The development of an idea into a commercial product can take decades, a timeframe that allows contributions from multiple generations of scientists and requires investment in basic research. Collaborative research between the ALS and Hewlett Packard Labs has advanced the memristor, a device that can store information using little to no power. Read more »
New UEC Members for 2019
Welcome to the new Users’ Executive Committee members for 2019! Emma Anquillare (Student Representative, Boston University and Berkeley Lab), Clemens Heske (UNLV and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology), Johanna Nelson Weker (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory), and Antoine Wojdyla (ALS-U) will be joining the UEC in January. Read more »
Palladium and Zirconium Convert Greenhouse Gases into Fuel
Greenhouse gases cause the rising global temperatures associated with climate change. At the ALS, researchers have determined that palladium/zirconium catalysts can reduce greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide by converting them into useful fuel. Read more »
Cindy Lee, Communications Specialist
Cindy Lee joined the ALS communications group earlier this year. Trained as a molecular biologist and linguist, she’s now using her skills to enhance the workplace culture and broaden the impact of ALS work. Read more »
Tunable Ferromagnetism in a 2D Material at Room Temperature
Researchers combined soft x-ray spectroscopy and microscopy to demonstrate the tunable ferromagnetic characteristics of a two-dimensional layered material at room temperature. The results open up exciting opportunities for the use of such materials in low-power spintronics, high-density magnetic storage, and flexible electronics. Read more »
COSMIC Ptychography Team Receives 2018 Klaus Halbach Award
The 2018 Klaus Halbach Award for Innovative Instrumentation at the ALS was presented at the annual User Meeting to the COSMIC ptychography team “for the development of the microscopy endstation at the COSMIC beamline, featuring an ultra-stable x-ray microscope, computational methods for data reconstruction, and a high-speed data acquisition system.” Read more »
Antibody Therapy for Autoimmune Diseases
The balance between two types of white blood cells is disrupted in autoimmune diseases. Using protein crystallography, scientists have identified a human antibody that locks interleukin-2, a signaling protein, in a conformation that preferentially activates one cell type to restore the balance and treat autoimmune diseases. Read more »
Bob Gassaway Receives 2018 Tim Renner User Services Award
Bob Gassaway was awarded the 2018 Tim Renner User Services Award for his longstanding commitment to simultaneously supporting the ALS user community and advancing electrical safety at the ALS. Gassaway is an electronics engineering technologist who has been at Berkeley Lab for 30 years. Read more »
2018 ALS User Meeting Highlights
Past, present, and future converged at the 2018 ALS User Meeting, where attendees celebrated the 25th anniversary of first light and CD-1 approval of the ALS Upgrade project. Planned with the next generation of users in mind, this year’s meeting emphasized tutorials on a wide variety of ALS techniques for both new and seasoned users. Read more »
Alex Hexemer, Senior Scientist and Computing Program Lead
Alex Hexemer leads the newly formed Computing Program at the ALS. His previous experience as a postdoc and beamline scientist at the ALS has prepared him for the challenges and opportunities in computing for high volumes of data. Read more »
