So-called “warm dense matter” (neither solid, liquid, gas, nor plasma) tends to be drastically transient and difficult to study in the laboratory. Researchers have now demonstrated that, at the ALS, fast-changing electron temperatures of matter under extreme conditions can be determined with picosecond resolution. Read more…
In genome engineering, a single position within a DNA sequence is altered without affecting the rest of the genetic code. The structure of a new gene-targeting system, the TAL effector nuclease, reveals its mechanism of action and provides crucial details for its future development.Read more…
New Deputy Division Director for Science: Steve Kevan
Longtime ALS user Dr. Steve Kevan will be joining the ALS management team as Deputy Division Director for Science, effective July 2, 2012. Dr. Kevan, currently Professor of Physics at the University of Oregon, has been a member of the ALS Scientific Advisory Council for several years as well as a member, and Chair, of the ALS Users’ Executive Committee.Read more about Dr. Kevan here.
Ring Leader: Zahid Hussain
ALS Division Deputy for Scientific Support provides an overview of current activities and advances being made by the Scientific Support Group (SSG). From providing support for ALS users to offering doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships for future beamline scientists, developing new scientific techniques and building new beamlines, the SSG does something for everyone at the ALS. Read the article for more details.
NUFO Goes to Capitol Hill
ALS representatives Sue Bailey and user Yves Idzerda joined other Berkeley Lab representatives in Washington, D.C. for a congressional exhibition organized by the National User Facilities Organization (NUFO). Public exhibitions were held in the buildings of the Senate and the House of Representatives, featuring talks by Pat Dehmer (Deputy Director for Science Programs, Office of Science, DOE), Berkeley Lab Director Paul Alivisatos, and Tony Lanzirotti (NUFO chair), as well as posters highlighting science from 45 national user facilities.
The team from Berkeley Lab, led by Don Medley (Berkeley Lab Head of Federal Government Relations), met with Senate and House staffers to explain the importance of national user facilities, like the ALS, to the advancement of the nation’s science and engineering programs. Read more about the exhibitions.
Synchrotron Radiation in Polymer Science
The fifth Synchrotron Radiation in Polymer Science (SRPS) conference, organized by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, was held in San Francisco, March 30-April 2. More than 80 participants from around the world attended invited and contributed lectures on the use of synchrotrons in ordering phenomena, spectroscopy, microscopy, and energy applications in polymer sciences. The program began with an invited talk by Advanced Light Source Director Roger Falcone on the importance of polymer science for current synchrotrons and future sources. A poster session was also organized at the venue, where beamline scientists, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students shared their work with the attendees and competed for a poster prize sponsored by JEMA Science. A group of judges selected Gregory Su (UCSB) and David Wong (UCB) as the poster prize winners. Attendees also enjoyed tours of the LCLS (SLAC) and the ALS (Berkeley Lab). Program information and an abstract booklet can be viewed on the SRPS5 Web site.
Events
ALS Science Café, Tuesday May 15 at Noon, User Support Building, R15-253 Speakers are Peter Fischer (ALS), Corie Ralston (PBD), and Scott Sanford (NASA/Ames). Find photos and talk titles on the ALS Web site.
2012 Mexican Synchrotron Radiation Users’ Meeting (MESYRUM) June 6-8, 2012, University of Guanajuato, Campus León Registration deadline is May 21; abstracts due May 28.
Low Energy Electrodynamics in Solids (LEES 2012) July 22-27, 2012, Napa, CA LEES 2012 will be a forum for the interdisciplinary discussion of the low-energy electrodynamics of solids, at both the theoretical and experimental level.
ALS User Meeting – Save the Date! October 8-10, 2012, Berkeley, CA
UEC Corner
Call for User Meeting Workshops, News about BL 10.3.2
The 2012 ALS User Meeting Co-Chairs are now accepting applications for workshops. Please send your workshop ideas and an estimate of length (1/2 day, full day) to alsuec.workshops@gmail.com by April 30, 2012.
Planning for Change at Beamline 10.3.2
In a letter to the user community of BL 10.3.2 on April 2, 2012, ALS Director Roger Falcone announced a plan to reduce staffing at BL 10.3.2 from two full-time positions to one half-time position starting in January, 2013. Although the staffing support will be reduced, the ALS plans to continue supporting the beamline infrastructure. In the future, the ALS envisions a possible user consortium, modeled after the existing Approved Program mode of access, to bring long-term staffing resources to the beamline. The UEC has agreed to help organize a user consortium to develop future resources to support beamline staffing. Users interested in being involved in the generation of resources or proposals for the future of BL 10.3.2 as part of a core-user consortium are encouraged to contact ALS UEC members Brandy Toner and Peter Nico. Users can also stay involved in the discussion regarding the future of BL 10.3.2 by attending the Hard X-Ray Microprobe Workshop, planned for the 2012 ALS User Meeting, October 10-12.
The ALS UEC is eager to hear from users regarding changes to BL 10.3.2 or other issues of concern. Our next meeting will be in the second half of May, 2012 at the ALS, and it is not too late to help shape the agenda.
For the user runs from March 14 to April 15, 2012 (which included two weeks of 2-Bunch Top-off Mode operation), the beam reliability [(time scheduled – time lost)/time scheduled)] was 96.4%. For this period, the mean time between failures (MTBF) was 30.4 hours, and the mean time to recovery (MTTR) was 74 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
So-called “warm dense matter” (neither solid, liquid, gas, nor plasma) tends to be drastically transient and difficult to study in the laboratory. Researchers have now demonstrated that, at the ALS, fast-changing electron temperatures of matter under extreme conditions can be determined with picosecond resolution. 
In genome engineering, a single position within a DNA sequence is altered without affecting the rest of the genetic code. The structure of a new gene-targeting system, the TAL effector nuclease, reveals its mechanism of action and provides crucial details for its future development.
Longtime ALS user Dr. Steve Kevan will be joining the ALS management team as Deputy Division Director for Science, effective July 2, 2012. 
ALS Division Deputy for Scientific Support provides an overview of current activities and advances being made by the Scientific Support Group (SSG). From providing support for ALS users to offering doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships for future beamline scientists, developing new scientific techniques and building new beamlines, the SSG does something for everyone at the ALS. 
ALS representatives Sue Bailey and user Yves Idzerda joined other Berkeley Lab representatives in Washington, D.C. for a congressional exhibition organized by the National User Facilities Organization (NUFO). Public exhibitions were held in the buildings of the Senate and the House of Representatives, featuring talks by Pat Dehmer (Deputy Director for Science Programs, Office of Science, DOE), Berkeley Lab Director Paul Alivisatos, and Tony Lanzirotti (NUFO chair), as well as 
The team from Berkeley Lab, led by Don Medley (Berkeley Lab Head of Federal Government Relations), met with Senate and House staffers to explain the importance of national user facilities, like the ALS, to the advancement of the nation’s science and engineering programs. 
The fifth Synchrotron Radiation in Polymer Science (SRPS) conference, organized by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, was held in San Francisco, March 30-April 2. More than 80 participants from around the world attended invited and contributed lectures on the use of synchrotrons in ordering phenomena, spectroscopy, microscopy, and energy applications in polymer sciences. The program began with an invited talk by Advanced Light Source Director Roger Falcone on the importance of polymer science for current synchrotrons and future sources. A poster session was also organized at the venue, where beamline scientists, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students shared their work with the attendees and competed for a poster prize sponsored by JEMA Science. A group of judges selected Gregory Su (UCSB) and David Wong (UCB) as the poster prize winners. Attendees also enjoyed tours of the LCLS (SLAC) and the ALS (Berkeley Lab). Program information and an abstract booklet can be viewed on the 
2012 Mexican Synchrotron Radiation Users’ Meeting (
Low Energy Electrodynamics in Solids (
ALS User Meeting – Save the Date!
ALS accelerator operator and 10 year LBNL employee Michael Beaudrow died of pancreatic cancer on March 25. 
