Not All Nanodisk Magnetic Vortices Are Created Equally
Magnetic vortices – hurricanes of magnetism only a few atoms across – have been found to form asymmetrically in ferromagnetic nanodisks. This finding contradicts previous beliefs and poses challenges to using magnetic vortices in random access memory (RAM) data storage systems.Read more… Contact: Mi-Young Im
A New Route to Nanoscale Conducting Channels in Insulating Oxides
Building on the recent discovery of a highly mobile two-dimensional electron gas at the interface between two insulating oxides, researchers can now generate and control a two-dimensional gas state on bare insulating oxide surfaces, a capability that may speed the future of oxide electronics. Read more…
Industry @ ALS: Industry Expert Helps ALS Scientists Craft Relevant Research
Steve Harris has worked for U.S. auto manufacturers for the past 30 years as a research scientist, testing and investigating various promising materials and technologies. As a result, Harris knows a thing or two about what the industry values. Harris is now at the ALS as a visiting scientist, sharing his insight and knowledge with ALS staff scientists working on battery research.Read the article.
Ring Leader: Mike Martin
The ALS infrared beamlines help a diverse array of scientists perform FTIR spectroscopy on biological samples and will soon be offering nanoscale and 3D imaging. Mike Martin leads these infrared beamlines and is also a Deputy Group Leader for the Scientific Support Group, a leader in ALS safety, and the future U.S. Editor for Synchrotron Radiation News. Read more about MIke and his many hats.
2012 ALS User Meeting Update: Full Agenda, New Workshop Added
Registration is now open for this year’s ALS User Meeting. A full agenda that features updates from ALS management, DOE, and user support groups is complemented by six recent science highlights and keynote speakers that include Nate Lewis (Caltech), Monica Metzler (Illinois Science Council), and the new director of the Molecular Foundry, Omar Yaghi. There are now 13 focused workshops, a poster session, the student poster slam and competition, and the awards banquet (see UEC Chair Brandy Toner’s article below about changes to this year’s awards, including cash prizes for the successful nominees). Find out more information about the meeting and register now on the ALS User Meeting Web Site.
ALS Outreach to Users, International Light Source Community
ALS users and staff are taking the opportunity to promote the ALS’s scientific successes, research opportunities, and beamline capabilities at conferences around the nation and the world. In July, members of the Physical Biosciences Division (PBD) and the ALS hosted a busy booth at the American Crystallographic Association meeting in Boston. In the photo at left, Corie Ralston (center) and James Holton (right), both of PBD, and Jay Nix (back to camera) of the Molecular Biology Consortium talk to conference attendees.
Also in July, ALS staff were on hand to answer questions at a display of 35 facility posters at SRI 2012 in Lyon, France. The exhibit, produced by lightsources.org organizers at ESRF, attracted more than 350 visitors during the course of the meeting, many of whom took the opportunity to fill out a questionnaire about how the organization can better serve the light source community. A new lightsources.org web site, reflecting many of the suggestions, will debut later this fall.
October 13, 2012; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
UEC Corner
2012 ALS User Meeting Awards: Nominations Due September 4
The ALS User Meeting will be held October 8-10, 2012. Please consider nominating a deserving colleague for a User Meeting Award. There are two new aspects of the awards for 2012. First, there will be a monetary prize for each award. Funds for this are currently being raised from the ALS exhibitor community. The amount is not yet finalized but will be at least $1500 per award. Second, a policy for roll-over of unsuccessful nominations is being instituted. Nominations will remain active for three years, with nominators being allowed to update their nomination prior to each competition. There are three awards, and the forms are all available on the User Meeting Awards Web page.
David Shirley was a Professor of Chemistry at UC Berkeley and Director of LBNL from 1980 to 1989. He was instrumental in building the ALS. He is now retired from the lab.
Klaus Halbach was a senior staff scientist at LBNL who pioneered the development of undulators using permanent magnets, and other innovations in accelerator physics Even though he retired from LBNL in 1991, he remained active in lab projects and student training until his death in 2000.
Tim Renner was a beamline scientist at the ALS who died at an early age, and who during his career touched everyone that knew him with his caring attitude to others and his larger-than-life personality. This award recognizes individuals, across the ALS organization, that have made outstanding contributions to the ALS user community.
For the user runs from July 18 to August 12, 2012,the beam reliability [(time scheduled – time lost)/time scheduled)] was 99.0%. For this period, the mean time between failures (MTBF) was 86.9 hours, and the mean time to recovery (MTTR) was 67 minutes. There were no significant interruptions.
More 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).
Long-term and weekly operations schedules are available on the Web at
Steve Harris has worked for U.S. auto manufacturers for the past 30 years as a research scientist, testing and investigating various promising materials and technologies. As a result, Harris knows a thing or two about what the industry values. Harris is now at the ALS as a visiting scientist, sharing his insight and knowledge with ALS staff scientists working on battery research.
The ALS infrared beamlines help a diverse array of scientists perform FTIR spectroscopy on biological samples and will soon be offering nanoscale and 3D imaging. Mike Martin leads these infrared beamlines and is also a Deputy Group Leader for the Scientific Support Group, a leader in ALS safety, and the future U.S. Editor for Synchrotron Radiation News. 
ALS users and staff are taking the opportunity to promote the ALS’s scientific successes, 
