Science Highlights

Interfacial Electron-Phonon Coupling as the Cause of Enhanced T_c in Single-layer FeSe Films on SrTiO₃ – Contact: James J. Lee, Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource

For three decades, scientists have worked to engineer materials that allow electricity to flow without resistance at ambient temperatures. That could make just about everything that runs on electricity more efficient – saving enormous amounts of energy. But current superconductors are far from that dream: they only operate well below minus 135 degrees C.

A recent study suggests a promising path toward room-temperature superconductors.  Read more...

See also:  SLAC News Feature   

Uranium and Strontium Batch Sorption and Diffusion Kinetics into Mesoporous Silica – Contact: David Singer, Kent State University

When radioactive elements enter the environment – whether through natural processes or an accidental spill – it is important to understand how to clean them up. This is especially true at the interface between water and minerals, which dominate the surface area of most geological landscapes.

Recently, researchers came to SSRL to better understand how trace radioactive elements like uranium and strontium come to preferentially enrich materials that have pores with diameters just a few nanometers wide, called mesopores. Read more...

Non-Equilibrium Pathways during Electrochemical Phase Transformations in Single Crystals Revealed by Dynamic Chemical Imaging at Nanoscale Resolution – Contacts: Young-Sang Yu, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Yijin Liu, Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, and Jordi Cabana, University of Illinois at Chicago

Lithium-ion batteries, the mobile power source for most electronic devices, play an important role in everyday life. In the coming decades, they could play an even greater role, powering electric vehicles or storing electrical energy for the grid – if researchers can find ways to improve them.

In particular, the energy density of current batteries is limited by the capacity of the positive electrode, which in turn is determined by the properties and concentration of its active material. By better understanding this material and its limitations, researchers hope to design the highest capacity electrodes possible. Read more...

Upcoming Workshops and Conferences

2015 SSRL Workshop on XAS and RIXS Data Analysis Using CTM4XAS and CTM4RIXS, March 24-26, 2015, Menlo Park, CA

A three-day workshop on the fundamental aspects of x-ray spectroscopy, including lectures and tutorials on the use of CTM4XAS and CTM4RIXS will be held on March 24-26, 2015.  The workshop will focus on lectures and demonstrations by Prof. de Groot, Dr. Mario Delgado and Dr. Thomas Kroll.  The workshop will also include advanced data analysis session on participant-driven topics.

Participants need to register online before March 20, 2015. The workshop is free to participants, but space is limited and advanced registration is required.

See Workshop website

12^th International Conference on Synchrotron Radiation Instrumentation, July 6-10, 2015, New York City, NY

Registration is now open for the 12th International Conference on Synchrotron Radiation Instrumentation (SRI 2015)

The National Synchrotron Light Source ll (NSLS-ll) at Brookhaven National Laboratory is pleased to invite you to register to attend the 12th International Conference on Synchrotron Radiation Instrumentation (SRI) at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square, New York City, July 6-10, 2015.

Register at SRI website

Nuclear Forensic Undergraduate Summer School , June 15-July 24, Pullman, WA

The Nuclear Forensic Undergraduate Summer School (NFUSS) will be held in Washington, June 15-July 24. The course is designed to provide comprehensive, experimental, hands-on training in topics essential to nuclear forensics as a means of interesting students in pursuing graduate studies in scientific disciplines related to nuclear forensics. This is a great opportunity for undergraduate students to network and gain insight into nuclear and radiochemistry, as well as in the chemical and physical characterization of actinide-bearing materials.

Apply before March 15. Students will be notified of selection by March 24, 2015.

16^th International Conference on X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (XAFS16), August 23-28, 2015, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Karlsruhe, Germany
        Conference website

12^th International Conference on Biology and Synchrotron Radiation (BSR) is being planned to take place in Menlo Park, CA on August 22-24, 2016. Save the Date.

Joint SSRL/LCLS Annual Users' Conference, October 7-9, 2015. Save the Date.

Announcements

SLAC Access and Badging Procedures - When in Doubt Contact User Admin Before You Arrive

User Badges are now issued at the SLAC Security Office Building 235 by the SLAC main gate.  There are additional requirements that need to be met for users to get access to the site and the SSRL beam lines for scheduled experiments.  Please see:

• the SSRL home web page
• access specifics
• visa requirements

A step-by-step outline is provided below:

Before traveling to SLAC, please list all experimenters who will participate in your scheduled experiments on proposals and beam time/support requests and inform your colleagues about access changes so that everyone coming onsite completes the following steps:

1. Register through the user portal to provide or update contact information.

2. Contact URA for additional requirements for users from certain countries.

3. Ensure that you have an appropriate business visa (e.g., B1/WB Business, not B2/WT Tourist).

4. Review updated SSRL user arrival and check-in procedures.

5. Complete all safety training (including Traffic Safety Course 154).

6. Stop at the Security Office Building 235 to obtain a new ID badge and/or proximity access. Bring identification to verify citizenship.

7. Prior to entering the experimental area or starting any experiments, check in with User Check-In Coordinator Jackie Kerlegan in the URA office in SSRL Building 120, Room 211 (Monday-Friday 7 am - 12 noon and 1 - 4 pm (except holidays)).

8. Contact the URA team for questions or assistance (650-926-2079/2087/3191).

Office of Science Graduate Student Research Program is Now Accepting Applications

The Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program is now accepting applications for the 2015 solicitation.  Applications are due 5:00pm ET on Tuesday April 14, 2015.

The SCGSR program supports supplemental awards to outstanding U.S. graduate students to conduct part of their graduate thesis research at a DOE national laboratory in collaboration with a DOE laboratory scientist for a period of 3 to 12 consecutive months-with the goal of preparing graduate students for scientific and technical careers critically important to the DOE Office of Science mission.

The SCGSR program is open to current Ph.D. students in qualified graduate programs at accredited U.S. academic institutions, who are conducting their graduate thesis research in targeted areas of importance to the DOE Office of Science. The research opportunity is expected to advance the graduate students' overall doctoral thesis while providing access to the expertise, resources, and capabilities available at the DOE laboratories. The supplemental award provides for additional, incremental costs for living and travel expenses directly associated with conducting the SCGSR research project at the DOE host laboratory during the award period.

Detailed information about the program, including eligibility requirements and access to the online application system, can be found at the SCGSR website.

User Research Administration

• Proposal Deadlines
  The next deadline for submitting standard Macromolecular Crystallography proposals is April 1 and June 1 is the deadline for X-ray/VUV proposals.

  Submit proposals and beam time requests through the user portal.

The Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) is a third-generation light source producing extremely bright x-rays for basic and applied research.  SSRL attracts and supports scientists from around the world who use its state-of-the-art capabilities to make discoveries that benefit society. SSRL, a U.S. DOE Office of Science national user facility, is a Directorate of SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, operated by Stanford University for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science.  The SSRL Structural Molecular Biology Program is supported by the DOE Office of Biological and Environmental Research, and by the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences. For more information about SSRL science, operations and schedules, visit http://www-ssrl.slac.stanford.edu.

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Questions? Comments? Contact Lisa Dunn