Contact: Will Chueh, UEC Chair
One of the main goals of the Users’ Executive Committee (UEC) this year was to act on the feedback received from participants in last year’s User Meeting. This year’s meeting chairs, Jennifer Ciezak-Jenkins, Alex Frañó, and Michael Jacobs, and the rest of the UEC worked hard to enhance the annual event, which coincided with the 25th anniversary of first light. ALS staff provided valuable input throughout the planning process, and many organized workshops and tutorials.
The overarching goal this year was to strengthen interactions among the user community and ALS staff while engaging the next generation of student and young scientist users. The expansion of workshops and tutorials to two full days enabled deeper interactions between participants. In particular, we were blown away by the overwhelming interests in the inaugural “Light Sources 101” tutorial organized by Monika Blum and Fanny Rodolakis; over 80 students, postdocs, and young scientists participated. We would like to thank the meeting sponsors and the Lab for providing more than 40 student registration waivers.
The UEC is grateful for contributions from Noah Schwartz, Susan Bailey, Ashley White, Cindy Lee, and colleagues from the User Services Office and the Communications Office. We are looking forward to another fun meeting in 2019!
The success of the UEC depends on active user participation. Therefore, please help us elect new UEC members by voting during the first and second weeks of November. Be on the lookout for email instructions on how to vote.
Finally, remember, the UEC represents your interests in many matters related to the ALS and the ALS Upgrade project (ALS-U). Please contact any of the UEC members if you have suggestions, comments, or questions!