From the Director
It is my pleasure to communicate the outcome of the most recent DOE BES
triennial review of SSRL. We recently received the report, which provides
strong positive comments on our scientific productivity, accelerator
performance, strategic plan, and most of all outstanding user support. We
are exceptionally pleased to be able to continue our strong partnership with
our user community and to develop further our facility and capabilities.
I want to thank the SSRL user community, and the entire SSRL staff for their
dedication and support.
Science Highlights
Reversible CO-binding to the Active Site of Nitrogenase
– Contacts:
Thomas Spatzal and Douglas C. Rees, California Institute of Technology
As a basic biological building block of amino acids and DNA, nitrogen is
necessary for life. Yet most of the Earth’s nitrogen is contained in the
atmosphere as dinitrogen, which most organisms are unable to use because they
cannot break dinitrogen’s N-N-triple bond. A few microorganisms, however,
are able to use an enzyme called nitrogenase to catalyze the transformation of
dinitrogen into bioavailable ammonia. Read more...
Unconventional Switching Behavior in
La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/La0.7Sr0.3CoO3
Exchange-spring Bilayers
– Contacts:
Binzhi Li and Yayoi Takamura, University of California, Davis
Advanced permanent magnets with low cost and high energy density are
important for next-generation technologies, and one promising type of advanced
magnet is the exchange spring magnet. This type of nanocomposite comprises two
phases of magnetic materials: “hard” magnets, which can remain
uniformly magnetized under large fluctuations in magnetic fields, and are
often made of rare earth elements, and “soft” magnets, which have a
high energy density but their magnetic states can easily be disturbed by small
magnetic fields. Read more...
Mapping Metals Incorporation of a Whole Single Catalyst Particle
Using Element Specific X-ray Nanotomography
– Contacts:
Yijin Liu and Joy C. Andrews, Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource,
Florian Meirer and Bert M. Weckhuysen, Utrecht University
One of the most important processes used in petroleum refineries is called
fluid catalytic cracking (FCC). This chemical process converts large or heavy
molecules of crude oil into smaller and lighter hydrocarbons, such as gasoline.
This useful conversion is due in great part to a tiny catalyst particle just 50
to 150 millionths of a meter in diameter. The particle consists of a complex
mixture of silica-alumina, clay and zeolite in a porous structure that enables
the crude oil molecules to flood the material and reach the catalytically
active areas within the particle. After the conversion process, this structure
also allows the lighter molecules to leave the catalyst. Read more...
Upcoming Workshops and Conferences
12th 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
16th International Conference on X-ray Absorption Fine
Structure (XAFS16), August 23-28, 2015, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Karlsruhe, Germany
Conference website
12th 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 -
Call for SSRL/LCLS Workshop Topics
What are the hot topics that you want to hear about or discuss at the next
SSRL/LCLS Users' Conference? Send your suggestions (include a
proposed title, abstract, potential organizers, talks, speakers) by April 10
please.
2015 LCLS/SSRL Annual Users' Conference Organizing Committee: Cathy
Knotts, SSRL/LCLS User Research Administration Manager, Petra Fromme, LCLS
Users' Executive Committee Vice Chair, Eddie Snell, SSRL Users'
Executive Committee Vice Chair, Georgi Dakovski , LCLS Scientist, Tim Maxwell,
LCLS Scientist, Hendrik Ohldag, SSRL Scientist
News
New Accelerator Control Room Comes to Life
March 19, 2015 edition of SLAC Today
SLAC’s new main Accelerator Control Room (ACR), located on the first
floor of Building 52, is coming to life. Over the past several weeks, 150
monitors and other equipment have been moved in, and a prototype workstation
has been set up for system tests. If everything goes according to plan,
engineers and scientists will begin to populate the lab’s new nerve
center in the fall.
Many routine accelerator operations are currently managed from the Main
Control Center (MCC) in Building 5, whose history goes back to SLAC’s
founding days in the 1960s, when it was one of the lab’s first two
control rooms. Today, it houses most of the controls for the linac and SPEAR3
accelerators – the backbones of the LCLS, FACET and SSRL user facilities.
Read more...
Announcements
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
