FREE!

See the brightest light on Long Island, and learn how it is used to look into everything from batteries to viruses. Learn about NSLS-II, a bright new light; take the synchrotron-science quiz. Be mesmerized by the “Laser Light Spectacular” show.

THE NATIONAL SYNCHROTRON LIGHT SOURCE
See the brightest light on Long Island and learn how it is used to look into everything from batteries to viruses. Take a quiz to win a tour of the synchrotron’s experimental floor. Obtain bus tickets Presentations are made every 20 minutes; last facility visit begins at 3:00pm.

Science Talks

The National Synchrotron Light Source II
Learn all about the Laboratory’s plans to build a new world-leading synchrotron light source whose facility is expected to reinforce U.S. scientific leadership, giving researchers here a competitive advantage in numerous scientific fields that will benefit our nation’s economy.

From Electrons to X-Rays:  How the NSLS-II Accelerators Make X-Rays
11 a.m., Science Education Building #438 Auditorium | Ray Fliller (BNL)

What X-Rays Tell Us about Long Island Sediments, Mussels, and Oysters
11:15 a.m., NSLS Conference Room A | Keith Jones, PhD (BNL) Show Details

The health of waterways around Long Island is important because of their use for recreation and as a food source.  Human activities have brought about increased levels of toxic metals such as lead and arsenic in the sediments all around the Island.  This presentation will describe how x-rays from the NSLS are used as a tool to create beneficial use of products from sediments dredged in remediation or navigational projects and to help in understanding effects on the mussels and oysters caused by the contaminants. Live internet conferencing will be used to show an actual experiment in progress.  This is a technique that is being used to connect with educational programs in schools around Long Island with students collecting specimens and participating in the analysis of the results.

Faster, Smaller, Cheaper: Using Synchrotron Light to Make Better Computers
12:15 p.m., NSLS Conference Room A | Jean Jordan-Sweet, PhD (IBM) Show Details

Researchers at IBM have used the NSLS since it was first built to study the materials and processes that are used to make computer chips.  These chips are “built up” in hundreds of steps, using many different kinds of materials (metals, insulators, and semiconductors).  All the materials have very specific functions and each must do its job well in order for the entire chip to operate correctly.   We use x-rays from the NSLS to look at the characteristics of many of these materials, and how they behave under processing conditions like heating.  Our better understanding helps us find the best materials for the job, which is to compute or store data faster, cheaper, and more efficiently on an ever-shrinking scale.

NSLS-II Stimulates Long Island
12:30 p.m., Science Education Building #438 Auditorium | Diane Hatton (BNL)

Casting New Light on Ancient Secrets
1:15 p.m., NSLS Conference Room A | D. Peter Siddons, PhD (BNL) Show Details

X-ray fluorescence is a powerful technique that can be used to shed light on the complexities of archeological and historical artifacts. A major roadblock, however, is the time it takes to scan the object of interest, as the system’s small x-ray spot is manually moved from one location to another. In this talk, learn about a new “on-the-fly” x-ray system that is 1,000 times faster than previous methods. In the first demonstration of the technique, researchers produced a 4-mega-pixel image of a 14th century tooth and looked for indicators of lead poisoning. The image was generated in about six hours – a task that would normally take days.

Coming Soon to Long Island: The World's Brightest Photon Microscope
2 p.m., Science Education Building #438 Auditorium | Andy Broadbent (BNL)

X-rays For Early Detection of Alzheimer's Disease
2:15 p.m., NSLS Conference Room A | Dean Connor, PhD (University of North Carolina) Show Details

Diffraction enhanced imaging, or DEI, is a new medical imaging method that works in a similar way to normal clinical x-rays, such as when you get your leg x-rayed to look for a fracture.  However, DEI uses high-precision x-ray optics to more easily see soft tissue features, such as cartilage, and can be done at a vastly reduced x-ray dose. Dr. DJ Connor is currently a research associate at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has been performing research with DEI at the National Synchrotron Light Source since 2002. Dr. Connor will describe a recent experiment that he and several colleagues performed at the NSLS in which they used DEI in 3D mode -- like a CAT scan -- to look into the brain of a mouse and see the development of Alzheimer's disease.

Lighting a Path to the Future - Student Research at the NSLS
3:15 p.m., NSLS Conference Room A | Alvin Acerbo, Megan Bourassa & Matthew Engel (Stony Brook University) Show Details

Each year, dozens of students from high schools, colleges, and universities come to the NSLS to perform research experiments. Some work at the facility as part of BNL’s summer programs for high school and undergraduate students. In addition, a number of graduate students perform MS- and PhD-level research over the course of several years at the NSLS. In this presentation, two graduate students from Stony Brook University will tell the tales of their road to graduate studies and briefly describe their research projects encompassing studies amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and drug design.

SCIENCE LASER LIGHT SPECTACULAR
Berkner Hall Auditorium
12noon * 1:30 * 3:00pm
Be sure to arrive early as the auditorium fills quickly!

HANDS ON SCIENCE FUN!
Velocity up; pressure down! Experience the Bernoulli Principle in action, or, make your hair stand on end with our Van de Graaff generator in our hands-on science room in Berkner Hall Room “C” at 11:00am * 12:30 * 2:00pm.

CATCH “A VIEW FROM SPACE”
Send a satellite spinning into orbit around a model Earth! Track a hurricane from space! Study incredible images of our planet captured by NASA’s Earth Observing System and more! A View from Space is designed to introduce visitors to the latest and greatest of Earth observing satellites and give them an appreciation for the value of studying Earth from space. Stop by the Berkner Hall Lobby anytime during Summer Sundays to check out this exciting new exhibit!