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Call for 2021 and 2022 Publications

All publications resulting from work done in whole, or in part, at the ALS must be recorded by the User Office for the Department of Energy (DOE). Please help ensure our records are complete by reporting your ALS publications, especially those published in 2021 and 2022. Read more »

Kevan Anderson and the BCG Receive 2022 Renner User Services Award

At this year’s ALS User Meeting, Kevan Anderson, on behalf of the Beamline Controls Group (BCG), was honored with the 2022 Tim Renner User Services Award. The ALS Users’ Executive Committee made the selection for “broad expertise in control systems and software development, and professional judgment and decision-making, which have greatly contributed to the research and development program of the Advanced Light Source.” Read more »

Multilayer Stack Opens Door to Low-Power Electronics

Researchers found that a multilayer stack of ultrathin materials exhibits a phenomenon called negative capacitance, which reduces the voltage required for transistor operation. The material is fully compatible with today’s silicon-based technology and is capable of reducing power consumption without sacrificing transistor size or performance. Read more »PPT-icon-35 PDF-icon-35

2022 User Meeting Highlights

The ALS User Meeting was held August 15–17, 2022, co-chaired by UEC members Hope Michelsen, Yu He, and Rourav Basak. With Steve Kevan’s retirement and the approaching ALS-U implementation phase, the overarching theme of this year’s User Meeting was a celebration of the glorious past and anticipation of a very bright future. Read more »

An Expanded Set of DNA Building Blocks for 3D Lattices

Researchers studied 36 DNA-based molecular junctions and discovered factors that yield superior self-assembled 3D lattice structures. The work expands the set of building blocks for lattices that can scaffold molecules into regular arrays, from proteins for structure studies to nanoparticles for nano-antennas and single-particle sensors. Read more »PPT-icon-35 PDF-icon-35

Protein Structures Aren’t Set in Stone

A group of researchers studying the world’s most abundant protein, an enzyme involved in photosynthesis called rubisco, showed how evolution can lead to a surprising diversity of molecular assemblies that all accomplish the same task. The findings reveal the possibility that many of the proteins we thought we knew actually exist in other, unknown shapes. Read more »

Disorder Drives Long-Range Order in “Tetris Ice” Nanomagnet Arrays

Long-range ordering is typically associated with a decrease in disorder, or entropy. Yet, it can also be driven by increasing entropy in certain special cases. In a recent DOE-funded study, researchers demonstrated that certain artificial spin-ice arrays—nanomagnets lithographically patterned to form Tetris-like shapes—can produce such entropy-driven order. Read more »

Deep-Learning AI Program Accurately Predicts Key Rotavirus Protein Fold

Rotaviruses are the major causative agents of gastroenteritis worldwide. Attempts to design vaccines are complicated by the rotaviruses’ enormous genetic and immunological diversity. At the ALS, researchers validated the novel structure of a key rotavirus protein, predicted using AlphaFold2, a deep-learning artificial-intelligence program. Read more »

Ionic Conduction Mechanism and Design of Metal–Organic Framework Based Quasi-Solid-State Electrolytes

This cover image demonstrates the critical role of the solvent in the ion motion of intrinsically anionic metal–organic framework (MOF)–based quasi-solid-state electrolytes (QSSEs). Using hybrid theoretical and experimental approaches, we have identified solvent-assisted hopping as the dominant pathway for Li+ conduction in such materials, exemplified by MOF-688. Read more »