Monthly Newsletter of the Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Tracking the Elusive QOOH Radical
For the first time, researchers directly observed QOOH molecules, a class of highly reactive molecules at the center of the web of ignition chemistry reactions. The data generated will improve the fidelity of combustion models used to create cleaner and more efficient cars and trucks. Read more…
Ancient Proteins Help Unravel a Modern Cancer Drug’s Mechanism
The cancer drug Gleevec is extremely specific, binding and inhibiting only the cancer-causing tyrosine protein kinase Blc-Abl, while not targeting homologous protein kinases found in normal, healthy cells. Researchers at the ALS have uncovered exactly why that is the case, pointing to novel methods of drug discovery. Read more…
Soft X-Ray Science Opportunities Using Diffraction-Limited Storage Rings
A key stimulus for this workshop is a revolutionary new accelerator technology that will produce diffraction-limited beams of soft x-rays. “Diffraction limited” means that the wave fronts will be smooth or “coherent” across the entire beam, something like a laser beam. The workshop charge was to evaluate how this unprecedented phase coherence and stability can be leveraged to address the challenges to design and optimize functional structures.
A quick reminder to save Monday, October 5, through Wednesday, October 7, for this year’s User Meeting. The ALS Users’ Executive Committee (UEC) and meeting organizers have already collected a full complement of focused workshops that will follow the plenary sessions. Registration and poster submission information will be available online in early July.
Congratulations to Ethan Crumlin, who just won the 2015 International Solid State Ionics Young Scientist Award! He was recognized in particular for outstanding solid/liquid and solid/gas interface work done at Beamlines 9.3.1 and 9.3.2.
For the user runs from May 20 to June 14, 2015, the beam reliability [(time scheduled – time lost)/time scheduled)] was 98.9%. For this period, the mean time between failures (MTBF) was 61.0 hours, and the mean time to recovery (MTTR) was 54 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
