Monthly Newsletter of the Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Aerosol Oxidation Speeds Up in Smoggy Air
To better understand the effects of organic aerosols on climate, pollution, and health, researchers measured aerosol reaction rates at ALS Beamline 9.0.2. They discovered an unexpectedly large acceleration in aerosol oxidation in the presence of anthropogenic pollutants commonly found in smoggy air, a result that could help bring models closer in line with observations. Read more…
ALS research has shown that manganese reduction-oxidation (redox) reactions are an important factor in controlling the rate of plant debris decomposition. Understanding the role of manganese will help build better models to predict how litter decomposition rates–and thus nutrient cycling and the ecosystem carbon balance–may behave in future climate scenarios. Read more…
Porous Framework Electrocatalysts Key to Carbon Dioxide Conversion
Researchers have made significant headway in the quest to convert carbon dioxide into valuable chemical products such as fuels, pharmaceuticals, and plastics. Recent work at the ALS has shown MOFs and COFs as a valuable new class of carbon dioxide reduction catalysts. Read more…
Using FTIR microspectroscopy at the NSLS in Brookhaven and at ALS Beamline 1.4.3, scientists got a first glimpse into the structural changes that result from point mutations in opsin, one of the causes of retinitis pigmentosa. Read more…
Luminescent MOFs for Mycotoxin Detection
Crystal diffractometry at ALS Beamline 11.3.1 helped scientists develop and understand a new, highly sensitive luminescent metal-organic framework for mycotoxin detection. Read more…
Conduction Along Magnetic Interfaces Could Improve Memory Devices
Scientists have provided the first direct evidence of a controversial phenomenon: the boundaries between magnetic regions in an electrical insulator can become electrically conductive. This discovery may lead to improvements in memory storage devices. Read more…
Improving Meningococcal Vaccines
Scientists have found a way to improve the stability of an essential antigenic protein to develop vaccines with higher efficacy for prevention of bacterial meningitis. Read more…
Conference Corner: Reports from Recent Meetings and Workshops
The ALS organized and recently held a crosscutting review of its bioscience programs. The two-day program included talks by staff and users, discussions, and a poster session. Read more…
Synchrotron Science at the AAAS Annual Meeting
Light sources took center stage at several sessions at the AAAS 2016 Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. The meeting’s theme of Global Science Engagement lent itself well to the inherently collaborative nature of synchrotron science. Read more…
Ringleader: Cobber Lam, ALS Systems Administrator
We recently sat down with someone who almost everyone at the ALS knows, our trusty systems administrator Cobber Lam. He talked with us about his job and what keeps him ticking. Read more…
Call for User Meeting Workshop Proposals—March 8 Deadline
ALS users are invited to submit proposals to host workshops at the upcoming ALS User Meeting to be held October 3-5, 2016, at Berkeley Lab. We are particularly interested in proposals on rapidly evolving scientific topics and future directions for the ALS/ALS-U, and encourage increasing student and postdoc participation in workshops. Read more…
Apply to the National School on Neutron and X-ray Scattering—April 4 Deadline
The National School on Neutron and X-ray Scattering educates graduate students on the utilization of major neutron and x-ray facilities. Lectures will include basic tutorials on the principles of scattering theory and the characteristics of the sources. Students will conduct short experiments at Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source and Oak Ridge’s Spallation Neutron Source and High Flux Isotope Reactor facilities to provide hands-on experience for using neutron and synchrotron sources. Read more…
Around the ALS in Photos: APXPS Workshop
The 2nd International Workshop on Ambient Pressure X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (APXPS), organized by Ethan Crumlin and Hendrik Bluhm, was held in Berkeley on December 7-9, 2015. Our photo essay this month follows the more than 100 participants from the plenary sessions to the banquet, which was held at the Lawrence Hall of Science. Look for a detailed meeting report in an upcoming issue of Synchrotron Radiation News.
Operations Update
For the user runs from January 13 to February 14, 2016, the beam reliability [(time scheduled – time lost)/time scheduled)] was 98.4%. For this period, the mean time between failures (MTBF) was 61.0hours, and the mean time to recovery (MTTR) was 73 minutes. There were no significant interruptions.
Detailed information on reliability is available on the ALS reliability bulletin board, which is located in the hallway between the ALS and the control room in Building 80. Questions about beam reliability should be directed to Dave Richardson (DBRichardson@lbl.gov, x4376).
ALS in the News
