Our Mission
The SSRL Structural Molecular Biology program operates as a integrated resource and has three primary areas (or cores) of technological research and development and scientific focus:
- Macromolecular Crystallography (MC)
- Small Angle X-ray Scattering/Diffraction (SAXS)
- X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS)
Central to the core technological developments in all three of these areas is the development and utilization of improved detectors and instrumentation, especially to be able to take maximum advantage of the increasingly high brightness of SSRL's storage ring (SPEAR3). There is also research and development in new methods - in techniques and instrumentation development and deployment. Included is the use of enhanced computing and data management tools to provide more "user-friendly, real-time and on-line" data reduction and analysis. The innovations in beam line, instrumentation and methodology developments are guided by a very close coupling to the collaborative projects aimed at solving forefront problems in SMB in all three core areas. There is significant synergy between the three core areas and with the collaborative projects to address increasingly complex and challenging problems. The SMB program seeks to sustain and enhance the general user program through excellent support, training and dissemination. More information on each of the specific core areas can be reached at the links found above.