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The ALS-U Project Progresses with New Director

The Advanced Light Source Upgrade (ALS-U) project has received approval for a revised cost and schedule, targeting completion by late 2029. Greg Hays joins the team to steer the historic modernization project, which will increase soft X-ray brightness a hundredfold and enable AI-driven research in materials science, quantum computing, biology, and more. Read more »

Director’s Message on Beamtime in 2027

The ALS-U project plan has now been updated, and we have revised our proposal calls leading up to the dark time. Dark time remains on track to start no earlier than October 2027 (~22 months). With substantial user beamtime anticipated in 2027, we’ve added a new proposal call due September 2, 2026. Learn more about the details and contact alsproposals@lbl.gov with questions. Read more »

How Wildfires Transform Soil Chemistry

X-ray microscopy tools at the ALS and SSRL mapped the chemical changes inside wildfire ash particles, revealing that pyrogenic iron and manganese gradually disappeared as the soil recovered. These findings shed light on how wildfires drive transient mineral formation that impacts micronutrient cycling and soil resilience, with implications for landscape recovery strategies. Read more »PPT-icon-35

2026 Winter Shutdown Recap

The 2026 winter shutdown started on January 2, and the ALS returned to user operations on Tuesday, February 3. It was the shortest shutdown the ALS has had since 2018; as a result, the current user run will be the longest one since 2018. One big accomplishment of the recent shutdown was the installation of the “golden bellows” connecting the accumulator ring vacuum with the rest of the ALS vacuum system. 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 »

Changes to Proposals for January–July 2026

The ALS-U project is evaluating a potential schedule shift, including a shutdown for dark time starting summer 2026. Since an earlier dark time is possible, our goal is to ensure active proposals receive needed beamtime and make beamtime requests accessible when possible. Learn more about the September proposal cycle changes. For any questions, contact alsproposals@lbl.gov.  Read more »

ALS-United: Steve Rossi, Daniela Leitner, and Andrew Netto

ALS-United is an opportunity to meet the people collaborating at the Advanced Light Source and the ALS Upgrade Project. Hear firsthand how team science enables the cutting-edge research of today and builds the facility of the future. This month, we speak with Steve Rossi (ALS Deputy for Business Operations), Andrew Netto (ALS-U Deputy for Operations), and Daniela Leitner (Engineering Division Director). Read more »

2025 ALS-United New Year’s Message

Interim ALS Director, Andreas Scholl and Interim ALS-U Project Director Dimitri Argyriou usher in 2025 with a message for you on the ALS-U project and the priorities for the new year. Watch their conversation or access the full transcript. Read more »

ALS Statement on ALS-U Project Update

The ALS-U project recently made an extensive update to its project plan, resulting in a shift in the start of the one-year dark time from October 1, 2025, to June 22, 2026. The updated project schedule will allow the ALS to deliver more beamtime to users before the start of the dark time and further reduces the possibility that the ALS dark time will overlap with the APS’s ramp-up to full operations following their upgrade, currently in progress. Read more »