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Jeremy Coyne, Senior Business Manager

After 18 years working in various divisions at Berkeley Lab, Jeremy Coyne recently returned to the ALS, where his Lab career first started. Jeremy has taken on the role of senior business manager at the ALS, overseeing and managing the ALS Business Support Team and the division’s entire financial portfolio. Read more »

Surpassing 10% Efficiency Benchmark for Nonfullerene Organic Solar Cells by Scalable Coating in Air from Single Nonhalogenated Solvent

Realizing over 10% efficiency in printed organic solar cells via scalable materials and less toxic solvents remains a grand challenge. In this article, Harald Ade and co‐workers report chlorine‐free, in‐air blade‐coating of a new photoactive combination, FTAZ:IT‐M, which is able to yield an efficiency of nearly 11%, despite a high humidity of ≈50%. Read more »

Tuning Magnetic Frustration in a Dipolar Trident Lattice

Researchers designed and fabricated a nanomagnet array in which competing (“frustrated”) magnetic interactions can be directly tuned. Frustrated interactions are key to a wide range of phenomena, from protein folding and magnetic memory to fundamental studies of emergent exotic states. Read more »PPT-icon-35 PDF-icon-35

The Microstructure of a Parrotfish Tooth Contributes to Its Toughness

Parrotfish chew on coral, producing hundreds of pounds of sand each year. Mapping the microstructure of parrotfish teeth, scientists found bundles of crystals interwoven like chain mail. The results provide a blueprint for creating ultra-durable materials for mechanical components that undergo repetitive contact, movement, and abrasion. Read more »

User Forum Series on the ALS Upgrade

On January 22, the third in a series of online ALS user forums was held on the Advanced Light Source Upgrade (ALS-U) project. Presentations included an overview of the project, an update on the ALS-U beamline selection process, and ideas for the future of soft matter research at the ALS. The next forum will be held Thursday, March 1, at 10 a.m. PT. Read more »

New Small-Molecule Crystallography Beamline Achieves First Light

Beamline 12.2.1, the successor to Beamline 11.3.1, achieved first light on December 21, 2017. This new small-molecule crystallography beamline, which will take over the scientific program of 11.3.1, features a number of improvements that will significantly expand the capabilities available to users. Read more »

March 2018 Call for General User Proposals

The User Office is accepting new General User Proposals (GUPs) from scientists who wish to conduct research at the ALS in the 2018-2 (August–December) cycle. The deadline for submissions is March 7, 2018. Applicants are reminded that they may request joint access to the Molecular Foundry, a nanoscience user facility at Berkeley Lab, to support their ALS activities. Read more »

New Year’s Message from Interim Director Steve Kevan

I am delighted to serve as interim ALS division director in the wake of Roger Falcone’s departure. I want first to thank Roger for his wonderful leadership. Over my 35 years of service, it has been exhilarating to see the ALS develop into a powerhouse facility that has attracted an exceptional staff and user community, and I look forward to working with staff and users on all ALS and ALS-U activities. Read more »

Save the Date: 2018 ALS User Meeting to be Held October 2–4

This year’s ALS User Meeting, which celebrates 25 years of light at the ALS, will feature special keynotes focused on the ALS’s past, present, and future. UEC members Jennifer Ciezak-Jenkins, Alex Frañó, and Michael Jacobs are also revamping the format to include a new “tutorial day” featuring introductory and advanced sessions. Stay tuned for more details! Read more »

X-Ray Experiments Suggest High Tunability of 2D Material

Using the new MAESTRO platform at the ALS, scientists found that the exotic behavior of electrons in the 2D semiconductor, WS2, may be highly tunable, with possible applications for electronics and other forms of information storage, processing, and transfer. Read more »