A Note from Steve Dierker

September 13, 2011

Steve Dierker

Steve Dierker

We just had a successful DOE review of the NEXT beamlines for the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), so this is a good time for a brief update on their status.

NEXT stands for NSLS-II Experimental Tools, a set of six beamlines. In May 2010, DOE acknowledged a mission need for NEXT and approved the start of conceptual design work for these beamlines. This action is known as CD-0, shorthand for “critical decision zero,” and it was the first step in getting the NEXT beamlines funded and built.

At the conclusion of the recent DOE review, which took place August 31 and September 1, a day late and compressed into a day and a half because of Hurricane Irene, all six beamlines were judged ready to proceed to CD-1. Specific recommendations emerged from the review, which also encompassed environment, safety and health; cost and schedule; and management. We take these recommendations seriously and will act on them.

Many individuals have worked long and hard to develop details for the beamlines, and I appreciate their dedication. I want to extend a special thank you to Steve Hulbert for leading this effort over the past year. Steve was recently selected as the permanent Beamline Project Manager.

NEXT Mission Need Statement (CD-0)
Department of Energy
May 25, 2010

“The objective of the NSLS-II Experimental Tools (NEXT) project is to provide NSLS-II with additional “best-in-class” beamlines that will provide additional advanced capabilities beyond those provided by the initial beamlines in a timely manner to enable exploration of the unique scientific opportunities offered by the new NSLS-II facility. These will support the urgent needs identified by the U.S. research community for responding to the DOE mission of achieving transformational energy solutions in the near-term while simultaneously expanding our knowledge of fundamental energy science. The NEXT project will also provide a significant capacity in the early years of NSLS-II operations to support the wide-ranging research programs of the existing NSLS user community.”

The NEXT beamlines are listed below, with links to technical descriptions:

In all, NSLS-II will accommodate more than 60 beamlines using 27 straight sections for insertion devices and 31 bending-magnet or three-pole-wiggler sources, with additional beamlines possible through canted insertion devices and multiple branches.

I have described the six NEXT beamlines. An original six beamlines were selected in 2008 and are funded as part of the NSLS-II construction project (see detailed descriptions under "Project Beamlines"). The National Institutes of Health has committed to building three beamlines. The National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST, will build two. The New York Structural Biology Center will build one beamline. At this date, we have 18 NSLS-II beamline construction projects in various stages of development, which will result in a total of 28 end stations, of which 21 will be illuminated simultaneously.

2011-2599  |  INT/EXT  |  Newsroom