NSLS-II Advisory Committees Begin Work in October 2006

October 4, 2006

Associate Laboratory Director for Light Sources Steve Dierker has announced the formation of four committees to oversee various facets of the design, construction and operation of National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II).

Three advisory committees will provide managerial and technical assistance to the project team on Accelerator Systems, Experimental Facilities, and Conventional Facilities. A Project Advisory Committee reporting to Laboratory Director Sam Aronson will provide regular oversight of the project.

"The committees will bring a wealth of expertise to the table as we ramp up our activities," Dierker said. "The advice and counsel of the experts on these committees will allow us to proceed with confidence as we prepare to build this exciting new machine."

The committee chairs have been named, and the first meetings will take place this month at Brookhaven.

The NSLS-II Project Advisory Committee (PAC), will be composed of members of the scientific communities that will be impacted by NSLS-II, as well as those with experience in the planning, construction, management, use, and operations of major facilities for materials and life sciences research. The PAC will review the progress of the NSLS-II and advise Dierker and Aronson on matters related to scientific mission, strategic planning, user access, construction planning, project management, technical performance, and safety. The group will maintain close ties with the scientific community and will give advice on what will best meet the future needs of the scientific community and insure successful interactions with the user community.

The committee chairman is Thom Mason of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Mason serves as associate laboratory director for the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS). A former associate professor at the University of Toronto, he is an Associate of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.

The committee's chair and members were chosen for their experience with large scientific facilities and/or with future growth areas for photon science. They will serve three-year terms, and meetings will be held twice a year.

The Accelerator Systems Advisory Committee (ASAC) will be composed of external experts trained in accelerator physics and engineering, who are familiar with the design, construction, and operations of major accelerator systems. This group will advise NSLS-II management and provide guidance to the NSLS-II accelerator team on technical choices, trade-offs, and decisions; value engineering; measures to improve availability and reliability of operations; diagnostics and controls.

Pascal Elleaume will serve as chairman of the ASAC. He is machine director at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France.

The Experimental Facilities Advisory Committee (EFAC) will be composed of external experts trained in synchrotron radiation science and instrumentation, most with extensive experience in designing, constructing, and operating synchrotron beamlines and/or instrumentation and the supporting infrastructure for users. This group will advise NSLS-II management and provide guidance to the experimental facilities team on the development of the beamlines and instruments for NSLS-II. They will also provide advice and guidance on the choice of instruments to build, assist in forming the Beamline Advisory Teams (BATs) and Beamline Development Teams (BDTs) to build these instruments, and generally provide direction to the formation of the experimental facilities at NSLS-II.

Simon Mochrie of Yale University has agreed to serve as chairman of the EFAC. He is a professor of physics, molecular biophysics and biochemistry.

The Conventional Facilities Advisory Committee (CFAC) will be composed of external experts trained in conventional construction, most with extensive experience in designing and constructing conventional facilities and the supporting infrastructure associated with major scientific user facilities. This group will advise NSLS-II management and provide guidance to the NSLS-II conventional facilities team on the development of the improvements to land, conventional construction, and utilities systems required to deliver the maximum benefit to the users.

Jerry Hands, a retired project manager from Sandia National Laboratory, will serve as chairman of the CFAC. Most recently, Hands served as construction operations manager for the Center for Integrated Nanotechnology at Sandia. He also managed all of the conventional design and construction for the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Lab.

The three advisory committees will serve three-year terms during which they will meet twice a year, coordinated with DOE reviews.

2006-10543  |  INT/EXT  |  Newsroom