Certain materials are known to heat up or cool down when they are exposed to a changing magnetic field. This is known as the magnetocaloric effect. All magnetic materials exhibit this effect, but in most cases, it is too small to be technologically useful. Recently, however, an international collaboration of researchers from Spain, Scotland, and the U.S. has utilized ALS Beamline 11.3.1 (small-molecule crystallography) to characterize the design of such “molecular coolers.” Read more…
Using ambient pressure x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy on ALS Beamlines 9.3.2 and 11.0.2 , researchers provide the first in situ measurements of local surface oxidation states and electric potential in active MIEC electrodes (oxide materials that can conduct both electrons and oxygen ions), potentially valuable for high-temperature electrolysis and synthetic fuel production. Read more…
Planning is well underway for the ALS Users’ Meeting, which will be held October 3-5 (save the date). The meeting will consist of one and a half days of lecture, with several invited speakers emphasizing the relevance of synchrotron radiation in industry, an equal amount of workshop time, and the second annual student poster slam. The photography contest is back again by popular demand, and this year it will be open to everyone, so shutterbugs get your cameras out!
It’s not too late to submit your ideas and workshop suggestions to meeting co-chairs Jeff Kortright and Gyorgy Snell—just email by the end of May. The Users’ Meeting Web site will be online soon; registration and poster submissions will open shortly thereafter.
General User Proposals: Statistics Posted; Next Cycles’ Deadlines
The User Office is accepting new General User Proposals from scientists who wish to conduct research at the ALS in the next cycle. Please visit our Web site for information on how to Apply for Beamtime, or follow the relevant links below:
BEAM TIME REQUESTS on ACTIVE PROPOSALS Proposals for general sciences beamlines are considered active for two years, or until the total shifts requested in the proposal have been used. If you are the PI or experimental leader of an active proposal for which you would like to request beam time during the July-December 2012 cycle, you will receive an email with instructions.
APPROVED PROGRAM PROPOSALS: Deadline: June 15 2011 An Approved Program (AP) enables an investigator or a group of investigators to receive an assured percentage of beam time for a period of up to three years to carry out an extended program of research. Users wishing to apply for an AP need to contact the ALS Deputy Division Director for Science. See the Web site for more information.
Safety Note: Summer’s Here, but PPE at ALS Stays the Same
With hot weather arriving, ALS staff and users are reminded that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) requirements remain the same year-round. Anyone working on the ALS experiment floor must wear long pants (or equivalent) and closed-toe shoes at all times. Shorts and/or open-toed sandals are not permitted at any time on the red floor! Read the ALS PPE guidelines.
UEC Corner
Using the Staff Machine Shop
Greetings ALS Users! Have you ever discovered that you need part of your experiment modified, and the changes needed require machine shop work? The ALS provides two options to help you solve your problem quickly and get back to data collection.
Kurt Krueger runs the staff machine shop in Building 80. For small jobs, Kurt can make modifications for you at no cost and generally with very fast turnaround time. For more involved machining, discuss with Kurt whether there will be a cost to your project.
As a second option, if you already have machining skills, you may obtain authorization to work in the staff machine shop. Plan ahead: the certification process takes about two weeks, and begins by contacting the ALS Safety Manager Jim Floyd. There is some paperwork, and you’ll need to take Kurt Krueger’s machine shop safety course, but for the few people who need to make modifications themselves, the ALS provides this solution.
I want to thank both Jim Floyd and Kurt Krueger for their continued commitment to safety AND to finding solutions that keep your science progressing as rapidly as possible.
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.
For the user runs from April 6 to May 1, 2011, the beam reliability [(time scheduled – time lost)/time scheduled)] was 97.2%. For this period, the mean time between failures (MTBF) was 61.0 hours, and the mean time to recovery (MTTR) was 118 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 Manager Steve Rossi prepares users for the upcoming ALS shutdown. Want to know what’s planned? Read the Article
Announcements
Science Cafés Return June 1 Join ALS researchers for the next Science Café on June 1 at noon in the User Support Building’s main conference room. Speakers will include Regina Soufli (LLNL), talking about thin films and solar telescopes, Mary Gilles, and Glenn Waychunas (topics TBA). If you would like to participate, contact Liz Moxon.
Read news from the National User Facility Organization (NUFO), including an article about the User Science Exhibition held on Capitol Hill on April 7, 2011.
With hot weather arriving, ALS staff and users are reminded that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) requirements remain the same year-round. Anyone working on the ALS experiment floor must wear long pants (or equivalent) and closed-toe shoes at all times. Shorts and/or open-toed sandals are not permitted at any time on the red floor! Read the 
