A small amount of compressive strain turns a nonmetallic form of tin into a 3D topological Dirac semimetal—a kind of “supermetal” with very high electron mobility. With its rich topological phase diagram, the material shows promise for both novel physics and eventual device applications. Read more »
ALSNews Vol. 383
May 31, 2017
APXPS Finds Carbonate Reversal at Liquid Interfaces
Aqueous carbonate systems are central to many processes essential to life, from the blood buffer system to the global carbon cycle. Using APXPS, researchers probed the concentration of carbonates near an interface, finding a surprising reversal in the expected abundances as a function of depth. Read more »
A Hollow Pyramid Unlocks Principles of Protein Architecture
Researchers have designed a hollow, pyramid-shaped protein with a controllable cavity size that could be useful in the capture and release of smaller compounds. The tools and techniques developed could be useful in analyzing and optimizing designed protein assemblies and understanding their behavior in solution. Read more »
A Closer Look at a Working Platinum/Electrolyte Interface
Ambient-pressure studies of the interface between a platinum electrode and an alkaline electrolyte revealed the molecular-level chemistry, structure, and dynamics of the platinum surface as a function of applied potential, highlighting differences between thermodynamic predictions and the actual surface composition. Read more »
Bacterial Symbiont Sequesters Arsenic and Barium in Sponges
Researchers used x-ray fluorescence, spectroscopy, and diffraction to study how populations of symbiotic bacteria can act as a detox organ in a host with no organs. The bacteria, members of the species Entotheonella, accumulate and mineralize large quantities of arsenic and barium in sponges. Read more »
Monika Blum, Assistant Research Professor and UEC Chair
Moni Blum has been coming to the ALS since she was a young graduate student. She’s now an assistant research professor at UNLV in Clemens Heske’s group and oversees their synchrotron activities at the ALS. The group uses ALS Beamlines 8.3.2 and 9.3.1 to study materials for energy conversion. Blum also serves as chair of the UEC. Read more »
2017 ALS User Meeting Award Nominations Due July 14
Nominations for the 2017 ALS User Meeting awards will open soon and are due on July 14. Consider preparing a nomination for a deserving colleague or group of individuals for one of the three awards. In addition to the award plaque, there will be a cash prize associated with each award. Read more »
ALS Doctoral Fellowship Applications Due June 30
ALS Doctoral Fellowships allow early-career researchers to spend a year in residence at Berkeley Lab working at the frontier of synchrotron radiation research and helping advance state-of-the-art techniques and applications. Starting in 2017, a new fellowship track has been created to leverage the complementary capabilities of the ALS and Molecular Foundry. Applications are due June 30. Read more »
New Open Access Requirements
To comply with DOE’s Public Access Plan, Berkeley Lab must ensure that open-access versions of publications co-authored by Lab employees are included in DOE’s open-access system. If you co-author work with a Lab scientist, please note that the scientist may ask you for an open-access version of the manuscript. We request that you cooperate with our scientists in a timely fashion and provide manuscripts to satisfy this DOE requirement when asked. Read more »
ALS in the News (May 2017)
- How x-rays helped to solve mystery of floating rocks
- Sequencing of green alga genome provides blueprint to advance clean energy, bioproducts
- Artificial photosynthesis moves on from water splitting to CO2 reduction [Francesca Toma]
- Stanford scientists use nanotechnology to boost the performance of a key industrial catalyst
- Insight into enzyme’s 3D structure could cut biofuel costs
- Pioneering SESAME light source officially opened
- Jeff Neaton selected as Energy Sciences Associate Laboratory Director
- New Geophysics Department Head: Jonathan Ajo-Franklin
- MSD hosts workshop on ‘New Scientific Directions with Ultrafast Electrons’
- Designing cyclic oligomers: Greater than the sum of their parts
- MSD’s Rob Ritchie elected as Fellow of the Royal Society
- Trash into treasure: Sandia could help biofuel pay for itself with goods made from waste
- An explorer in the world of science [Shuyun Zhou]
- MRS Spring 2017 Gold Medal awarded to Qiyang Lu [for work done in part at ALS]