to top
On Saturday, April 5, we we hiked Mount Diablo all the way from the foot of the mountain to the summit via the shortest route....
Read More "Hiking: Mount Diablo from bottom to top"
Career Transition Talk –Â Sintu Rongpipi
We had a great session with Dr. Sintu Rongpipi as part of our BLPA Career Transition Talk Series! Sintu shared her amazing journey from postdoc...
Read More "Career Transition Talk –Â Sintu Rongpipi"
Resources
BLPA Board
BLPA is made up of volunteers – and we are always looking to grow! Are you interested? Do you want to know about the inner workings of BLPA and contribute to the postdoc community, building a larger network? Please contact us (postdoc (at) lbl.gov) or sign up to check out one of our many committees!
Â
Jacob Rapp
Co-Chair
Maria Satnik
Co-Chair
Bernard Field
Secretary
Joseph Schneider
Board Member & Webmaster
Kshitiz Gupta
Board Member
Antonino Caliò
Coordinator, Social Committee
Yufan Yan
Treasurer
Yaqing Wang
Board Member
Haruko Tateyama
Board Member
BLPA Committees
We are always on the lookout for new events that could be fun and that we can bring to the postdoc community together as well as enthusiastic individuals interested in serving the postdoc community. If you have any ideas for events, please let us know by email to postdoc@lbl.gov or by dropping a line to a board member you know. If you’d like to volunteer with BLPA, please fill out this form.
Social Committee
Social Committee puts together a wide variety of events to enrich the postdocs’ personal lives and support networking among postdocs in a social context. We organize social events and outdoor activities including movie nights, game nights, hikes, pub nights, meet & greet events as well as a labmate program for new postdocs and we are happy to include new ideas. Join us to support social interactions among postdocs at Berkeley Lab.
Outreach Committee
Outreach Committee focuses on self development and diversity & inclusion activities including brown bag seminars (postdoc-to-postdoc, science café, cultural lunch) as well as coffee with postdocs blogs, outreach events and workshops. We also enhance communication between the BLPA Board and nation-wide postdoc community and foster networking and collaborative communication across divisions. Join us in preparing seminars, workshops, blog posts, newsletters while improving your science communication and public speaking skills.
Lab-Industry Networking Connection (LINC) Committee
LINC committee organizes tech talks, company site visits, networking events and career fairs to educate postdocs about careers beyond academia and facilitate effective networking between postdocs and industry partners. Join us if you are interested in expanding your professional network and exploring opportunities beyond academia while improving your communication, networking, leadership, time and project management skills.
