The ALS has updated its User Experiment Safety Process. The main change that will affect users is a new requirement to complete an Experiment Safety Sheet (ESS) for each visit and for each beamline. This is a change from current procedure where an ESS can be valid for up to one year and may cover more than one beamline. Read more »
Updates & Announcements
ALS Postdoc Recognized for Outstanding Thesis
Søren Ulstrup, an ALS postdoc who received his Ph.D. from Aarhus University in Denmark last year, was selected by the Aarhus University Research Foundation as one of five promising young scientists to receive its prize for outstanding doctoral thesis. Watch a video of Søren describing his thesis, “A Direct Study of the Electronic Structure of Graphene.” Read more »
Moore Foundation Funds ALS Researchers for Promising New Technique for Studying Materials
A novel x-ray scattering concept by researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s (Berkeley Lab) Advanced Light Source (ALS) is receiving support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation in the amount of $2.4 million. The grant was awarded in April by the foundation. The lead investigator on the effort will be ALS Division Deputy Zahid Hussain with ALS Director Roger Falcone acting as co-PI on the project. Read more »
Notification of General User Proposal and Approved Program Results
The Proposal Study Panel (PSP) met April 23–24 to oversee and finalize the scoring of General User Proposals for the 2015-2 operating cycle, and to make recommendations to the ALS Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) on Approved Program applications. Allocation meetings for each beamline will take place in May. Read more »
2015 ALS Shutdown
The upcoming long-term operating schedule has been published and users will note that it includes an extended shutdown period (October 26, 2015-January 13, 2016) for the ALS. The lengthy shutdown is in part because it spans the Thanksgiving and Holiday shutdown periods, as well as being indicative of the amount of time required to implement major upgrades. The main project for this shutdown is the completion of the final phase of the Storage Ring Radio Frequency (SRRF) Upgrade. Read more »
2015 General User Proposals: Timeline for March 4 Submissions
The User Office received 279 new General User Proposals (GUPs) and 421 Beam Time Requests (BTRs) for the 2015-2 running cycle. The User Office has processed all the proposals. Users submitting new proposals should have received an email inviting them to log in to ALSHub to review the proposal PDF that will be sent to reviewers. Read more »
March 2015 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 July-December 2015 cycle. The proposal submission deadline is Wednesday, March 4. Users need to log in to ALSHub to submit a new GUP or to make a beam time request (BTR) for an existing active proposal. Read more about GUPs, how to apply for beamtime, maintaining an active proposal, and RAPIDD access proposals. Read more »
ALS Director’s Update: Reflections on our Past, Present, and Future
We are looking forward to an exciting and productive year at the ALS, with plans for new beamlines and capabilities coming online, and more users taking advantage of our technical and scientific expertise to produce a record number publications. At the ALS, we are encouraged by this year’s funding and are looking for new ways to focus on our core strengths while expanding partnerships to explore new opportunities. Read more »
ALS Workshop Highlights Diffraction-Limited Storage Ring Opportunities
On October 1-3, 2014, the ALS hosted a workshop on Soft X-Ray Science Opportunities Using Diffraction-Limited Storage Rings. The workshop charge was to elaborate transformational research opportunities that would be enabled by emerging storage-ring-based ultrahigh brightness. Read more »
Reminiscences of Bob Miller
Bob Miller passed away in October after a brief illness. He was a well-loved member of the ALS community, and even after his retirement in 2000, he was always around for advice and social events. He was well known for his love of the outdoors and for his passion for remote-controlled planes and boats. Memories fromRead More Read more »