Interim ALS Director Andreas Scholl gives a preview of what we can expect in 2026 and beyond. From ALS upgrade progress to enhanced collaboration, we are taking essential steps toward maintaining and advancing our leadership in x-ray science. Read more »
ALS News Vol. 476
January, 28, 2026
Thin-Film Coating Boosts X-Ray Instrument Performance
Optimized thin films doubled the efficiency of gratings in x-ray experiments at the ALS. The atoms-thick copper and gold layers let the grooved surfaces deliver energy that had previously been lost to absorption in the diffraction gratings, which are key elements in x-ray spectroscopy. Read more »
AI Delivers Rapid, Precise Design of Tumor-Targeting Protein
A new protein designed using AI can precisely recognize a key therapeutic target for cancer. X-ray crystallography data collected at the ALS confirmed the new protein’s specificity for its target, demonstrating a configurable and scalable approach to cancer therapy. Read more »
Altermagnetism All the Way Down
Altermagnets are an emerging class of magnetic materials that offer the potential for energy-efficient, high-density memory chips. Researchers at Penn State, UC Santa Barbara, and the ALS demonstrated that characteristic altermagnetic band splitting in chromium antimonide is evident in thin films relevant for real-world device application. Read more »
The Goldilocks of Ethylene Purification
Researchers engineered defects in boron nitride to develop a metal-free route for purifying ethylene to remove acetylene. The ALS shed light on how the engineered defects were responsible for exceptional selectivity. Read more »
Berkeley Lab Hosts Agentic AI for User Facilities Workshop
Berkeley Lab hosted a workshop on Agentic AI for User Facilities with about 100 registered participants from user facilities across the US national lab complex and European light sources. The two main goals of the workshop were to identify cross-facility patterns, gaps, and design principles for agentic AI at DOE user facilities, and ground agentic AI in domain realities and identify domain-specific constraints, opportunities, and readiness. Read more »
Shan Wu, 2026 Users’ Executive Committee Chair
Shan Wu first came to the ALS as a postdoc at UC Berkeley/Berkeley Lab. Working on quantum phenomena as an assistant professor at Santa Clara University, she uses the ALS as well as other user facilities. She treasures the connections at the ALS which inspired her to join the UEC. Read more »
No Proposal Call This March for August–December 2026
Because the ALS will not offer user beamtime in the second half of 2026, we are not issuing a call for new General User proposals or beamtime requests this March. Please note that RAPIDD access proposals may be submitted at any time. We also anticipate offering a few months of user beamtime in the first half of 2027. Read more »
Call for 2025 Publications
All publications resulting from work done in whole or in part at the ALS must be recorded by the User Office for the Department of Energy (DOE). To maintain accurate records and assess the productivity and scientific achievements of our beamlines, please report your ALS publications, especially those published in 2025. Read more »
New UEC Members for 2026
Welcome to new 2026 members Alex Ditter, Brandy Stewart, Baran Eren, Harry Lisabeth, and Simruthi Subramanian! Special thanks to the outgoing members, Quentin Williams, Sophie Morley, Tamas Varga, Leonid Sheps, Aidan Coffey, and Alexander Baker for their service. Read more »