More Beamlines, More Users, More Science
NSLS-II Interim Director Erik Johnson shares updates on the busy summer cycle, productive shutdown period, and search for the next NSLS-II director
September 21, 2023
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
This is my first newsletter as the interim NSLS-II director, and I have to say I’m humbled by the opportunity and your kind words of encouragement. I hope in the coming months to justify your confidence! We have a great team in place (many of whom contributed to this newsletter), so taking on this role is not as daunting as it might appear. In this newsletter, I would like to include an important safety message, highlight our busy summer and fall cycles, describe some accomplishments from our recent maintenance period, give an update on beamline projects, and provide an update on the search for the next NSLS-II director.
Safety First
As you prepare for your beamtime, we ask that you review and be aware of the hazards associated with your experiment. There have been some very serious events that have occurred across the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) labs over the past 12 months. These include an electrocution, a fall resulting in a serious head injury, a death during a tree clearing activity, and at Brookhaven, a very serious chemical reaction involving sodium. Most of these events involved very senior workers with written procedures and were performed in the past without incident. So, what went wrong? Apparently, something was different—maybe a change in the work plan or condition of the equipment. As outlined in the BNL Safe Conduct of Research Principles, we are all responsible for our own safety and that of our co-workers. Please approach every experiment with a questioning attitude and be respectful of what can go wrong.
A Busy Summer!
It was a very busy summer with many onsite users, interns, and guests this year. We hit a new record of over 1,800 users so far in FY23. We hosted almost 50 undergraduate interns, high school students, and visiting faculty at NSLS-II. Brookhaven Lab had over 300 summer interns! NSLS-II welcomed over 1,000 visitors on July 23 for our NSLS-II Summer Sunday open house. And we received a record number of beam time proposals for the fall cycle—up almost 20% this year.
A Successful August Maintenance Period
The beam returned for user experiments on September 11, after a one-month summer maintenance period. Our staff accomplished a great deal of work during the shutdown, including prep work for the future second radiofrequency (RF) cryo system and installation of a new battery backup to enable the RF cryo system to ride through power outages; repair of the electrical switchgear that failed in October; and installation of a deionized water filter bypass in service building 1 so that future filter changes will not take down DI water in pentant 1. In addition, we started tunnel work for NEXT-III with the installation of the CDI exit pipe, bending magnet photon shutter, and first gate valve. Also, we installed a new configuration of the complex bend magnets in the linac, and accelerator studies with them have started. Lastly, we performed preventative maintenance and minor repairs on subsystems throughout. We came out of the shutdown on time and with an improved accelerator complex.
Reorganization of Our Science Directorates
In mid-July, John Hill announced a reorganization and the formation of two divisions: the Physical Sciences and Research Operations Division (PSRO) and the Biological, Environmental, and Planetary Science Division (BEPS). In some measure, this reflects the tremendous growth of the facility from six ports at first light to 29 beamlines in service today covering a wide range of techniques. From the beginning, multi-modal science has been part of our NSLS-II ‘DNA’. The formation of these divisions will help emphasize the areas of science where we want to have impact. Each division will have science goals explicitly in their mission, seeking to focus and grow those areas. Together with the Lab’s Deputy for Science, these divisions will coordinate the formation of NSLS-II’s science thrust areas. So, although the reorganization has ‘happened,’ a lot of work lies ahead!
News from the User Services Office
We have a busy fall beam time cycle scheduled, with a record number of users and proposals this year. In order to ensure enough time to process appointments, we require that all new or inactive users (including remote users) register at least 45 days prior to their beam time. So, if you have beam time this fall and have not registered, please do so now! I encourage you to see the NSLS-II User Guide for more details on user appointments.
We are also hosting a number of training courses this fall, including bioimaging, EXAFS, structural biology, and cryo-EM. We encourage new users to take advantage of these opportunities.
Finally, it’s the end of the fiscal year and time for us to ask users to complete our Annual User Satisfaction Survey. Responses from this survey are required by DOE and are important for us to improve our facility. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey by Oct. 13.
Export Control Research Screening Begins for All New Proposals This Cycle
Beginning this proposal deadline, all new proposals will include research screening questions aimed at “export control.” So, we would like to familiarize you with this phrase and process.
Export control (EC) is a set of federal laws and DOE regulations designed to prevent sensitive information and technology from leaving the country. When we are doing work at NSLS-II, we need to understand if it is covered by these laws. That means determining if it is in the public domain, if it is fundamental research, or if it is export controlled. Most of our work falls into one of the first two categories and, therefore, is not covered by the EC laws. However, the fundamental research question can be a bit tricky. There are different laws here; some apply to Brookhaven Lab and some do not. In general, if the researcher, funding agency, institution, or company puts some restrictions on the release of the data or technology, then it becomes export controlled and we must take additional precautions.
Based on your answers to the research screening question, you may be asked to provide additional information on your experiments. If you are asked to provide additional details, please reply promptly so there is no delay in your experiments. And if you have questions about any of your current projects or collaborations, please contact Teresa Daniels.
HEX Beamline Progress
The High Energy Engineering X-ray Scattering (HEX) beamline will be a powerful and versatile tool to advance energy storage and conversion research, such as battery development and materials engineering. It will combine high-energy x-ray diffraction and imaging tools using monochromatic or white beam to enable the study of real atomic structures under working conditions and in real time. HEX construction was supported by New York State, through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
HEX took “first light” in November of 2022 and is currently commissioning its optics and endstation capabilities. X-rays have been aligned through the monochromator and now the team is working to commission the three experimental set-ups situated in the endstation, starting with Energy Dispersive X-ray Diffraction (EDXD).
The novel feature of EDXD at HEX is the germanium strip detector, developed in house by the NSLS-II Detector Group. It will allow hundreds of spectra at individual points through a sample to be collected simultaneously. Then, moving the sample vertically, a 2D matrix of spectra can be generated. Processing the data allows a cross-section image to be generated showing the materials inside, e.g., of an industrial battery. The other techniques, monochromatic powder diffraction and x-ray tomography, are next on the commissioning schedule.
The beamline staff at HEX will be hosting a one-day workshop on Oct. 24 to educate users on the beamline’s capabilities.
HEX is now accepting beam time proposals for the January to April 2024 cycle.
NEXT-III Project Update: Selection of Future Beamlines
As I mentioned in the last newsletter, we received the green light from the DOE Office of Science to start the process of selecting the next set of beamlines for NSLS-II. This project is called NEXT-III and involves construction of eight to 12 beamlines and supporting infrastructure over the next 10 to 12 years. This project is planned to be executed in phases, with two to three beamlines being launched every one to two years. These beamlines will cover a wide range of techniques and research fields.
In April, we held a one-day virtual workshop to discuss the possible first set of two to three beamlines based on a series of white papers submitted by staff and users. For the first phase, we have decided to design and construct the High-Resolution powder Diffraction (HRD) and Quantitative Cellular Tomography (QCT) beamlines. In addition, we will design the Advanced Nanoscale Imaging (ANI) and Tender X-ray Nanoprobe (TXN) beamlines. We would like to build the next-generation beamlines that embrace automation, autonomous experiments, remote operations, data workflow, and AI/ML tools. Thus, as part of the subproject, we also plan to develop new software platforms to facilitate incorporating these new technological developments.
If you would like to learn more about the NEXT-III project, please visit our beamline development website or contact Wah-Keat Lee, the NEXT-III project director.
Search for the Next NSLS-II Director
We’ve started the search process for the next NSLS-II director by reaching out to a wide range of stakeholders, including NSLS-II staff and advisory groups such as the NSLS-II Staff Council, the Users Executive Committee, and the Scientific Advisory Committee. We’ve asked these stakeholders to share the characteristics they feel would be important for the next NSLS-II director to have. With this input, the position will be posted in the next few weeks.
Applications will be accepted through the fall as the search committee is formed and we prepare for interviews. The timeline for bringing a new director on board will depend, to some extent, on the candidates who are interviewed and their present situation, but we are hoping to make a selection early in 2024.
In closing, thank you for reading our newsletter and for your continued pursuit of exciting science at NSLS-II. I’m looking forward to seeing you at NSLS-II!
— Erik Johnson, Interim NSLS-II Director
