From the Director: Launching a Search for ALDs
As I announced in February, SLAC will launch a formal worldwide search for new associate laboratory directors for our primary user facilities, the Linac Coherent Light Source and Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource.
As I announced in February, SLAC will launch a formal worldwide search for new associate laboratory directors for our primary user facilities, the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) and Stanford Sy
New SLAC Science Support Building Will House Offices, Labs
Building 56, the Science Support Building, is scheduled to start construction this fall. It will provide modern, flexible lab space for SLAC researchers that can be adapted to the lab's changing research needs.
A new 12,000-square-foot lab and office building will soon take shape at SLAC.
SLAC Public Lecture: A Blueprint for New Fuel Cell Catalysts
From the Acting Director of SSRL: To 500 mA and Beyond
Two weeks ago, the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource at SLAC began routinely delivering its full current of 500 milliaperes, providing faster and higher resolution data to the researchers using our facility.
I’m writing this column as acting associate lab director for SLAC’s Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource Directorate, a role I stepped into in November, when then-ALD Chi-Chang Ka
Acronym of the Week: PDF
Computer users may recognize "PDF" as Adobe's “portable document format” that enables users of different computer systems to share documents. But long before the advent of computers, those letters were familiar to scientists studying the crystal structures of solid materials.
Computer users may recognize PDF as Adobe's “portable document format” that enables users of different computer systems to share documents. But long befo
Crystallography Award for Grad Student Examining Fuel-Cell Surfaces
Stanford graduate student Yezhou Shi has received a $2,500 award for the pioneering research he will conduct at SLAC’s Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource to see how changes in atomic-scale surface structure affect the performance of fuel cell catalysts.
Stanford University graduate student Yezhou Shi has received a $2,500 award for the pioneering research he will conduct at SLAC’s Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) to see how
From the Director of LCLS: Thank You
Last week I announced I will step down from my role as ALD at the end of April to return full time to my passion: science. In this, my last column as an ALD, I want to tell you how much I owe this incredible laboratory.
Last week I announced that after 13 years in SLAC management – four as director for the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), four as director for the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource
Enzyme Created in Test Tube Displays New Structure, Function
Five years ago, a pair of researchers created an artificial enzyme capable of joining two segments of RNA. Now, a study partially conducted at SLAC’s Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource reveals their enzyme as the first artificial protein with a new function and a brand-new, essentially “primordial” structure.
Five years ago, a pair of researchers used a clever update on a technique called in vitro evolution – evolution in a test tube – to turn an ordinary protein into an artificial
From the Director of the Accelerator Directorate: Happy Holidays
As the year comes to an end, it is nice to reflect back on our achievements and make a wish list of things to accomplish in the New Year.
As the year comes to an end, it is nice to reflect back on our achievements and make a wish list of things to accomplish in the New Year.
First some of the major achievements:
SSRL Users Have It Made in the Shade
Completion of a multi-year project to ensure steadier electron beams and software and hardware upgrades at several beamlines promise a productive run at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource.
Two major multi-year projects reached successful conclusions during the annual shutdown of the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource.
From the Director: Interim Leadership for SSRL and Photon Science
Yesterday, I began my new role as SLAC Director, and the first thing I want to do is to address the vacancies left by my appointment. These include the roles of associate laboratory director for the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, acting ALD for Photon Science and acting director of Photon Science’s Chemical Science Division.
Yesterday, I began my new role as SLAC Director, picking up where Norbert Holtkamp capably left off after his short time as interim laboratory director.
From the Incoming Director: Looking Forward
Two days ago, I had the great privilege of being named SLAC’s fifth director by Stanford President John Hennessy. It is a tremendous honor to be asked to lead such an incredible laboratory, and to follow in the footsteps of such an exemplary predecessor as Persis Drell.
Two days ago, I had the great privilege of being named SLAC’s fifth director by Stanford President John Hennessy.
Word of the Week: Agonist
Users' Meeting and Workshops Draw Hundreds to SLAC
Three hundred participants learned about the latest scientific capabilities at two of SLAC’s premier experimental facilities during the 2012 LCLS/SSRL Users' Meeting and Workshops. One highlight: presentation of the Lytle Award to SLAC’s Clyde Smith.
Three hundred participants learned about the latest scientific capabilities at two of SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory's premier experimental facilities for visiting researchers – the
Synchrotrons Play Role in Nobel Prize Research
Synchrotrons played a key role in the research that won Brian Kobilka of the Stanford School of Medicine the 2012 Nobel Prize in chemistry. Although the research was conducted mostly at Argonne National Laboratory, early work to develop the necessary techniques took place at SLAC.
Synchrotrons played a key role in the research that won Brian Kobilka, a professor and chair of Molecular and Cellular Physiology at the Stanford School of Medicine, the
Stanford's Brian Kobilka Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Breaking news: Brian Kobilka, MD, professor and chair of molecular and cellular physiology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, has won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on G-protein-coupled receptors. Kobika also conducts user research at SLAC's Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource.
by Krista Conger
SLAC Hosts Light Source Symposium to Honor Herman Winick
More than 120 people from all over the world came to "Instruments of Discovery – Past and Future of Synchrotron Light Sources," a day-long symposium in honor of SLAC stalwart Herman Winick.
More than 120 people came from all over the world – family, friends, co-workers past and present – but in truth, everyone was family at "Instruments of Discovery – Past and F
Word of the Week: Frustration
Frustration with traffic, frustration with work, frustration with family – we've all felt the slow burn for one reason or another. The word has even been adopted by condensed-matter physicists to describe certain phenomena present in some crystal structures.
Frustration is such a human word. Frustration with traffic, frustration with work, frustration with family – we've all felt the slow burn for one reason or another.
