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Updates & Announcements

March 5, 2025, Deadline for General User Proposals—Updated Proposal Writing Guidelines!

The User Office is accepting new General User Proposals (GUPs) from scientists who wish to conduct research at the ALS in the 2025-2 (August–December) cycle. The deadline for submissions is March 5, 2025. Please review the updated proposal guidelines, with thanks to feedback from proposal submitters and reviewers. Additional beamtime cycles will be run before the ALS-U dark time, and we will share more information as it becomes available. Read more »

Updated Chemical Safety Policy 2025

A new lab-wide chemical safety policy requires that all chemicals be reviewed and approved before they arrive at LBNL. As a user of the ALS, you must provide a complete list of chemicals you want to send or bring to the ALS and wait until you receive approval before you proceed. Chemicals that arrive without approval may be returned to the sender. For details on what is considered a chemical under this policy and instructions for obtaining approval, please see the ALS chemical safety webpage. Read more »

Hendrik Ohldag Elected Fellow of IEEE

Hendrik Ohldag has been elected as a 2025 fellow of IEEE (originally chartered as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). The Board of Directors recognizes him “for contributions to studies of magnetic materials with novel x-ray techniques at high spatio-temporal resolution.”

January-July 2025 Operating Schedule Announced

The operating schedule for the 2025-1 cycle (January-July 2025) has been posted. The next long shutdown will begin in January 2025 and is expected to last 11 weeks. 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 »

ALS Establishes Code of Conduct

The ALS stands committed to fostering a safe, inclusive, and professional environment that upholds its core values, supporting scientific discovery and discourse. In November, we adopted a Code of Conduct to ensure these principles are upheld for all ALS community members. Read more »

Vote for New UEC Members: Term Starting in 2025

The Advanced Light Source Users’ Executive Committee (UEC) invites you to vote in the election of five new UEC members: four regular members and one student member. The elected members will begin their terms on January 1, 2025, with regular members serving three years and the student member serving two years. Voting deadline: Wednesday, December 4, by 11:59 p.m. PST. Read more »

The ALS Releases New Version of Strategic Plan

The Advanced Light Source’s five-year strategic plan is now available, presenting our vision to be a premier synchrotron facility through team innovation and advanced technologies. Developed collaboratively with staff, partners, and users, the plan charts our course to deliver world-class capabilities with ALS-U and beyond, building on 2023 User Meeting science visioning workshops. Read more »

In Memoriam: Terry McAfee, Senior Scientific Engineering Associate

The ALS community is saddened to lose Terry McAfee, who was a caring and hardworking presence since he started coming to the facility as a graduate student. From ALS user to full-time staff, he always strove to create a welcoming environment. We will remember his passion for STEM and his love for his family. Read more »

David Shapiro Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society

David Shapiro has been elected as a 2024 Fellow of the American Physical Society. The Council of Representatives recognizes him “for pioneering work in the development of the lensless diffractive imaging method, x-ray ptychography, and the scientific use of this imaging technique for important energy, chemical, materials, magnetic, physics, and biological uses.”