Another successful ALS User Meeting was held August 12–14, bringing the ALS user community together under the sunny summer skies of Berkeley, California. Over 300 participants enjoyed an engaging program organized by the Users’ Executive Committee (UEC), led by User Meeting organizers Wendy Gu, Devin Grabner, Monsuru Ramoni, and Shan Wu.
Associate Laboratory Director for Energy Sciences Jeff Neaton kicked the meeting off with a warm welcome to participants in his reflection on the importance of the User Meeting as a yearly gathering to unite the ALS with its user community. He highlighted the strategic planning efforts undertaken at the ALS over the past year, bolstered by a 40% increase in the operating budget. Neaton also emphasized the ALS’s essential contributions to Berkeley Lab and the international research community, referencing the ALS’s pioneering work in areas such as EUV lithography, AI, and quantum research, all of which advance national priorities and inform global science.
ALS Division Director Dimitri Argyriou took the stage to celebrate recent accomplishments at the ALS, including staff recognitions through the Berkeley Lab Director’s Awards and six ALS-led Laboratory Directed Research & Development (LDRD) projects. He highlighted recent science highlights in various scientific fields, including discoveries in biological research, such as nitrogen fixation in organelles, and in materials science, with the potential of next-gen materials to revolutionize solar-cell technology. He also discussed the ALS 2.0 initiative, which aims to leverage the upcoming upgrade to enhance the facility’s capabilities. Argyriou emphasized the importance of continued active engagement from the user community in helping shape the future of the ALS during this journey towards ALS 2.0.
ALS Upgrade (ALS-U) Project Director Dave Robin gave a progress report, detailing the installation of key components like the accumulator ring and radiofrequency (rf) cavities. He highlighted the complexity of executing the upgrade while maintaining ongoing operations, emphasizing the importance of careful coordination and risk management. Robin also outlined the timeline for the upcoming “dark time,” a critical period currently scheduled for June 2026, when the facility will pause operations to complete the upgrade. ALS Deputies Ashley White and Andreas Scholl followed, sharing their strategic vision for the ALS science program. They emphasized the need to balance the research portfolio while investing in cutting-edge instrumentation and data technologies post-upgrade. They stressed the importance of collaboration between ALS staff and the user community in shaping the facility’s direction and ensuring it remains a leader in scientific research. White emphasized the value of the input received from the Visioning Workshops of the 2023 User Meeting in prioritizing the major scientific challenges and opportunities that the upgraded facility could address. The ALS Science Visioning Workshops Report details the outcomes of those workshops.
Department of Energy (DOE) Acting Associate Deputy Director for Science Programs Andy Schwartz focused on the broader strategic goals and priorities of DOE’s Basic Energy Sciences program in his DOE update. He discussed ongoing efforts to balance increased funding in the fiscal year 2024 enacted budget across facility operations, research programs, and new construction projects, emphasizing the importance of these investments in maintaining the competitiveness of US scientific infrastructure. He highlighted key initiatives and programs, such as the RENEW and FAIR: important programs that broaden participation in DOE-supported research. Schwartz expressed optimism for the future, noting that the ongoing efforts and initiatives would ensure that the DOE’s facilities, including the ALS, remain at the forefront of scientific innovation.
Shirley Award winner Kevin Wilson followed with a fascinating discussion on aerosols in urban settings with “Probing the Multiphase Chemistry of Aerosols using Synchrotron Radiation.” A lively poster slam followed, with ALS staff Dula Parkinson, Ashley White, Warren Holcomb, and Andrea Taylor joining El Cerrito High School Band members to kick off the slam with their rendition of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” Four plenary talks followed, with Emily Graham of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory on “The Molecular Observation Network (MONet): Enabling Molecular and Microscale Mechanistic Understanding of Soil Organic Matter Processes,” B.V. Venkatar Prasad of Baylor College of Medicine on “Human Noroviruses—Role of Conformational Plasticity Entry and Antibody Neutralization,” Iryna Zenyuk of UC Irvine on the “Use of Synchrotron X-Ray Computed Tomography and X-Ray Diffraction to Study Electrochemical Hydrogen Technologies.” Musa Ahmed of Berkeley Lab closed out the plenary session with “Probing Complex Chemistry at the Molecular Level with Vibrational Spectroscopy and X-Ray Tools.” Day 1 concluded with a reception in which participants met with the meeting’s exhibitors and sponsors.
Day 2 focused on career talks and workshops, beginning with a celebration of award winners. Swarup China from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory delivered the Early Career Award talk, highlighting his innovative research with “Chemical Imaging of Atmospheric Particles.”
The Student Poster Award talk featured a presentation from Harlan Heilman as the first place winner of the Neville B. Smith Award for his poster “Combining DFT-Based Optical Models with Resonant X-Ray Reflectivity to Measure Orientation at Buried Interfaces.” The award for second place went to Yucheng Guo for “Spin Excitations from Flat Electronic Bands in a Cr-Based Kagome Superconductor.” Third place went to Andrew Sugarman for “High-Resolution Wide-Field 3D Histopathology for the Morphological Characterization of Prostate Cancer.”
A highlight of the morning was the Early Career Panel Discussion, featuring panelists Mikayla Barry, Devin Grabner, Thomas Ferron, and Natalie Larson. The discussion centered on the diverse career paths available after graduation and the creative ways in which one might chart the course of their professional career. Ferron highlighted the importance of starting job searches early, particularly in national labs where opportunities may be tied to congressional budgets. He advised the audience to “look early, and look often” when seeking positions. Larson provided insights into the faculty job search, stressing the importance of developing a cohesive research narrative that distinguishes one’s work. Grabner underscored the value of broadening one’s development to include leadership and management skills, which can complement technical expertise and better prepare individuals for roles that require guiding and supporting teams. Both Barry and Larson referenced their participation in the ALS Fellowship Program, with Barry describing it as an “immensely rewarding experience,” and Larson emphasizing how the fellowship offered her valuable experience with instrumentation and opportunities to connect with mentors across the ALS.
The UEC Town Hall followed, providing an open forum for attendee discussions about the future of the ALS. A series of workshops and tutorials spanned the remainder of Day 2 and into Day 3, with participants treated to a variety of sessions. Notably, this year featured joint sessions with the Molecular Foundry, whose User Meeting was held the same week as the ALS’s. The two facilities collaborated on workshops such as “Correlative Microscopy: Experiment, Processing, and Data Management” and “Making Nanostructures Visible via ALS–Foundry Collaborations.” Other popular sessions included the favorite, “Lightsources 101” tutorial, which offered a beginner’s guide to synchrotron techniques at the ALS and insights on collaborating with the Molecular Foundry.
“Microtomography Data Processing: Some Basics, Some New Stuff,” covered essential image processing tools for microCT data, showcased user case studies, and introduced new machine learning tools. “Coherent X-Ray Science: The New Wave” highlighted the upcoming ALS upgrade’s 100x increase in coherent flux, explored advances in coherence-based techniques like coherent diffractive imaging (CDI) and x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS), and offered insights into how these developments will enhance future research capabilities. “SYSTER: A Program to Support Earth and Environmental Science Applications of Scanning Transmission X-Ray Microscopy, Spectromicroscopy, and Ptychography” introduced the SYnergy of Soft and Tender X-rays for Earth Research (SYSTER) program’s support for earth and environmental research through access to ALS microscopy techniques, covering STXM, spectromicroscopy, and ptychography, as well as offering guidance on study design and data handling. The “BioSAXS Workshop” returned to highlight recent advances in small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) for biological systems and provided hands-on tutorials for applying SAXS analysis to projects. Finally, “Exploring Novel Spin Configurations and Functionalities for New Paradigms in Information Technology” focused on bridging the gap between materials science and device architecture in microelectronics, emphasizing the integration of spin-based functionalities and exploring new material classes and phenomena for advanced computing applications.
The 2024 ALS User Meeting wrapped up with a strong sense of community and anticipation for what’s to come. The collaborations and discussions held over these few days reinforced our shared commitment to scientific excellence and innovation. As we move towards ALS 2.0, it’s clear that we’re not just advancing research—we’re setting the stage for the next generation of scientists and building a brighter future together. Follow us to ALS 2.0!
