Workshops

Saturday - Sunday October 15 & 16, 2005

Advances in X-ray Scattering/Diffraction Studies on Non-Crystalline Biological Systems

Chair: Hiro Tsuruta (SSRL) tsuruta@slac.stanford.edu
Admin Contact: Frances Liu
Location: Bldg. 48 Redwood Rooms A/B

The significance of non-crystalline diffraction techniques has been rediscovered in recent years by an increasing number of structural biologists to complement higher resolution structures by crystallography, NMR and cryo-EM. The latest advances in X-ray solution scattering, fiber and membrane diffraction studies on biological systems will be reported by several experts in a diverse spectrum of structural biology benefiting from non-crystalline diffraction studies. The workshop will include demonstrations of several computer programs for processing solution x-ray scattering and interpreting low-resolution structures. The participants will also receive updates on current and future developments at SSRL BL4-2, the dedicated small angle scattering/diffraction facility for structural biology, funded by NIH NCRR and DOE OBER.

Program details : workshop-biosaxs.php

Tuesday - Wednesday : Oct. 18th 3-5 pm & Oct. 19th 8am-5pm

Soft X-Ray Science at LCLS

Chairs: Jan Lüning, Anders Nilsson, Jo Stöhr
Admin Contact: Michelle Montalvo
Location: SLAC ROB Bldg. 48, Redwood Conference Rooms C/D

This workshop is aimed at the formation of a user community with a common interest in ultrafast and ultrabright soft x-ray pulses from a free electron laser like LCLS. The workshop will bring together scientists interested in developing new techniques and tools tailored for experiments relying on ultrafast soft x-ray laser pulses with scientists interested in utilizing the unique properties of such soft x-ray pulses for their research. The workshop will start with a series of invited talks that will give an overview about soft x-ray laser sources and techniques currently available or under development as well as about first performed and currently planned or envisioned experiments utilizing soft x-ray laser pulses. In order to provide an environment for intense discussion, all participants are encouraged to contribute to the workshop. To contribute to the workshop, please send a title to luning@slac.stanford.edu and let us know how much time you would like to have reserved for you contribution. In addition to contributed talks there will also be time reserved for ‘walk-in’ presentations.

Program details: workshop-softxray.php

Wednesday October 19, 2005

The Role of Small-Angle X-ray Scattering in Materials Science

Chairs: M. Toney, J. Pople
Admin Contact: Jackie Robleto
Wed. Oct. 19th 9am - 5pm   
Location: SLAC Bldg. 40, Orange Conference Room

This will be a hands on workshop with intent to demonstrate the burgeoning applicability of small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) resulting from the expansion of research and development on the nanoscale. The day will begin with presentations, briefly showing the techniques involved in SAXS in Materials Science and more closely focusing on current experimental data at the forefront of research which demonstrate the power of SAXS capabilities. The presentations will be semi-formal, with questions and discussion encouraged. Attendees will then move onto the beamline floor to gain hands-on control of configuring the SAXS beamlines (Beamlines 1-4 and 4-2 will be utilized for this purpose) and collecting and analyzing data. New software recently developed for data analysis with be demonstrated. This practical aspect of the workshop will highlight both the techniques involved in SAXS data collection, reduction and analysis as well as identifying the limitations of existing beamline facilities. A final presentation will outline suggestions for a new Materials Science beamline at SSRL which can overcome those limitations and advance the capabilities that SSRL is can provide to the Materials Science community.
Program details: workshop-matsaxs.php

Wednesday Oct. 19th 11:30 am - 6 pm

Remote Access for Macromolecular Crystallography Beam Lines

Chairs: Ana Gonzalez, Mike Soltis;
Admin Contacts: Lisa Dunn, Amanda Prado
Location: SLAC ROB Bldg. 48, Redwood Conference Rooms A/B

SSRL now provides remote access tools that allow experimenters to screen macromolecular protein samples and collect crystallographic data from remote locations, anywhere in the world. The system makes use of high capacity sample cassettes and robotic mounting systems implemented on the macromolecular crystallography beam lines.

At this remote access workshop, participants will learn about remote experimentation as well as specific methods for mounting crystals in cassettes and subsequent shipment of cassettes to SSRL. Participants are encouraged to bring their laptop computers and learn how to successfully install the remote access software (Windows, MAC and Linux operating systems are currently supported). Participants will be able to control beam lines remotely and also learn how to use Web-Ice, a web-browser based interface for scoring and indexing diffraction images.

Program details: http://smb.slac.stanford.edu/public/news/workshops/workshop05/