In addition to a talk by ALS Director Roger Falcone, we’ll get an update on the Department of Energy’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences from Dr. Harriet Kung, a discussion of prospects for American science by Michael Lubell of the American Physical Society, a keynote address by the Honorable Vern Ehlers (R-MI), and a discussion of molecular and nanoscale earth and environmental sciences by Don DePaolo (Berkeley Lab). Four scientific highlight talks, ALS awards, an Open Forum where you can discuss your concerns and recommendations, and the first ever student poster slam will keep you riveted.
We’ll also celebrate the opening of the User Support Building and honor the contributions of Janos Kirz to the ALS. We’ll elect new members to the Users’ Executive Committee and vote on a change to the charter. Finally, a wide range of vendors will showcase products relevant to your research.
If you haven’t registered already, there is still time–register here. Please consider staying at the Berkeley Lab Guest House during your stay. I look forward to seeing you in Building 50 on the morning of October 13.
All users are welcome to contact their UEC representatives to raise issues of concern relating to their own research, or to alert us to issues facing our whole community.
Compositional Variation within Hybrid Nanostructures
The inherently high surface area of bimetallic nanoparticles makes them especially attractive materials for heterogeneous catalysis. The ability to selectively grow these and other types of nanoparticles on a desired surface is ideal for the fabrication of higher-order nanoscale architectures. However, the growth mechanism for bimetallic nanoparticles on a surface is expected to be quite different than that for free particles in solution. The altered growth process can lead to modulations in stoichiometry, elemental homogeneity, and surface structure, all of which can profoundly affect the catalytic or magnetic properties of the bimetallic nanoparticles. Now, researchers have experimentally observed these subtle structural differences through x-ray absorption spectroscopic studies at ALS Beamline 10.3.2. The results illustrate how directed nanoparticle growth on specific surfaces can lead to hybrid nanomaterials with a structurally different bimetallic component than its unhybridized counterpart. Read more…
Berkeley Lab will be hosting an Open House on October 2. If you would like to attend, you must register online. For details, visit the Web site.
What would you like people to know about the ALS? Visitors will learn about ALS science on self-guided tours around the ring. Please give us your feedback so we can showcase the most important and interesting aspects of the ALS to visitors.
MML2010 Visits Berkeley Lab, Tours the ALS
The IEEE 7th International Symposium on Metallic Multilayers (MML2010) was held in Berkeley, CA, September 19-24, 2010. The MML2010, chaired by Peter Fischer (Materials Sciences Division), is the most recent in a series of symposia held in Kyoto (1992), Cambridge (1995), Vancouver (1998), Aachen (2001), Boulder (2004), and Perth (2007). These have been the premier international conferences in the nanomagnetism community.
More than 200 scientists from 18 countries attended MML 2010, including more than 50 students and many Berkeley Lab participants. The scientific program featured nine plenary lectures, 57 invited talks and 169 poster presentations.
On Friday, September 24, participants toured Berkeley Lab facilities including the ALS, the National Center for Electron Microscopy (NCEM), and the Molecular Foundry, and heard presentations about various experimental capabilities for magnetism research available at the Lab.
Operations Update
For the user runs from August 10 to September 5, 2010 (including the second week of 2-bunch user operations), the beam reliability [(time scheduled – time lost)/time scheduled)] was 97.8%. For this period, the mean time between failures (MTBF) was 28.8 hours, and the mean time to recovery (MTTR) was 45 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).
ALS Project and Facility Management Group Leader Steve Rossi introduces the User Support Building and explains how this group keeps the ALS running. Read the Article
Announcements
Science Cafés to Return The next ALS Science Café is scheduled for November 12. If you are interested in presenting, please visit the ALS Science Café Web page.
Guest House Special
Visiting Berkeley Lab? Book accommodations at the new Berkeley Lab Guest House located on site. The current special features discounted rates, no occupancy tax, and free parking; visit the Web site for more information.
staying at the 
The inherently high surface area of bimetallic nanoparticles makes them especially attractive materials for heterogeneous catalysis. The ability to selectively grow these and other types of nanoparticles on a desired surface is ideal for the fabrication of higher-order nanoscale architectures. However, the growth mechanism for bimetallic nanoparticles on a surface is expected to be quite different than that for free particles in solution. The altered growth process can lead to modulations in stoichiometry, elemental homogeneity, and surface structure, all of which can profoundly affect the catalytic or magnetic properties of the bimetallic nanoparticles. Now, researchers have experimentally observed these subtle structural differences through x-ray absorption spectroscopic studies at ALS 
Berkeley Lab will be hosting an Open House on October 2. If you would like to attend, you must 
Visiting Berkeley Lab? Book accommodations at the new Berkeley Lab Guest House located on site. The current special features discounted rates, no occupancy tax, and free parking; 
