SSRL User Area Facelift

In response to user comments and suggestions, SSRL is in the process of updating and redesigning the general user areas in Buildings 120 and 130. The redesign effort is being coordinated with the SSRL Users Organization. A local architectural and interior design firm has been hired to redesign the general kitchen area and to provide comfortable user lounge areas in both Buildings 120 and 130. Upgrades will include new flooring, cabinets, paint, furniture, and lighting.

We are also creating a separate small user computer room on the Building 131 mezzanine where users can work quietly away from the usual buzz and commotion of the experimental floor. The computer room will provide 2 to 3 workstation areas (with the actual hardware still to be defined), network access, a local printer, and modem connections.

Users will also notice a new reception area upon first arriving at SSRL and checking in with the user administration. User administration is now centrally located in Building 120 allowing one-stop shopping for all your user administration needs.

New Proposal Review Panel Members: Franz Himpsel of the University of Wisconsin and Michel Koch of EMBL/ Hamburg have recently been appointed to the SSRL Proposal Review Panel. Dr. Himpsel will join the Solid State Physics and Materials Science subpanel and Dr. Koch, the Structural Molecular Biology and Biophysics subpanel.

Our two new members join Ellie Adman (U. of Washington), Ninian Blackburn (Oregon Graduate Institute), Russ Chianelli (U. of Texas-El Paso), Torgny Gustaffson (Rutgers University), Victor Henrich (Yale University), Allan Jacobson (U. of Houston), Doug Rees (Cal Tech), and John Zachara (Pacific Northwest Laboratories). Russ Chianelli will be serving as chair of the PRP.

New Proposal Review Panel Classifications: Earlier this year the Proposal Review Panels were reclassified. Formerly, the subpanels were divided into biology, materials, and VUV subpanels. However, the separation of experiments by spectral range (VUV and x-ray) was considered artificial, so new definitions of the scientific disciplines were defined as follows:

Solid State Physics and Materials Science: Physical aspects of materials science, surface science, magnetic phenomena, phase transitions at surfaces, gas phase photoelectron spectroscopy

Solid State and Materials Chemistry/ Environmental Science: Solid state, organometallic, chemistry, heterogeneous catalysis, chemical synthesis and reactions, mineral chemistry, geological processes, actinide chemistry

Structural Molecular Biology and Biophysics: Protein structure and function, including protein crystallography and scattering, and bioinorganic chemistry

New Chairman of the SSRLUO: David Shuh of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will assume the position as Chairman of the SSRLUO Executive Committee on October 25th. David is presently serving as the Vice-Chair while Alice Fischer-Colbrie of Hewlett-Packard is the departing Chairwoman. David can be reached at LBNL, MS 70A-1150, One Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720 or by email dkshuh@lbl.gov. Please feel free to contact him with issues you feel should be dealt with by the SSRLUO.

The SSRLUO serves in an advisory capacity to communicate general users' needs and concerns to the Director of SSRL and the SSRL Science Policy Board. The SSRLUO also provides input regarding users' concerns and needs to the funding agencies. Members of the executive committee are elected by their fellow SSRL users and serve a two-year term.

1996 A Banner Year for SSRL: SSRL completed its 38-week 1996 run on August 31st. Not only has this been the longest run to date, but with a 93% beam delivery rate it represents the most successful run ever. A total of 266 different experiments were conducted involving over 1,000 users from 20 different countries. Users came from 153 different institutions including 38 private industries, 16 government labs, 62 U.S. universities, 8 foreign labs, and 29 foreign universities.

The fiscal year 1997 run will begin November 4th after a quick two-month shutdown for maintenance and upgrades. This run is scheduled to run through July 31, 1997 for a total of 39 weeks.

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December 2, 1996