The report from the January 2017 workshop, “Solving Scientific Challenges with Coherent Soft X-Rays,” is now available for download. The report details scientific challenges that ALS-U will address early on and identifies the instruments and tools essential for taking full advantage of ALS-U’s capabilities. Read more »
Users Highlight Light Source Impacts in Capitol Hill Briefing
A panel of light source users participated in a briefing for Capitol Hill staff highlighting the critical role DOE x-ray light source user facilities play in advancing new technologies, the challenges posed by increasing international competition from Europe and Asia, and how next-generation upgrades to these facilities will open new scientific frontiers. Read more »
2017 ALS Shutdown Recap
The last few months were quieter than usual for ALS users but not for staff tasked with maintaining and improving the ALS. The recent ALS shutdown was one of the longest on record, spanning almost three months. Those involved say it was also one of the most successful, with everything on the to-do list crossed off. The work accomplished paves the way for new beamlines, better water-cooling capacity, and ALS-U. Read more »
Workshop Focuses on the Unique Science Enabled by ALS-U
Visiting scientists met Jan. 18-20 at Berkeley Lab for a workshop that collected input on the range of new science that will be enabled by the planned upgrade of the Lab’s Advanced Light Source. The upgrade project, known as ALS-U, will boost the brightness, focus, and other properties of the light beams produced at the ALS. Read more »
ALS-U Takes Center Stage at User Meeting
The ALS upgrade project (ALS-U) was a focus of this year’s User Meeting, beginning with Laboratory Director Mike Witherell’s announcement that ALS-U has received mission need approval, the first critical milestone in the DOE approval process. Several talks and workshops focused on the engineering aspects of the upgrade and science opportunities it will enable. Read more »
David Robin Named ALS-U Project Director; Fernando Sannibale Becomes ALS Division Deputy for Accelerator Operations and Development
David Robin of the Accelerator Technology and Applied Physics Division (ATAP) has been named project director of the Advanced Light Source Upgrade (ALS-U). Fernando Sannibale, presently the principal investigator of the Advanced Photoinjector Experiment at LBNL, will take Robin’s place as leader of the ongoing ALS Accelerator Physics program in ATAP and will also serve as the ALS Division Deputy for Accelerator Operations and Development. Read more »
ALS-U Receives DOE Mission-Need Approval
On September 27, the ALS received news that the Department of Energy (DOE) has approved the mission need (also known as critical decision zero, or CD-0) for the ALS Upgrade (ALS-U). Read more »
Transformational X-Ray Project Takes a Step Forward
DOE has confirmed the need for a unique source of X-ray light that would produce beams up to 1,000 times brighter than are now possible at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source, enabling new explorations of chemical reactions, battery performance, biological processes and exotic materials. Read more »
ALS-U Update: BESAC Announces Results of Facility Upgrade Prioritization
On Thursday, June 9, DOE’s Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (BESAC) released the recommendations of the BES Facility Upgrade Prioritization Subcommittee. I’m pleased to announce that the subcommittee considers ALS-U “absolutely central” to contribute to world leading science and “ready to initiate construction”–the highest possible ratings. Read more »