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Will Chueh, Assistant Professor and UEC Chair

For more than 10 years, Will Chueh has been an ALS user. He started coming to the ALS as a grad student using one technique, and now, as an assistant professor at Stanford University, his group uses multiple techniques and multiple user facilities to better understand energy storage materials. Read more »

Meet Leda: Mother of Light

In Greek mythology, Leda is a Spartan queen and mother of the twins Castor and Pollux. In reference to the myth, Leda is also the name of the ALS’s recently delivered insertion device—an in-vacuum undulator. For the next eight months, Leda is taking up residence in the Building 15 high bay, awaiting installation during the January 2019 shutdown. Read more »

Scientists Use Machine Learning to Span Scales in Shale

Machine-learning techniques have been used to integrate fine- and large-scale infrared characterizations of shale—sedimentary rocks composed of minerals and organic matter. Understanding shale chemistry at both the nano and mesoscale is relevant to energy production, climate-change mitigation, and sustainable water and land use. Read more »

Rational Optimization of Organic Solar-Cell Materials

Researchers have established a new quantitative model that connects molecular interactions in organic solar-cell materials to device performance. The work suggests a way to quickly identify ideal material mixtures and processing methods, bypassing trial-and-error strategies and minimizing labor-intensive synthesis. Read more »PPT-icon-35 PDF-icon-35

Respiratory Virus Study Points to Likely Vaccine Target

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes serious respiratory disease in infants and older adults, but no vaccine is yet available. Researchers have now determined the molecular structures of human antibodies bound to an RSV surface protein, providing a promising route for designing a vaccine effective against a broad range of RSV strains. Read more »PPT-icon-35 PDF-icon-35

U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry Visits the ALS

Secretary Perry visited the ALS and other locations at Berkeley Lab on March 27. Guided by ALS Interim Director Steve Kevan and Berkeley Lab Director Mike Witherell, he talked with users and staff about microtomography work on ceramic-matrix composites, battery research using STXM, and the Center for X-Ray Optics’ EUV lithography work. See photographs from the tour. Read more »

ALS Hosts “Five-Way” Meeting of DOE Light Sources

On April 23, the ALS hosted a meeting of the five DOE-funded light sources (ALS, SSRL, LCLS, APS, and NSLS-II). These “five-way” meetings, held biannually, bring together representatives from each facility to discuss common interests and issues. Topics of discussion included open data policies, business software, optics and detector development, workforce and career development, and diversity. Read more »

Share Your Photos to Celebrate the International Day of Light

Lightsources.org, an international collaboration of light sources, is participating in the International Day of Light (May 16) with a photo wall on its website. Users of any of the member facilities, including the ALS, are invited to share a picture of their work, research, or day-to-day life in science on the theme of “light in science.” Read more »

ALS Doctoral Fellowship Applications Due June 30

ALS Doctoral Fellowships in Residence allow early-career researchers to spend a year at the ALS working at the frontier of synchrotron radiation research and helping advance state-of-the-art techniques and applications. Applications will be accepted from June 1–June 30. Read more »