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Updates & Announcements

Apply by April 30 for ALS Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowships

Applications for the next round of ALS Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowships are due April 30 for start dates this fall. Fellows spend a year in residence at the ALS conducting research and instrumentation development in collaboration with their home institution. Updated application instructions will be posted by April 6. Read more »

February 2026 Message from the UEC Chair

Welcome from the 2026 ALS Users’ Executive Committee (UEC)! As the group dedicated to representing the voice of the ALS user community, our primary role is to bridge the gap between your scientific needs and the operational realities of ALS management. Read more for the outlook on the year and be sure to suggest user meeting speakers and workshops. Read more »

2026 Bay Area Light Sources Joint Users’ Meeting

The ALS will join forces with SSRL and LCLS for a Joint Users’ Meeting at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, September 20–25. We invite the community to shape the program by nominating plenary speakers and proposing tutorials and workshops. We especially encourage ideas for joint workshops involving ALS, LCLS, and SSRL—whether spanning all three facilities or a collaboration between two. The deadline for proposals is March 13. Read more »

Director’s Message for January 2026

Interim ALS Director Andreas Scholl gives a preview of what we can expect in 2026 and beyond. From ALS upgrade progress to enhanced collaboration, we are taking essential steps toward maintaining and advancing our leadership in x-ray science. Read more »

Call for 2025 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). To maintain accurate records and assess the productivity and scientific achievements of our beamlines, please report your ALS publications, especially those published in 2025. Read more »

No Proposal Call This March for August–December 2026

Because the ALS will not offer user beamtime in the second half of 2026, we are not issuing a call for new General User proposals or beamtime requests this March. Please note that RAPIDD access proposals may be submitted at any time. We also anticipate offering a few months of user beamtime in the first half of 2027. Read more »

New UEC Members for 2026

Welcome to new 2026 members Alex Ditter, Brandy Stewart, Baran Eren, Harry Lisabeth, and Simruthi Subramanian! Special thanks to the outgoing members, Quentin Williams, Sophie Morley, Tamas Varga, Leonid Sheps, Aidan Coffey, and Alexander Baker for their service. Read more »

Director’s Message on Beamlines

As we are preparing for a transformative upgrade of the ALS, we are also reviewing our beamline portfolio to ready it for our operation after the dark time. To make space for new scientific developments, we have made the difficult decision to not reopen several beamlines and endstations. We have held a series of user forums and look forward to continued engagement with our community for new developments and opportunities. Read more »

January–July 2026 Operating Schedule Announced

The operating schedule for the 2026-1 cycle (January-July 2026) has been posted. The next shutdown will begin in January 2026 and will last approximately four weeks. Afterwards, we will have five months of user beamtime through early July, and then we will shut down for the second half of 2026 for the replacement of the switch station through which all power for the ALS accelerator comes. The most up-to-date information on the current schedule and future outlook can always be found on the Operating Schedule web page. Read more »