Nsls 2007 Activity Report National Synchrotron Light Source Activity Report 2007

Download or read book NSLS 2007 Activity Report (National Synchrotron Light Source Activity Report 2007). written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The National Synchrotron Light Source is one of the world's most productive and cost-effective user facilities. With 2,219 individual users, about 100 more than last year, and a record-high 985 publications, 2007 was no exception. In addition to producing an impressive array of science highlights, which are included in this Activity Report, many NSLS users were honored this year for their scientific accomplishments. Throughout the year, there were major strides in the development of the scientific programs by strengthening strategic partnerships with major research resources and with the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN). Of particular note, the Consortium for Materials Properties Research in Earth Sciences (COMPRES) received renewed funding for the next five years through the National Science Foundation. COMPRES operates four high-pressure NSLS beamlines--X17B2, X17B3, X17C, and U2A--and serves the earth science community as well as the rapidly expanding segment of researchers using high-pressure techniques in materials, chemical, and energy-related sciences. A joint appointment was made between the NSLS and Stony Brook University to further enhance interactions with COMPRES. There was major progress on two key beamline projects outlined in the Five-Year Strategic Plan: the X25 beamline upgrade and the construction of the X9 small angle scattering (SAXS) beamline. The X25 overhaul, which began with the installation of the in-vacuum mini-gap undulator (MGU) in January 2006, is now complete. X25 is once again the brightest beamline for macromolecular crystallography at the NSLS, and in tandem with the X29 undulator beamline, it will keep the NSLS at the cutting edge in this important area of research. Upgrade work associated with the new MGU and the front end for the X9 SAXS beamline--jointly developed by the NSLS and the CFN--also was completed. Beamline X9 will host the SAXS program that currently exists at beamline X21 and will provide new microbeam SAXS capabilities and much-needed beam time for the life sciences, soft condensed matter physics, and nanoscience communities. Looking toward the future, a significant step has been made in expanding the user base and diversifying the work force by holding the first Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Professors' Workshop. The workshop, which brought 11 professors to the NSLS to learn how to become successful synchrotron users, concluded with the formation of an HBCU User Consortium. Finally, significant contributions were made in optics and detector development to enhance the utilization of the NSLS and address the challenges of NSLS-II. In particular, x-ray detectors developed by the NSLS Detector Section have been adopted by an increasing number of research programs both at the NSLS and at light sources around the world, speeding up measurement times by orders of magnitude and making completely new experiments feasible. Significant advances in focusing and high-energy resolution optics have also been made this year.