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A Message from UEC Vice-Chair Andreas Liapis

information from the Users' Executive Committee

January 24, 2022

Dear CFN community,

Andreas Liapis

A new year has arrived, and with it new challenges and new opportunities. As I'm writing this, the Omicron variant is running rampant all over the world, and just when the rising vaccination rates and dropping case numbers gave us a brief respite, we are now faced with increased measures yet again. However, if we have learned anything in 2021, it is that the people who make up the CFN community — the admin staff, the scientists, and the users — are a resilient sort; that we can be productive and thrive in spite of site access restrictions and remote work mandates; that even when we are far apart, we are working together more closely than ever before.

Indeed, the increased connectivity borne of these troubled times is allowing a globally-dispersed multiple-time-zone-spanning UEC to convene regularly to organize the next joint CFN/NSLS-II Users' Meeting, which will be held from May 23-26. Ashwanth Subramanian (workshop chair), Trishelle Copeland-Johnson (sponsorship chair), and myself (program chair) are working alongside our NSLS-II counterparts and members of the two UECs to bring you an exciting and engaging meeting, which will explore the latest capabilities of the two facilities, showcase the work of CFN and NSLS-II users, and discuss future directions in nanoscience. During the meeting you will also have the opportunity to interact with vendors and elect new UEC members. We hope to see you all there!

This past October the CFN celebrated the National Nanotechnology Day by hosting the annual CFN image contest. Congratulations to winners Honghu Zhang and Feiyue Teng, and to runners-up Aaron Michelson and Percy Zahl! You can see the winning entries below and also decorating the corridors of CFN.

Center for Functional Nanomaterials Image Contest

Hover over image to reveal slideshow controls.

I would also like to bring to your attention the 2022 Renate W. Chasman Award for Women, to which the CFN UEC proudly contributes. The award is administered by Brookhaven Women in Science (BWIS) and aims to encourage women to pursue careers in the STEM fields. I urge eligible graduate students to apply here before the March 14, 2022 deadline.

On behalf of everyone at the UEC, I wish you and yours a healthy and productive 2022!

— Andreas Liapis
CFN UEC Vice-Chair