Message from the Office of Science Director Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe
It is an honor to introduce myself to the Office of Science laboratory community. I’m ready and excited to pour my energy into making sure that we continue to be the world class, powerhouse science agency we have always been, and the steward of the research crown jewels that our labs represent. My first and foundational goal is to support, enable, and advocate for the work you all do to realize our shared vision: to support the best science across the full breadth of our world-leading portfolio of curiosity-driven and use-inspired basic research and to deliver the scientific tools the world needs to enable new discoveries. Together, I know we will make meaningful contributions to advancing our mission of scientific discovery by supporting our current workforce, and by developing a diverse and inclusive next generation of scientists to carry our SC mission into the future. Read more...
Science Highlights
Shedding New Light on the Study on High-Tc Cuprates – Contact: Jun-Sik Lee (SSRL)
In the ongoing quest for a room-temperature superconductor, scientists are examining the normal, or ground, state of the highest temperature superconductors currently known. It is thought that understanding the particularities of the normal state in these materials, for example the mysterious pseudogap phase, would give clues to how to engineer materials that can lead to superconducting behavior at even higher temperatures. When studying the normal state, especially its ground state, the superconducting state needs to be quenched; otherwise it will interfere. Two established methods for quenching the superconducting state are applying an external magnetic field and using an optical pump, but the relationship between the states achieved by these two methods is unclear. Read more...
Citation: Hoyoung Jang et al., Science Advances, 9 Feb 2022 (10.1126/sciadv.abk0832)
See also: Study raises new possibilities for triggering room-temperature superconductivity with light by Glennda Chui
Hunting the Spectroscopic Signature of Tc in Cuprate Superconductors – Contacts: Makoto Hashimoto, Donghui Lu (SSRL), Sudi Chen and Zhi-Xun Shen (SIMES/Stanford University)
An unconventional class of superconducting materials was discovered 35 years ago. These cuprates conducted electricity with no resistance or loss when chilled below a certain point – but at much higher temperatures than scientists had thought possible. This raised hopes of getting them to work at close to room temperature for perfectly efficient power lines and other uses. Research quickly confirmed that they showed two more classic traits of the transition to a superconducting state: As superconductivity developed, the material expelled magnetic fields, so that a magnet placed on a chunk of the material would levitate above the surface. Its heat capacity – the amount of heat needed to raise their temperature by a given amount – showed a distinctive anomaly at the transition. Despite decades of effort with a variety of experimental tools, the fourth signature, which can be seen only on a microscopic scale, remained elusive. Read more...
Citation: Su-Di Chen et al., Nature, 26 January 2022 (10.1038/s41586-021-04251-2)
See also: SLAC and Stanford researchers reveal the fourth signature of the superconducting transition in cuprates by Glennda Chui
Powerful X-rays Explore the Molecular Composition in a Historical Collection of Australian Plant Resins – Contacts: Uwe Bergmann (UW-Madison) and Dimosthenis Sokaras (SSRL)
A collection of native Australian plant resins sampled over one hundred years ago serves as a time capsule for scientists to study using modern techniques. The well-annotated and well-preserved samples by unknown collectors feature four species important to Aboriginal Australian technology and culture going back tens of thousands of years. A team of scientists employed advanced x-ray spectroscopy to decipher the molecular composition of this unique collection of samples. The researchers used SSRL and the Synchrotron Soleil to carry out x-ray Raman scattering (XRS) experiments to characterize the carbon and oxygen molecular structure. Read more...
Citation: Rafaella Georgiou et al. PNAS, 26 May 2022 (10.1073/pnas.2116021119)
See also: Researchers aim X-rays at century-old plant secretions for insight into Aboriginal Australian cultural heritage by David Krause
More SSRL-Related Science
What Drives Rechargeable Battery Decay? Depends on How Many Times You've Charged It
Excerpt from SLAC News Article by Nathan Collins
Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries do not last forever – after enough cycles of charging and recharging, they will eventually fail, so researchers are constantly looking for ways to squeeze a little more life out of their battery designs.
Now, researchers at SSRL and the Machine Learning Initiative at SLAC together with colleagues from Purdue University, Virginia Tech, and the ESRF have discovered that the factors behind battery decay actually change over time. Read more...
Citation: Jizhou Li et al., Science, 29 April 2022 (10.1126/science.abm8962)
Toward a Diffraction Limited Storage-Ring-Based X-ray Source
SLAC accelerator physicist Pantaleo Raimondi recently presented a webinar about the latest progress towards an ultimate x-ray source based on hybrid multi-bend achromats (MBA). MBA lattices have initiated a fourth generation for storage-ring light sources with orders of magnitude increase in brightness and transverse coherence. A few MBA rings have been built, and many others are in design or construction worldwide. See more...
Structural Biologists Reveal what Makes COVID-19 Antibody so Potent
Excerpt from Scripps Research Newsletter
After screening for antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 from the blood of COVID-19 survivors, scientists have visualized exactly how a specific antibody binds to different variants of the virus. The molecular mapping explains what makes the monoclonal antibody so powerful and could help the engineering of new and effective immune therapies against COVID-19. Learn more...
Citation: Jonathan L. Torres et al., PNAS, 12 May 2022 (10.1073/pnas.2120976119)
Piero Pianetta Shares 1st Light Experience
In recognition of 75 Years of Synchrotron Light, Lightsources.org encouraged users to share their first light experiences. SSRL Deputy Director Piero Pianetta shared this image of first light from the SPEAR Ring at SLAC on July 6, 1973. Piero wrote: “Pilot project to extract synchrotron radiation from the SPEAR ring at SLAC. In-alcove video camera imaging light emitted from a fluorescent screen just downstream of the Be exit window. No beam steering beyond global steering for colliding beam operation. Our group, including Gerry Fisher, waiting to see if beam would even make it through all the apertures. SUCCESS on first opening of line!!!!!” See #My1stLight campaign at Lightsources.org
Honors and Awards
Yi Cui is among the 120 newly elected members of the National Academy of Sciences. He is director of the Precourt Institute for Energy, Fortinet Founders Professor, professor of materials science and engineering and a member of the SSRL user community. He studies nanoscience to enable clean energy and sustainability technologies. He is known for his seminal contributions on inventing breakthrough battery technologies for electric transportation and for storing renewable energy. He also has broad contributions on solar energy conversion, carbon-free hydrogen generation, cooling and warming textile, water and air filtration, and cryogenic electron microscopy for materials science.
Diana Gamzina, a staff scientist at SSRL and founder of Elve, has been recognized with the IEEE Vacuum Electronics Young Scientist Award. Diana’s research involves development of advanced materials for vacuum electron devices and enabling miniaturization of accelerators and RF sources. Her expertise includes mechanics of materials’ interaction with electromagnetic waves, micro to nano scale as well as additive material synthesis techniques, high current density nano-composite cathodes, multiscale thermo-mechanical design and analysis, and development of compact high frequency RF sources.
