This September, Beamline 7.0.2, MAESTRO, will accept general user proposals for the first time. Its unique attributes combine strong sample preparation capabilities with cutting-edge spectromicroscopy tools, offering researchers unparalleled opportunities for studying the correlation between structure and electronic properties. Read more »
Features
2015 ALS User Meeting Highlights
The 2015 User Meeting brought together 405 ALS users from around the world, many of whom shared insights and sparked discussion with presentations of their ALS research highlights. Read more »
SIBYLS Beamline Builds on Nobel Research
Often the full impact of a scientific discovery takes decades to realize, during which the research is developed further and adopted by other scientists. Such was the case for the work of biochemist Paul Modrich, one of three recipients of this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source was a core resource Modrich used to build on his earlier work. Read more »
Wolfgang Eberhardt on Light Sources: Getting the Balance Right
Wolfgang Eberhardt, an internationally respected expert on synchrotrons, is wrapping up an extended visit to the ALS. Between experiments furthering our understanding of organic solar-cell materials, he discusses the relative merits of diffraction-limited storage rings (such as the proposed ALS upgrade, ALS-U) and free-electron laser facilites. Read more »
Footprinting Technique Gives ALS Users New Insights
The x-ray footprinting (XFP) technique developed at ALS Beamline 5.3.1 gives researchers a powerful tool for the study of macromolecular structures and dynamics of proteins and nucleic acids in solution. Read more »
ALS User Meeting Highlights Challenges, Accomplishments
The 2014 ALS User Meeting featured notable scientific speakers and a review of the year’s accomplishments as well as a look forward to dealing with challenging funding realities. In the midst of great talks and poster sessions, the more than 400 attendees were treated to the always informative and entertaining “Student Poster Slam,” which seems to grow every year. Read more »
Ptychography: A Fun Word with Big Promise
We recently sat down with ALS physicist David Shapiro, lead author on the paper reporting this research in Nature Photonics, to talk about ptychography and why the ALS is uniquely suited to work on this next-generation technique. Read more »
Student UEC Member Goes Above and Beyond
As a student representative to the ALS Users Executive Committee (UEC) for the past two years, Mahati Chintapalli has gained a better understanding of how the ALS functions as an organization, while the UEC has gained a devoted and outgoing member. She’s currently a PhD student in Materials Science and has been conducting research at the ALS since 2011. Read more »
ALS Data Visualization Lab Serves Up Computing Power
Even though the ALS has been in shutdown mode for almost two months, there’s one area of the facility where users have been busy. The new ALS Visualization and Analysis Lab, which opened to users in November 2013, hosts an impressive amount of computing power that’s helping scientists work through data-heavy beamline results much more quickly and efficiently. Read more »
Youngest ALS Users Go to the White House
Two seventh graders from Black Pine Circle (BPC) School in Berkeley, who came to the ALS last November on a field trip that included actual beam time earned through peer-reviewed proposals, have now made it all the way to the White House. Read more »