VIIIB

Y Nb 41 Tc 43 Rh 45 Zr 40 Mo

42 Ru44 

Sc

4492

498.0*

403.6*

398.7*

51.1*

28.3*

28.3*

um

V

K 1s 5465

LI 2s 626.7+

LII 2p1/2 519.8+

LIII 2p3/2 512.1+

MI 3s 66.3+

MII 3p1/2 37.2+

MIII 3p3/2 37.2+

Vanadium

23 Mn

K 1s 6539

LI 2s 769.1+

LII 2p1/2 649.9+

LIII 2p3/2 638.7+

MI 3s 82.3+

MII 3p1/2 47.2+

MIII 3p3/2 47.2+

Manganese

25 Co

K 1s 7709

LI 2s 925.1+

LII 2p1/2 793.2+

LIII 2p3/2 778.1+

MI 3s 101.0+

MII 3p1/2 58.9+

MIII 3p3/2 59.9+

Cobalt

27 

Ti

K 1s 4966

LI 2s 560.9+

LII 2p1/2 460.2+

LIII 2p3/2 453.8+

MI 3s 58.7+

MII 3p1/2 32.6+

MIII 3p3/2 32.6+

Titanium

22 Cr

K 1s 5989

LI 2s 696.0+

LII 2p1/2 583.8+

LIII 2p3/2 574.1+

MI 3s 74.1+

MII 3p1/2 42.2+

MIII 3p3/2 42.2+

Chromium

24 Fe

K 1s 7112

LI 2s 844.6+

LII 2p1/2 719.9+

LIII 2p3/2 706.8+

MI 3s 91.3+

MII 3p1/2 52.7+

MIII 3p3/2 52.7+

Iron

26 

IB IVB VB VIB VIIB 

National Synchrotron Light Source

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Upton, NY 11973

www.nsls.bnl.gov
Kathleen Nasta

Managing Editor

Kendra J. Snyder

Science Writer

Tiffany A. Bowman

Graphic Designer

The National Synchrotron Light Source Department is supported by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences,

United States Department of Energy, Washington, D.C.

Brookhaven National Laboratory, Brookhaven Science Associates, Inc., Upton, New York 11973

Under contract no. DE-AC02-98CH10886

National Synchrotron Light Source

2009 Activity Report
BNL-90967-2009

UC400

(General Energy Research)

Printed in the United States of America

Available from

National Technical Information Service

U.S. Department of Commerce

5285 Port Royal Road

Springfield, VA 22161

Disclaimer

This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the 

United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, nor any of their contractors, subcontractors, 

or their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, 

completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would 

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On the Cover

Stylized version of the periodic table of the elements with the associated electron binding energies – the energy 

required to remove an electron from a particular atom. This book’s dust jacket can be unfolded and hung up for 

easy reference.

The 2009 Activity Report is printed on 100% recycled paper.
F

F

3

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Chairman's Introduction 4

A Beacon for Research 6

On the Horizon: NSLS-II 7

I

S

Y

Table of Contents

Science Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Physical and Chemical Sciences Introduction 8

Condensed Matter Physics 10

Materials Sciences 13

Chemical Sciences 16

X-Ray Optics and Accelerator Physics 19

Life and Environmental Sciences Introduction 21

Earth and Environmental Sciences 23

Life Sciences 25

Soft Condensed Matter and Biophysics 34

Year in Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Staff Photo 36

January - April 38

May - August 40

September - December 42

Facility Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Safety Update 44

The Accelerator Complex 46

Experimental Systems 52

Facility Facts and Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Introduction 58

Parameters and Publications 60

User Statistics 61

Beamline Status 62

Beamline Guide 62

Advisory Committees 68

Tc

Table of

Contents
Chairman’s Introduction

In

Introduction

4

2009 was an incredibly exciting year for light sources at Brookhaven. 

The National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) hosted more than 2,200 

visiting researchers, who, along with the about 50 members of our 

scientific staff, produced a total of 957 publications – about 20 percent 

of which appeared in premier journals. Covering topics ranging from Alzheimer’s 

disease detection to ethanol-powered fuel cells, a sampling of these findings can 

be found in this Activity Report.

2

We’ve also seen the resurfacing of 

some of our long-time users’ hard 

work. I was very proud to hear 

that two of the three recipients of 

the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 

have ties to the NSLS. Venki 

Ramakrishnan, a former employee 

in Brookhaven’s biology department and long-time user of the 

NSLS, now at Cambridge University, 

and Thomas A. Steitz of Yale University, also a long-time NSLS user, 

shared the prize with Ada E. Yonath 

of the Weizmann Institute of Science for their work on the structure 

and function of the ribosome. In the 

late 1990s, Ramakrishnan and Steitz 

used protein crystallography at the 

NSLS to gather atomic-level images 

of two ribosome subunits: 30S (Ramakrishnan) and 50S (Steitz). Both 

laureates solved the high-resolution 
5

In

Introduction

structures for these subunits based 

on this data.

After struggling with a rough budget for several years, we received 

excellent funding, 

and then some, 

this year. In addition to NSLS operations funding, 

we received $3 

million in funds 

from the American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act 

(ARRA). We used that additional 

money for two exciting projects: 

construction of a full-field x-ray 

microscope and acquisition of several advanced x-ray detectors. The 

x-ray microscope will be able to 

image objects with a targeted spatial resolution of 30 nanometers. 

This capability will be particularly 

important for new initiatives in energy research and will prepare our 

users for the projected 1-nanometer resolution benchmark at the 

National Synchrotron Light Source 

II (NSLS-II). The detectors project is 

expected to increase the throughput of several high-demand beamlines by an order of magnitude 

as well as enable new classes of 

experiments. In addition, a huge 

chunk of ARRA money – $150 million – was put toward accelerating 

the construction of NSLS-II, which 

is now taking shape across the 

street. 

Now physically much more than 

just a pile of dirt, NSLS-II was 

granted Critical Decision 3 status 

by the Department of Energy (DOE) 

early last year, giving the official 

go-ahead for construction. In July, 

construction began, marked by 

a groundbreaking ceremony that 

attracted elected officials, media, 

and DOE, Battelle, and Stony Brook 

University representatives from 

across the state and the country. 

As progress on NSLS-II continues, 

we’re working with Stony Brook 

University to identify ways to capitalize on the facility’s unique capabilities through the Joint Photon 

Sciences Institute (JPSI). Included 

in this effort is a series of workshops to encourage the development and application of the 

photon sciences with collaborative research between industries, 

universities, and national laboratories. We helped host three of these 

workshops this year, focusing on 

microelectronics, energy storage, 

and materials in next-generation 

energy systems. The conversation and ideas generated at these 

meetings has been fresh and valuable and we hope to use this model to organize research opportunities in other scientific fields.

Also this year: Brookhaven was 

deemed the lead institution for 

one of DOE’s 46 Energy Frontier 

Research Centers, focused on understanding the underlying nature 

of superconductivity in complex 

materials by using techniques at 

the NSLS and CFN; DOE awarded 

a $100,000 supplemental grant 

to our detector 

program to continue the development of a new 

generation of 

x-ray detectors 

that use germanium sensors, 

which, at high energies, are much 

more efficient than equivalent 

ones based on silicon; and funding for one of our largest consortia, Case Western Reserve University’s Center for Synchrotron 

Biosciences (CSB), was renewed 

through the National Institutes of 

Health. The CSB, which operates 

five NSLS beamlines and serves 

more than 550 users, will receive 

a five-year, $4-million grant to 

continue to study the structure 

and dynamics of proteins and 

nucleic acids.

Finally, construction of the new X9 

beamline and endstation for small 

angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) and 

wide angle x-ray scattering (WAXS) 

was completed this year. By July, 

the beamline and endstation were 

commissioned and serving general 

users. This allowed for the relocation of the SAXS and WAXS experimental programs from beamline 

X21 to X9, providing much-needed 

beam time for the soft condensed 

matter physics, life sciences, and 

nanoscience communities. 

“2009 was an incredibly 

exciting year for light sources 

at Brookhaven.”

Chi-Chang Kao

Chairman, National Synchrotron Light Source
A Beacon for Research

In

Introduction

6

Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences, the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) is a national user facility that operates two electron storage rings: X-Ray (2.8 GeV, 300 mA) 

and Vacuum Ultraviolet (VUV) (800 mev, 1.0A). These two rings provide 

intense light spanning the electromagnetic spectrum — from very long infrared rays 

to ultraviolet light and super-short x-rays — to analyze very small or highly dilute 

samples. The properties of this light, and the specially designed experimental stations, 

called beamlines, allow scientists in many diverse disciplines of research to perform 

experiments not possible at their own laboratories.

Each year, about 2,200 scientists from more than 400 universities and companies use the 

NSLS for research in such diverse fields as biology, physics, 

chemistry, geology, medicine, 

and environmental and materials sciences. For example, researchers have used the NSLS 

to examine the minute details 

of computer chips, decipher 

the structures of viruses, probe 

the density of bone, determine 

the chemical composition of 

moon rocks, and reveal countless other mysteries of science. 

The facility has 64 operating 

beamlines, with 50 beamlines on the X-Ray Ring and 13 

beamlines on the VUV-Infrared 

Ring. It runs seven days a week, 

24 hours a day throughout the 

year, except during periods of 

maintenance and studies. Researchers are not charged for 

beam time, provided that the 

research results are published 

in open literature. Proprietary 

research is conducted on a fullcost-recovery basis. 

With close to 1,000 publications 

per year, the NSLS is one of the 

most prolific scientific facilities 

in the world. Among the many 

accolades given to its users and 

staff, the NSLS has won nine 

R&D 100 Awards for innovations 

ranging from a closed orbit feedback system to the first device 

able to focus a large spread of 

high-energy x-rays. In addition, 

the Nobel Prize in Chemistry has 

been awarded twice based partially on work coducted at the 

NSLS: in 2003 and 2009.

F
On the Horizon: NSLS-II

7

In

Introduction

Since its first operations in 1982, the NSLS has continually updated its 

technology and expanded its scientific capabilities. As the boundaries of 

scientific discovery have been expanded, however, many researchers are 

looking for capabilities beyond those provided by the NSLS. And while 

newer synchrotrons surpass the performance of the present NSLS, no synchrotron 

anywhere in the world will enable scientists to image and characterize materials down 

to billionth-of-a-meter (nanometer) resolution.

To address this need, Brookhaven 

is building the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II). The 

new facility, which will replace 

the NSLS, will be a mediumenergy storage ring designed to 

deliver world-leading brightness 

and flux. It will provide advanced 

tools for discovery-class science in 

condensed matter and materials 

physics, chemistry, and biology. 

For example, major advances in 

energy technologies — such as 

the use of hydrogen as an energy 

carrier; the widespread, economical uses of solar energy; or the development of the next generation 

of nuclear power systems — will 

require scientific breakthroughs 

in developing new materials with 

advanced properties.

The combination of capabilities 

at NSLS-II will have broad impact 

on a wide range of disciplines and 

scientific initiatives in the coming 

decades, including new studies 

of small crystals in structural biology, the development of probes 

for nanoscience, coherent imaging of the structure and dynamics 

of disordered materials, greatly 

increased applicability of inelastic 

x-ray scattering, and properties 

of materials under extreme conditions. This high-brightness light 

source will also foster research in 

areas such as structural genomics 

and drug design, as well as extend the studies of early disease 

detection.

The leading-edge ability of 

NSLS-II to analyze materials will 

help guide the development of 

new materials at Brookhaven’s 

Center for Functional Nanomaterials. The synergy of these 

two facilities is expected to promote breakthroughs in the use 

of renewable energy through 

improved energy conversion, 

transmission, and storage — science that ultimately will enhance 

national and energy security and 

help drive abundant, safe, and 

clean energy technologies.

S
Physical and Chemical Sciences Introduction

8

Sh

Science 

Highlights

A focus for research in the physical and chemical sciences this year was 

achieving a better fundamental understanding of the processes and 

advanced materials needed to address energy grand challenges. These 

advances often involved exploiting a wide variety of fabrication processes 

to produce materials incorporating nanoscale constituents that provided the materials 

with new functionality or performance enhancement. Another focus was on breaking 

down barriers for making smaller, faster, and more stable electronic devices. From 

more than 350 physical and chemical science 2009 publications, including more than 

50 in high-impact journals, we selected a representative set of science highlights 

from each discipline to illustrate these research focus areas.

In hard condensed matter physics, 

researchers from Brookhaven Lab 

and the University of Illinois used 

resonant soft x-ray scattering to understand the mechanism driving the 

high-temperature superconductivity 

that was recently discovered to occur 

at the metal-insulator interface in 

bilayer complex oxide films. The researchers confirmed that an optimal 

distribution of conducting holes develops within the insulator near the 

metal-insulator interface and is the 

main driver of the superconductivity. 

A second group, including 

Brookhaven Lab and Stony Brook 

University researchers, made progress 

in understanding a new class of iron 

A
9

Sh

Science 

Highlights

high-temperature superconductors 

by demonstrating that magnetism 

is not the driving force for phase transitions within its superconducting 

phase. The phase diagram of these 

materials was mapped using x-ray 

powder diffraction. Finally, in measurements carried out using selectedarea angle-resolved photoelectron 

spectroscopy, a new capability on 

beamline U5UA, researchers from 

Brookhaven’s Center for Functional 

Nanomaterials (CFN) studied how 

graphene behaves when epitaxially 

prepared on a transition metal surface. The results confirmed the expectation that the novel electronic 

properties of graphene are disrupted 

in the first monolayer but further 

demonstrated that these properties 

can be recovered in subsequent layers 

— an important result for the development of graphene-based devices.

In materials science, researchers 

from Arizona State University and 

the National Institute of Standards 

and Technology (NIST) worked on 

improving material processing for 

organic photovoltaics. While there 

are many commercial p-type organic semiconductors, n-type organic 

semiconductors typically have poor 

carrier mobility. The researchers used 

the near-edge x-ray absorption fine 

structure (NEXAFS) technique to 

demonstrate that this is due to the 

trapping of electrons at the dielectric/organic semiconductor interface. 

They further showed that this trapping can be overcome by coating the 

substrate with a dense hydrophobic 

organic monolayer that restores the 

high carrier mobility needed for photovoltaic devices. Another project 

involving NIST researchers, in collaboration with the NSLS and Intel, 

was the development of an effective 

diffusion barrier to prevent the copper atoms in line interconnects from 

reacting with low-dielectric support 

substrates. The team explored the 

introduction of a copper-manganese 

alloy and showed, using grazing incidence x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, that the manganese atoms 

migrate to the interface to form an 

effective diffusion barrier. Improving 

electronic device performance also 

was the focus of work by a group 

from IBM and Ghent University that 

used in-situ x-ray diffraction to study 

nickel silicide films during thermal 

processing. They 

demonstrated 

that adding silicon to the nickel 

changes the 

phase sequence 

during thermal 

annealing and 

produces more 

stable films with 

epitaxial grains.

In the chemical 

sciences, a research team from the 

University of South Carolina and 

Kookmin University in Korea made 

a breakthrough in the pressurefree synthesis of transition metals 

in unusually high oxidation states. 

The high oxidation states with correspondingly smaller radii and potentially different preferences for 

coordinating with nearest neighbor 

atoms can lead to new structures 

with novel properties. X-ray absorption near-edge spectra (XANES) 

enabled the team to confirm their 

results. Another unexpected discovery was made by researchers 

from Northeastern University and 

NIST, who used the NEXAFS technique to confirm that trace amounts 

of potassium ions, a by-product of 

the process used to prepare arrays 

of titania nanotubes, is responsible 

for significantly lowering the energy 

cost when these nanotube arrays 

are utilized in water-splitting solar 

cells. Finally, a team of scientists 

from Brookhaven Lab, the University 

of Delaware, and Yeshiva University 

developed a new catalyst that could 

make ethanol-powered fuel cells 

feasible. The team used electron microscopy at the CFN together with 

x-ray absorption spectroscopy on 

beamline X18A to confirm the reactivity of their new electrocatalyst, 

which utilizes platinum and rhodium 

atoms on carbon-supported tin dioxide nanoparticles.

In x-ray optics, a team of Brookhaven 

and Argonnne National Laboratory 

researchers made significant progress in devoloping diamond-based 

refractive lenses to focus the intensified photon beams produced by new 

light sources while, in accelerator 

physics, researchers from the NSLS 

and Science Applications International Corporation, demonstrated how 

tapering a free-electron laser could 

significantly improve the quality and 

quantity of the radiation emitted.

“A focus for research 

this year was achieving a better 

fundamental understanding 

of the processes and advanced 

materials needed to address 

energy grand challenges.”

Ron Pindak

Physical and Chemical Sciences Division Head
Condensed Matter Physics

10Sh

Science 

Highlights

Counting the “Holes” in High-Temperature Superconductors 

(left) Layer-resolved hole density in a superconducting 2 x 

LCO - 4 x LSCO superlattice (dots) compared to results of 

calculations for different screening lengths/lambda (lines).

From left, 

re search -

ers Adrian 

Gozar, Ivan 

B o z o v i c , 

and Serban 

Smadici

As part of the effort to better understand how superconductors transport electricity with zero 

resistance, a team of researchers has demonstrated a new way to count the number of a material’s “holes” — locations where electrons are absent. Knowing more about holes, which, like 

electrons, are thought to interact with each other to produce superconducting current within a 

material, could help scientists develop superconductors for applications like more-efficient power transmission or 

magnetic-levitation high-speed trains. 

The researchers, from the University 

of Illinois, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the University of Paris, focused on copper-oxide compounds, 

called cuprates. Cuprates normally act 

as insulators but become superconductors when electrons are removed 

in a process known as “doping” 

holes into the material. A material is 

considered optimally doped when 

it is superconducting at the highest temperature possible. When the 

material is doped past this point, the 

superconductivity often vanishes. 

In this study, the researchers built 

a sandwich of alternating layers of 

two cuprates: LSCO, which contains lanthanum, strontium, copper, and oxygen; and LCO, which 

lacks the strontium.

This creates optimally doped LCO 

— the driver of the surprise superconductivity in the multilayered structure. 

The results demonstrate the utility of resonant soft x-ray scattering for probing the holes near interfaces separately of the atomic 

structure, as well as provide evidence on the importance of interfaces to novel superconducting 

materials. 

S. Smadici, J.C.T. Lee, S. Wang, P. Abbamonte, G. Logvenov, A. Gozar, C. 

Deville Cavellin, I. Bozovic, “Superconducting Transition at 38 K in InsulatingOverdoped La2

CuO4-La1.64Sr0.36CuO4

Superlattices: Evidence for Interface 

Electronic Redistribution from Resonant Soft X-Ray Scattering,” PRL, 102, 

107004 (2009).

Neither of the two materials used 

in the study is superconducting by 

itself — LCO was used in its naturally insulating form and LSCO was 

overdoped to the point where its 

superconductivity disappeared. 

Surprisingly, though, the overall 

structure is superconducting at 38 

Kelvin, about –235 degrees Celsius. 

To figure out what was happening, 

the researchers used resonant soft 

x-ray scattering at NSLS beamline 

X1B. By measuring the reflectivity 

of the structure at different angles, 

they pinpointed the number of 

holes in each individual layer.

Their results show that many of 

the holes actually moved from 

the overdoped LSCO to the LCO. 

C
Condensed Matter Physics

11Sh

Science 

Highlights

Shining Light on Graphene-Metal Interactions

By controlling the layered growth of graphene — a relatively “new” form of carbon that’s just a 

single atom thick — researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory have uncovered intriguing 

details about the material’s superior electrical and optical properties. Their findings could help position graphene as the next-generation material for future computers, digital displays, and electronic 

sensors. 

One of the biggest challenges facing researchers is figuring out how 

to produce graphene in large quantities. The simplest method is peeling off single sheets of graphene 

from graphite, a material consisting 

of many graphene layers, with pieces of tape. But this method yields 

only small, jagged flakes that aren’t 

useful for most applications. 

At Brookhaven, researchers grow 

graphene on a metal substrate, 

a technique that can produce 

single-layer sheets thousands of 

times larger than the pieces made 

with the “Scotch tape” method. 

First, a single crystal of ruthenium is heated while exposing it 

to a carbon-rich gas. At high temperatures, carbon atoms are able 

They found that if a single graphene sheet is grown on a metal 

like ruthenium, the metal binds 

very strongly to the carbon atoms 

and disrupts the characteristic 

properties normally found in isolated graphene. But, those properties re-emerge in subsequent layers 

grown on the substrate.

The group’s findings lay groundwork 

for future graphene production for 

advanced technologies, and helps 

researchers understand how metals 

— for example in device contacts — 

change the properties of graphene.

P. Sutter, M.S. Hybertsen, J.T. Sadowski, E. Sutter, “Electronic Structure of Few-Layer Epitaxial Graphene 

on Ru(0001),” Nano Lett., 9(7), 2654 

(2009).

to squeeze into spaces within the 

metal crystal, similar to water being taken in by a sponge. As the 

crystal is slowly cooled, these carbon atoms are expelled to the surface of the metal, where they form 

individual layers of graphene. The 

number of layers formed can be 

controlled by the amount of carbon atoms initially absorbed into 

the ruthenium crystal. 

To obtain measurements for the 

material with different numbers of 

graphene sheets, the group used 

micro-angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (mirco-ARPES) 

at NSLS beamline U5. This technique allows researchers to study 

the electronic structure of very 

small regions of interest. 

Measurement of the electronic bands of bilayer graphene on 

ruthenium, which have the characteristics of freestanding 

monolayer graphene. One of these characteristics is a typical 

cone-like shape of the bands near the Fermi energy. The inset 

shows a calculation of these “Dirac cones” for comparison. 

Shown in the background is a schematic rendering of the lattice structure of graphene.

From left, Jurek Sadowski, Eli Sutter, and Peter Sutter

S
Condensed Matter Physics

12Sh

Science 

Highlights

Watching the Tug of War between Structure and Superconductivity

(left) The crystalline structure of the superconductor FeSe has 

square layers of iron (Fe) atoms that are strongly chemically bonded to layers of selenium (Se) atoms. The superconducting electrons 

are found in the iron layers. The group’s work showed that a deviation of the shape of the iron layers from exactly square geometry at the length scale of thousands of atoms is a critical factor in 

determining whether superconductivity occurs or doesn’t occur.

Like Clark Kent, who often forgoes his social life to become Superman, materials that become 

superconducting must sacrifice at least one of their natural properties to attain the ability to 

transfer electric current with zero resistance. At the NSLS and Brookhaven’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN), a team of researchers has explored this internal conflict in a class 

of iron-based superconductors, materials that could be used to develop energy-saving applications such as 

high-efficient power lines.

Researchers from Princeton, Stony 

Brook University, Brookhaven, and 

Johannes Gutenberg University, in 

Germany, focused their investigations on a particular material made 

from conducting layers of iron and 

selenium, called iron selenide. 

In order for superconductivity to 

exist, it must arise as the winner in 

a “tug of war” between different 

physical properties. The research 

community has known that magnetism competes with superconductivity in iron superconductors, but no 

one had a good idea of how crystal 

structure competed.

To find out, the group took “snapshots” of superconducting and nonfundamental bonding — the bonding between atoms — stays the 

same while the angles between the 

bonds change, similar to the expansion of a baby gate.

But the real surprise is that this structural change actually exists in both the 

superconducting and non-superconducting forms of the material, just on 

a very small scale. The challenge now 

is to figure out over what distance a 

crystal structure has to be distorted in 

order to affect its properties.

T.M. McQueen, A.J. Williams, P.W. 

Stephens, J. Tao, Y. Zhu, V. Ksenofontov, F. Casper, C. Felser, R.J. Cava, 

“Tetragonal-to-Orthorhombic Structural Phase Transition at 90 K in the 

Superconductor Fe1.01Se,” PRL, 103, 

057002 (2009).

superconducting iron selenide using 

synchrotron x-ray powder diffraction 

at NSLS beamline X16C. They combined that data with images taken 

with transmission electron microscopy 

and electron diffraction at the CFN.

The results show that the superconducting form of iron selenide can be 

distinguished from the non-superconducting form by a change in its 

structure. The superconductor gains 

its power by giving way to a slight 

structural “distortion,” and the nonsuperconductor holds strong. 

The researchers also demonstrated 

that this unique structural change is 

unrelated to magnetism, as hypothesized in the past. The material’s 

Yimei Zhu 

(left) and 

Jing Tao

W
Materials Sciences

13Sh

Science 

Highlights

Molding the Future of Plastic Electronic Production

E-readers that can be bent and folded, “smart” bandages that signal when they need changing 

based on oxygen levels, and biodegradable radio frequency identification tags that help companies track and manage stock — these are all real possibilities in the field of organic electronics, 

which uses carbon-based materials that are intrinsically semiconductors. Using the NSLS, a group 

of researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Arizona State University, and the 

University of Oulu, Finland, analyzed one promising organic semiconducting material in an effort to bring these 

technologies, and many more, to the marketplace. 

As opposed to conventional electronics, which feature inorganic 

metal conductors such as silicon or 

copper, organic electronics — also 

known as plastic electronics — can 

be manufactured using technology 

as common as an ink jet printer. 

This makes possible the production 

of lightweight, flexible, and robust 

electronics at low cost. However, 

reproducibility and reliability are 

hard to achieve in organic electronics because the ink dries differently 

almost every time.

In this study, the researchers analyzed the structure of dried films 

They then linked the orientation of 

the PTCBI crystals to performance: 

In general, substrates that allow 

the crystal’s individual molecules to 

stand up straight — and therefore 

have a large amount of electronic 

overlap — exhibit the fastest transport. But substrates that force the 

molecules to lay down flat exhibit 

poorer performance.

P. Dhagat, H.M. Haverinen, R.J. Kline, 

Y. Jung, D.A. Fischer, D.M. DeLongchamp, G.E. Jabbour, “Influence of Dielectric Surface Chemistry on the Microstructure and Carrier Mobility of an 

n-Type Organic Semiconductor,” Adv. 

Funct. Mater., 19, 2365 (2009).

made from a particular organic 

semiconductor often used in photovoltaic cells, PTCBI. At NSLS beamline U7A, the researchers used nearedge x-ray absorption spectroscopy 

and grazing-incidence x-ray diffraction to determine the orientation 

and order of PTCBI as it was formed 

on different surfaces. 

Typically, an organic semiconductor’s crystals change size with the 

dielectric substrate it is deposited 

on. But, in this case, the researchers found that the PTCBI crystals 

are actually oriented differently on 

different dielectrics.

Illustrations of PTCBI 

films with two different orientations. Researchers found that 

those laying down 

(left) exhibit slower 

transport than those 

that stand up (right).

NIST researchers Dan 

Fischer (left) and 

Dean DeLongchamp

M
Materials Sciences

14Sh

Science 

Highlights

Breaking Down the Barrier for Smaller, Faster Electronic Devices 

Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy image of a barrier layer on a low-k 

dielectric that was formed by annealing a Cu-Mn alloy for 1 hour at 420°C.

James Ablett

A team of international researchers is the first to uncover the chemical composition and structure of a microelectronics element that is vital to producing ever smaller — and, thus, cheaper 

and faster — devices. 

In order to keep advancing the microelectronics field, major fabrication changes are needed. One of 

these changes involves the production of “diffusion barriers,” which 

separate the copper metallic lines 

that connect the various components in an electronic device from 

the silicon-based insulating material. Silicon and copper are highly 

reactive and the mixture of the two 

will ultimately lead to circuit failure. 

However, current fabrication processes are unable to deliver diffusion barrier films that are conformal 

(have the same thickness across the 

entire interface) and thin enough 

— on the order of one nanometer 

— to support the next generation 

of electronic devices.

That’s why researchers from 

Synchrotron SOLEIL in France, 

The researchers discovered that 

the diffusion layer is relatively 

easy to form on the low-k material but substantially more 

difficult to form on SiO2. These 

results are promising as low-k 

dielectrics, which have a lower 

capacitance — ability to hold 

charge — than SiO2, will eventually be used in future microelectronic technology, enabling 

faster and more efficient devices. 

This is because insulators with a 

smaller dielectric constant can 

charge faster, allowing electrical signals to propagate faster 

through the circuit. 

J.M. Ablett, J.C. Woicik, Zs. Tökei, S. 

List, E. Dimasi, “Phase Identification 

of Self-Forming Cu-Mn Based Diffusion Barriers on p-SiOC :H and SiO2 Dielectrics Using X-Ray Absorption Fine 

Structure,” Applied Physics Letters, 

94, 042112 (2009).

the NSLS, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), IMEC, and Intel, are 

studying one potential fabrication method that uses coppermanganese alloys. In these 

systems, the manganese atoms 

diffuse out of the alloy film 

upon annealing and form a thin 

and conformal barrier layer at 

the silicon interface before copper diffusion can begin.

At NSLS beamlines X27A and 

X23A2, the researchers used 

grazing incidence x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy to study 

these self-forming barrier layers. 

They grew the diffusion barrier 

on two different materials: thermal silicon dioxide (SiO2) and 

one with a lower dielectric constant (k).

B
Materials Sciences

15Sh

Science 

Highlights

Making Thin Films Stable through Phase-Changing

In an effort to produce ever-smaller electronics, a team of researchers has used the NSLS to show 

that slightly changing the way a material is formed can drastically alter its properties. Their findings 

could help modify the characteristics of silicides, an important class of thin films — layers of material on the order of a millionth of a meter thick — that are crucial to creating the electrical circuits 

that make devices like handheld computers, cell phones, and digital music players work. 

The researchers, from the IBM T.J. 

Watson Research Center in Yorktown, NY, and Ghent University, 

in Belgium, focused their study on 

a thin film of a nickel-silicon compound, called nickel monosilicide, 

one of the most promising materials for advanced integrated circuits. 

The problem is, when the layers of 

nickel monosilicide are on the order 

of just several nanometers thick, 

they become unstable.

Thin films of nickel monosilicide 

typically are produced by depositing a small amount of pure nickel 

(Ni) on a silicon (Si) substrate and 

then annealing it. Previous research 

of silicon-enhanced nickel silicide 

to be quite different. The film 

went through a different phase 

sequence before breaking apart at 

800 degrees Celsius — about 150 

degrees hotter than observed with 

the traditional system.

The final result is a nickel monosilicide layer that is much more stable 

due to the alignment of its crystalline grains in neat, parallel stacks. 

C. Van Bockstael, K. De Keyser, R.L. 

Van Meirhaeghe, C. Detavernier, J.L. 

Jordan-Sweet, C. Lavoie, “Influence 

of a transient hexagonal phase on 

the microstructure and morphological 

stability of NiSi films,” Applied Physics 

Letters, 94, 033504 (2009).

has shown that the stability of nickel monosilicide can be improved 

by adding another element to the 

nickel film. But it wasn’t obvious 

whether these add-ins have a direct or indirect effect on the material’s properties. 

To find out, the researchers added silicon to the nickel film. By 

not introducing any ternary elements, they deduced that any 

changes should be related to the 

reaction itself. 

With use of in-situ x-ray diffraction at NSLS beamline X20C, the 

researchers found the formation 

(above) In situ x-ray diffraction as a function of temperature, 

collected upon heating at a constant rate of (top) a conventional thin nickel film on a silicon substrate, and (bottom) a 

thin nickel film on a silicon substrate, when extra silicon is 

added into the nickel film. The measured diffraction angle 

data, which allows identification of the phases that appear 

upon annealing, is presented as a color map (red indicating 

the highest intensity). The addition of silicon strongly affects 

the conventional phase sequence prior to nickel monosilicide 

(NiSi) formation, inducing the formation of an unexpected 

phase at 380 degrees Celsius (labeled as θ).

(above) From left, Koen De Keyser, Jean Jordan-Sweet, 

Christophe Detavernier, and Christian Lavoie

(right) Charlotte Van 

Bockstael

M
Chemical Sciences

16Sh

Science 

Highlights

New Catalyst Paves the Path for Ethanol-Powered Fuel Cells 

Model of a ternary electrocatalyst for 

ethanol oxidation consisting of platinum-rhodium clusters on a surface of 

tin dioxide. This catalyst can split the 

carbon-carbon bond and oxidize ethanol to carbon dioxide at the fuel cell 

anode. 

A team of scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory, in collaboration with researchers from 

the University of Delaware and Yeshiva University, has developed a new catalyst that could make 

ethanol-powered fuel cells feasible. The highly efficient catalyst performs two crucial and previously unreachable steps needed to oxidize ethanol and produce clean energy in fuel cell reactions. 

Like batteries that never die, hydrogen fuel cells convert hydrogen and oxygen into water and, 

as part of the process, produce 

electricity. However, efficient production, storage, and transport of 

hydrogen for fuel cell use is not 

easily achieved. As an alternative, 

researchers are studying the incorporation of hydrogen-rich compounds, for example, the use of 

liquid ethanol in a system called a 

direct ethanol fuel cell. 

A major hurdle to the commercial 

use of direct ethanol fuel cells is the 

molecule’s slow, inefficient oxidation, which breaks the compound 

into hydrogen ions and electrons 

mined using powerful x-ray absorption techniques at NSLS beamline 

X18B, combined with data from 

transmission electron microscopy 

analyses at Brookhaven’s Center for 

Functional Nanomaterials. Based on 

these studies and calculations, the 

researchers predict that the high 

activity of their ternary catalyst results from the synergy between 

all three constituents — platinum, 

rhodium, and tin dioxide — knowledge that could be applied to other 

alternative energy applications.

Z. Kowal, M. Li, M. Shao, K. Sasaki, M.B. Vukmirovic, J. Zhang, N.S. 

Marinkovic, P. Liu, A.I. Frenkel, R.R. 

Adzic, “Ternary Pt/Rh/SnO2 electrocatalysts for oxidizing ethanol to CO2

,” 

Nature Materials, 8, 325 (2009).

that are needed to generate electricity. Specifically, scientists have 

been unable to find a catalyst capable of breaking the bonds between ethanol’s carbon atoms. 

But at Brookhaven, scientists have 

found a winner. Made of platinum 

and rhodium atoms on carbonsupported tin dioxide nanoparticles, the research team’s electrocatalyst is capable of breaking 

carbon bonds at room temperature 

and efficiently oxidizing ethanol 

into carbon dioxide as the main reaction product. 

Structural and electronic properties 

of the electrocatalyst were deterN
Chemical Sciences

17Sh

Science 

Highlights

Discovery of an Unexpected Boost for Solar Water-Splitting Cells

A research team from Northeastern University and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has discovered, serendipitously, that a residue of a process used to build arrays of 

titania nanotubes — a residue that wasn’t even noticed before this — plays an important role in 

improving the performance of the nanotubes in solar cells that produce hydrogen gas from water.

Titania (or titanium dioxide) is a versatile chemical compound found 

in everything from paint to toothpastes. It also can function as a photocatalyst, producing hydrogen gas 

from water, electricity, and sunlight. 

In recent years, researchers have 

been exploring different ways to optimize the process and create a commercially viable technology that, essentially, transforms cheap sunlight 

into hydrogen, a pollution-free fuel 

that can be stored and shipped. 

At Northeastern, researchers have 

been studying how best to incorporate carbon into the nanotubes, 

because carbon helps titania absorb 

light in the visible spectrum.

This brought them to the NIST x-ray 

spectroscopy beamline U7A at the 

cal energy to produce the same 

amount of hydrogen as an equivalent array of potassium-free nanotubes. 

The findings suggest that potassium probably has played an unrecognized role in many experimental 

water-splitting cells that use titania nanotubes, because potassium 

hydroxide is commonly used in the 

cells. By controlling it, hydrogen 

solar cell designers could use it to 

optimize performance.

— Michael Baum, NIST

C. Richter, C. Jaye, E. Panaitescu, D.A. 

Fischer, L.H. Lewis, R.J. Willey, L. Menon, “Effect of Potassium Adsorption 

on the Photochemical Properties of 

Titania Nanotube Arrays,” J. Mater. 

Chem., 19, 2963 (2009).

NSLS. While making measurements 

of the carbon atoms, the team noticed spectroscopic data that indicated that the titania nanotubes 

had small amounts of potassium 

ions strongly bound to the surface, 

evidently left by the fabrication 

process that used potassium salts. 

This was the first time the potassium has ever been observed on 

titania nanotubes because previous 

measurements were not sensitive 

enough to detect it.

The result was mildly interesting, 

but became much more so when 

the research team compared the 

performance of the potassiumbearing nanotubes to similar arrays deliberately prepared without 

potassium. The former required 

only about one-third the electriScanning electron microscope image of 

typical titania nanotubes for a photocatalytic cell to produce hydrogen gas 

from water. Nanotubes average roughly 

90-100 nanometers in diameter.

D
Chemical Sciences

18Sh

Science 

Highlights

Pressure-Free Preparation for Metal Oxides 

Scanning electron micrograph of a single crystal of Nd2K2IrO7.

Mark Smith (above left), 

Hanno zur Loye (above 

right), and Samuel 

Mugavero (left) 

A team of researchers has demonstrated a cheaper and quicker method for preparing a class of 

metal oxides — materials widely used in applications ranging from hard drives to cell phones — 

with very unusual properties. Without using time-honored high-pressure techniques, the researchers, from the University of South Carolina and Kookmin University, in Korea, produced the mostoxidized iridium oxides to date. 

Although it’s still the way to go 

for producing materials with specific structures or high-value products like diamonds, high-pressure 

techniques can be time-consuming and expensive. And because 

high-pressure techniques revolve 

around compression, they’re usually not capable of making large 

quantities of material. 

As an alternative, researchers grow 

crystals — highly ordered atomic 

structures — of materials from 

high-temperature solvents. This 

process can be achieved at ambient pressure with little cost and big 

results. In this field, the South Carolina group has become known for 

pushing the production boundaries 

of complex oxides through the use 

After producing these new iridium oxide crystals, the group 

brought them to the NSLS to confirm their high oxidation states 

via x-ray absorption spectroscopy 

(XANES) at beamline X19A. 

These particular oxides have very 

few practical applications, but 

this research shows the potential 

to enable the targeted synthesis 

of other novel oxides containing transition metals in unusually 

high oxidation states.

S.J. Mugavero III, M.D. Smith, W.-S. 

Yoon, H.-C. zur Loye, “Nd2K2IrO7 and 

Sm2K2IrO7: Iridium(VI) Oxides Prepared 

under Ambient Pressure,” Angewandte Chemie, International Edition, 

48, 215 (2009).

of one particular group of solvents: 

molten hydroxides. 

In this particular study, the researchers focused on iridium 

oxides, which normally contain 

iridium in its most common oxidation state, +IV. Nothing higher 

than +V has ever been produced 

at ambient pressure.

First, the group melted potassium 

hydroxide by heating it to 500 degrees Celsius. In the molten hydroxide, the iridium metal dissolves, 

reacts, and forms highly oxidized 

species that assemble into single 

crystals of two different iridium 

oxides. In both complexes, iridium 

is present in the highest oxidation 

state ever produced, +VI. 

P
X-Ray Optics and Accelerator Physics

19Sh

Science 

Highlights

A Kinoform’s Best Friend: Diamond Refractive Lenses for Nanofocusing

A team of Brookhaven and Argonne National Laboratory researchers has demonstrated a reliable 

path for sculpting an intricate x-ray focusing lens out of diamond. Their technique could prove 

extremely valuable in the study of nanomaterials at future synchrotron light sources. 

Kinoform lenses, a type of refractive lens similar to those found in 

lighthouses, are being considered 

by researchers for their ability to 

efficiently focus x-ray light down 

to very small spots. This feature is 

vital to the study of molecules, atoms, and advanced materials at the 

nanoscale. Typically, kinoforms are 

made from silicon, a material that 

is easy to shape, but not ideal for 

handling the intensified photon 

beams at upcoming synchrotrons 

like NSLS-II. 

Because of its very high thermal 

conductivity and transparency to 

x-rays, diamond is an ideal candidate for the job. The problem is its 

extreme hardness, which makes it 

the spot size produced by a single 

diamond lens is about one micrometer, still a ways off from the onenanometer benchmark desired for 

future synchrotron studies. But 

multiple kinoforms can be stacked 

one after another to form a compound kinoform lens, which produces a much smaller spot. 

In addition, compared to compound 

kinoform lenses made from silicon, 

the compound diamond lenses 

showed better light transmission and 

will work in a broader energy range.

A.F. Isakovic, A. Stein, J.B. Warren, S. 

Narayanan, M. Sprung, A.R. Sandy, K. 

Evans-Lutterodt, “Diamond Kinoform 

Hard X-ray Refractive Lenses: Design, Nanofabrication and Testing,” J. 

Synch. Rad., 16, 8 (2009).

very difficult to etch the kinoform’s 

saw-tooth shape.

In order to transfer the kinoform 

pattern from a numerically generated plate, researchers chemically 

remove the layers of the material that aren’t “masked,” or made 

resistant to the etching process. 

Through a pulsed, cyclic method 

with oxygen-argon plasma, the 

researchers found a way to etch a 

clean kinoform pattern deep into 

the diamond at Brookhaven’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials. 

The lenses were tested on an x-ray 

beamline at Argonne’s Advanced 

Photon Source. Among other measurements, the team found that 

The structure of a kinoform 

lens: (a) single, 11.2 keV kinoform refractive lens made from 

optical quality artificial diamond using e-beam lithography, metallization, and deep reactive ion etching; (b) a detail (a 

central portion) of such a lens 

shown from the tilted perspective of an incoming x-ray beam.

From left, Abdel Isakovic, Kenneth 

Evans-Lutterodt, John Warren, and 

Aaron Stein 

A
X-Ray Optics and Accelerator Physics

20Sh

Science 

Highlights

Tapering a Free-Electron Laser to Extract More Juice 

Comparison between the experiment and simulation for the 

light at the fundamental wavelength for both uniform and 

tapered undulators.

From left, Dave Harder, Xijie Wang, Yuzhen Shen, Jim Murphy, 

Houjun Qian, and Xi Yang

Researchers from the NSLS and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) have demonstrated a technique that could be used to significantly improve the quantity and quality of light 

produced from a free-electron laser (FEL) — a source that provides pulses of light that can be 1,000 

times shorter than those at conventional storage ring light sources. 

In order to understand how molecules change their structure in 

chemical and biological systems, 

scientists need extremely short 

pulses of light (less than one trillionth of a second) with short 

wavelengths. This is where FELs 

shine. Like a stroboscopic flash, the 

ultra-short bursts of light produced 

from an FEL allows scientists to 

take time-resolved images of biological and chemical processes and 

various other atomic-scale events.

FELs work by shooting a series of 

ultra-short bunches of electrons 

through an array of magnets called 

an undulator, which forces them to 

oscillate back and forth as though 

they’re zigzagging through a tight 

In comparison with the results for 

a uniform undulator, the tapered 

undulator produced a far-improved FEL beam: the light intensity was increased by 300 percent 

for the fundamental wavelength 

and 50 percent for the third harmonic (which has a wavelength 

that is three times shorter than the 

fundamental). 

This is the first experiment to measure these characteristics in a tapered undulator.

X.J. Wang, H.P. Freund, D. Harder, 

W.H. Miner, Jr., J.B. Murphy, H. Qian, 

Y. Shen, X. Yang, “Efficiency and 

Spectrum Enhancement in a Tapered 

Free-Electron Laser Amplifier,” Phys. 

Rev. Lett., 103, 154801 (2009).

slalom course. This oscillatory motion causes the electrons to emit an 

intense beam of photons (i.e. light) 

that travels in the same direction as 

the electron beam. The prolonged 

interaction between the emitted 

light and the electron beam along 

the length of undulator produces 

ultra-short light pulses of unprecedented brightness. 

During a recent novel experiment 

at the NSLS Source Development 

Laboratory, the researchers tapered 

the undulator — slowly increasing 

the vertical gap in the last few meters of the device. This reduces the 

magnetic field, which results in an 

enhanced conversion efficiency of 

electron energy to FEL light.

T
Life and Environmental Sciences Introduction

21Sh

Science 

Highlights

It was another exciting and productive year for NSLS users and staff 

research in the fields of structural biology, biomedical imaging, geological 

and environmental sciences, and soft condensed matter and biophysics. 

This community represents more than 60 percent of the NSLS users and its 

publications continue to be of high impact in premier scientific journals. 

As many of you know, NSLS users 

Venki Ramakrishnan and Tom Steitz were awarded the 2009 Nobel 

Prize in Chemistry along with Ada 

Yonath for their pioneering work 

on the structure of the ribosome. 

Even though macromolecular crystallography made the atomic resolution structure of the ribosome a 

reality several years ago, the details 

of its complex function are still not 

fully understood. For example, 

in 2009 Sarah Woodson’s group 

 (Adilakshmi, et al.) used synchrotron x-ray footprinting to show 

that folding of the 30S subunit proceeds via a process referred to as 

“induced fit,” where the proteins 

and RNA continuously adjust their 

structures, squishing like Play-Doh 

until they’re in place. Also from 

structures determined with macromolecular crystallography, new 

insights were gained into how the 

botulism toxin paralyzes nerve cells 

(Agarwal, et al.) and how the pathoI
22Sh

Science 

Highlights

genic bacteria that cause tuberculosis can survive in a human host 

(Gallagher, et al.), a 

process that can be 

blocked by a newly 

discovered class of 

inhibitors (Lin, et 

al.). Several studies 

revealed a deeper 

understanding of 

Alzheimer’s disease 

pathology, including an x-ray fluorescence microscopy 

study by Leskovjan, 

et al. that implicated metal ions in 

the death of brain 

cells, and a study by Connor, et al.

that identified diffraction-enhanced 

imaging as a possible tool for early 

diagnosis of the disease. Zinc transport across membranes, which 

has also been implicated in brainrelated diseases, was another topic 

highlighted in 2009. For example, 

the crystal structure of the Yiip Zn 

transporter provided a proposed 

mechanism behind the autoregulation of Zn in cells (Lu, et al.). Moreover, the structure of a Zn-bound 

domain of the NMDA receptor done 

by Karakas, et al. showed that Zn 

docks to a “clamshell cleft” within 

the molecule — a site that can now 

be targeted for the development of 

inhibitors for the prevention of brain 

cell death.

In the fields of soft condensed matter and biophysics, a few creative 

uses of DNA were highlighted in 

2009. Published in Nature, a team 

of researchers led by Ned Seeman 

at New York University created the 

world’s first 3-D DNA crystals. The 

importance of this development lies 

in the ability to organize biological 

macromolecules by attaching them 

to these crystals, which can help 

to crystallize macromolecules that 

otherwise would not crystallize 

(Zheng, et al.). In another highlight, 

DNA was used to link up nanoparticles in various arrangements, including 3-D nano-crystals. The idea 

is that nanoparticles coated with 

complementary strands of DNA 

help the particles find and stick to 

one another in highly specific ways. 

Because of its reliability and precision control, this nano-assembly 

method is high-throughput production that is needed for commercial applications (Maye, et al.).

It was also another productive year 

for NSLS researchers working in the 

fields of earth, environmental, and 

geosciences. Published in Science, 

researchers from the University of 

Rhode Island and the Smithsonian 

Institute helped explain why the 

Earth’s mantle is more oxidized at 

subduction zones — areas of the 

ocean floor where tectonic plates 

“It was another exciting and 

productive year for NSLS 

users and staff research in the 

fields of structural biology, 

biomedical imaging, geological 

and environmental sciences, 

and soft condensed matter 

and biophysics.”

merge — than at mid-ocean ridges, where the plates spread apart 

(Kelley and Cottrell). 

Using x-ray absorption spectroscopy 

with a microscopic 

x-ray beam, the 

researchers found 

that the oxidation state of iron in 

magma increases 

with the amount of 

water in the sample, 

which comes from 

the subduction 

zone. This work 

shows that the oxidized environment 

also is transferred from the subducting plate to the mantle below.

In another study published in 

PNAS, Ginder-Vogel, et al. used a 

technique developed at the NSLS 

called quick- x-ray absorption spectroscopy (Quick-XAS) to study the 

oxidation rate of arsenic by hydrous 

manganese oxide, which is a mineral that absorbs heavy metals and 

nutrients. Understanding these 

ultrafast reactions is important because the toxicity and availability of 

arsenic to living organisms depends 

on its oxidation state. 

The following selection of highlights provides a great sampling 

of some of the outstanding science that was performed using 

the NSLS in 2009. However, they 

barely touch the surface of the 

more than 900 papers published 

by NSLS staff and users this year 

and I encourage you to visit the 

NSLS website for more details on 

additional publications.

Lisa Miller

Life and Environmental Sciences Division Head
Earth and Environmental Sciences

23Sh

Science 

Highlights

New X-Ray Technique Illuminates Reactivity of Environmental Contaminants

A chemical reaction can occur in the blink of an eye. Thanks to a new analytical method employed 

by researchers at the University of Delaware (UD), scientists can now pinpoint, at the millisecond 

level, what happens as harmful environmental contaminants such as arsenic begin to react with soil 

and water under various conditions.

Quantifying the initial rates of 

such reactions is essential for 

modeling how contaminants are 

transported in the environment 

and predicting risks.

The research method, which uses 

an analytical technique known 

as quick-scanning x-ray absorption spectroscopy (Q-XAS), was 

developed using beamline X18B 

at the NSLS. 

In this particular study, the UD researchers made millisecond measurements of the oxidation rate of 

arsenic by hydrous manganese oxexample, arsenite [As(III)] is more 

mobile and toxic than its oxidized 

counterpart, arsenate [As(V)].

Q-XAS can be looked at as a very 

early tool that can be incorporated 

into predictive modeling for the environment.

— Tracey Bryant, University of 

Delaware

M. Ginder-Vogel, G. Landrot, J.S. 

Fischel, D.L. Sparks, “Quantification of 

Rapid Environmental Redox Processes 

with Quick-Scanning X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (Q-XAS),” PNAS, 

106(38), 16124 (2009).

ide, which is a mineral that absorbs 

heavy metals and nutrients. Contamination of drinking water supplies by arsenic is a serious health 

concern in the United States and 

abroad. The poisonous element occurs naturally in rocks and minerals 

and is also used in a wide range of 

products, from wood preservatives 

and insecticides, to poultry feed.

The toxicity and availability of arsenic to living organisms depends 

on its oxidation state — in other 

words, the number of electrons lost 

or gained by an atom when it reacts 

with minerals and microbes. For 

Experimental setup used to collect 

Q-XAS data

Matthew Ginder-Vogel, left, and Donald 

Sparks, S. Hallock du Pont Chair of Plant 

and Soil Sciences and director of the 

Delaware Environmental Institute at UD 

(Photo by Kathy F. Atkinson)

N
Earth and Environmental Sciences

24Sh

Science 

Highlights

Linking Lava and “Rust” to the Earth’s Evolution

Elizabeth Cottrell (left) and Katherine Kelley

Olivine crystal with glassy melt inclusions from the East Pacific Rise 

embedded in volcanic glass. Photograph taken in cross-polarized 

light with a gypsum plate. Field of view is approximately 2 mm.

By examining microscopic crystals that once lived deep in the Earth, a team of scientists is chipping 

away at the details of the planet’s evolution. Conducted by University of Rhode Island researcher 

Katherine Kelley and Smithsonian Institution geologist Elizabeth Cottrell, this research helps explain 

why the Earth’s mantle is more oxidized at subduction zones — areas of the ocean floor where 

tectonic plates merge — than at mid-ocean ridges, where the plates spread apart. 

Similar to the metal on a bicycle or 

a car, iron in the oceanic tectonic 

plate also can “rust” (oxidize) when 

it comes into contact with the oxygen in seawater. As this plate moves 

across the mid-ocean ridge toward 

the subduction zone over millions 

of years, the rust builds and builds 

before slowly being transported 

into the Earth. 

Researchers assume that this process adds oxygen to the mantle 

buried deep below the surface. 

creases with the amount of water 

in the sample, which comes from 

the subduction zone. This work 

takes that concept a step further, 

showing that the oxidized environment also is transferred from the 

subducting plate to the mantle 

below. 

K. Kelley and E. Cottrell, “Water and 

the Oxidation State of Subduction 

Zone Magmas,” Science, 325, 605 

(2009). 

Proof can be found in tiny crystals 

preserved in magmas, like a prehistoric mosquito frozen in a piece of 

amber. Inside these crystals is glass 

with dissolved gases from volcanic 

eruptions. At the NSLS, Cottrell and 

Kelley used micro x-ray absorption 

near-edge structure spectroscopy 

to determine the oxidation states 

of iron in a variety of glass samples 

from different tectonic areas. 

The researchers found that the oxidation state of iron in magma inL
Life Sciences

25Sh

Science 

Highlights

Long-Sought Protein Structure May Help Reveal How ‘Gene Switch’ Works

The bacterium behind one of mankind’s deadliest scourges, tuberculosis, is helping researchers at the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and 

Brookhaven National Laboratory move closer to answering the decades-old question of what controls the switching on and off of genes that carry out all of life’s functions.

The researchers defined — for 

the first time — the structure of 

a “metabolic switch” found inside 

most types of bacteria — the cyclic AMP (cAMP) receptor protein, 

or CRP — in its “off” state. CRP 

is the “binding site” (attachment 

point) for cAMP, a small molecule 

that, once attached, serves as the 

signal to throw the switch. This 

“on” state of CRP then turns on 

the genes that help a microbe survive in a human host.

Using CRP from the bacterium 

Escherichia coli, researchers 

have been able to crystallize the 

protein in its active (“on”) state 

units that are genetically identical, the subunits were not structurally symmetrical as well.

It is believed that the asymmetry in the absence of cAMP prevents the protein from attaching 

to DNA. This, in turn, keeps CRP 

from activating genes when they 

are not needed.

— Michael E. Newman, NIST

D.T. Gallagher, N. Smith, S-K Kim, 

H. Robinson, P.T. Reddy, “Profound 

Asymmetry in the Structure of the 

cAMP-free cAMP Receptor Protein 

(CRP) from Mycobacterium tuberculosis,” Journal of Biological Chemistry

284, 8228-8232 (2009).

and examine the structure using 

a technique called x-ray diffraction. However, the structure of 

the inactive (“off”) E. coli CRP 

eluded them as attempts to 

crystallize it repeatedly failed for 

nearly three decades.

The breakthrough was achieved 

when the researchers substituted 

the CRP from Mycobacterium 

tuberculosis (the pathogen that 

causes tuberculosis) for the E. 

coli protein. Through x-ray diffraction at NSLS beamline X29, 

they discovered that although 

the M. tuberculosis protein in the 

"off" state consists of two subComputer model of the predicted structure for the “on” 

state of the cyclic AMP receptor protein (CRP) found in 

Mycobacterium tuberculosis. After binding cyclic AMP 

molecules (the yellow bodies in the center), the CRP is 

believed to change its structure so that the two subunits 

(colored purple on left and green on right) become symmetrical (identical in shape). It is this state of the CRP 

that binds a gene (DNA) and activates it to carry out 

functions necessary for the microbe’s survival.

Computer model of the defined structure for the 

“off” state of the cyclic AMP receptor protein (CRP) 

found in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The two subunits of the protein (colored purple on the left and 

green on the right) are genetically identical but, surprisingly were found to be asymmetric (different in 

shape) for the areas shown in white (top). This is the 

state of the CRP that is unable to activate genes necessary for the microbe’s survival.

L
Life Sciences

26Sh

Science 

Highlights

Researchers Find New Protein Function 

Protein NOD at the end of a microtubule Jon Kull (left) and Jared Cochran (Photo courtesy of Joseph Mehling, Dartmouth)

A group of Dartmouth researchers has found a new function for one of the proteins involved with 

chromosome segregation during cell division. Their finding adds to the growing knowledge about 

the fundamental workings of cells, and contributes to understanding how cell function can go 

wrong, as it does with cancerous cells. 

The researchers studied a protein called NOD, distantly related 

to the motor proteins called kinesin that power diverse cellular 

activities, including intracellular 

transport, signaling, and cell division. They used x-ray crystallography at NSLS beamline X6A 

to determine its structure, and 

then they used enzyme kinetics 

to find out how it performed. 

While this protein is found in 

fruit flies, the results are helpful 

in determining how related proteins work in humans.

If NOD doesn’t function properly, 

then the two cells end up with either both or none of that particular chromosome, which is lethal to 

the cell and the organism in most 

cases.

— Susan Knapp, Dartmouth 

University

J. C. Cochran, C. V. Sindelar, N. K. 

Mulko, K. A. Collins, S. E. Kong, R. S. 

Hawley, F. J. Kull, “ATPase Cycle of the 

Nonmotile Kinesin NOD Allows Microtubule End Tracking and Drives Chromosome Movement,” Cell, 136(1), 

110-122 (2009).

The study provides evidence for 

a new way a kinesin motor could 

function. Previously, it had been 

shown that kinesin motors haul 

chromosomes, neurotransmitters, 

and other vital cargo by walking 

along tiny molecular tracks called 

microtubules. But the researchers 

discovered that rather than moving on its own, NOD hitches a 

ride on the ends of microtubules, 

which results in a dynamic crosslinking between the arms of chromosomes and the cell’s growing 

spindle of microtubules.

R
Life Sciences

27Sh

Science 

Highlights

Researchers Discover 'On Switch' for Cell Death Signaling Mechanism

Scientists at Burnham Institute for Medical Research have determined the structure of the interactions between proteins that form the heart of the death inducing signaling complex (DISC), which 

is responsible for triggering apoptosis (programmed cell death). 

The research highlights how 

protein-protein interactions between Fas receptor and Fas-associated death domain protein 

(FADD) mechanistically control 

DISC formation. The x-ray crystal structure of the Fas-FADD 

death domain complex, which 

was solved at NSLS beamline 

X29A, revealed a particular arrangement of four FADD death 

domains bound to four Fas 

death domains. The structure 

showed that Fas undergoes a 

conformational change, creating 

an open form of the protein that 

acts as a site for FADD binding 

and also participates in the asinformation about the Fas-FADD 

complex at a resolution of 2.7 

angstroms. Electron microscopy 

studies additionally revealed that 

incubation of Fas death domain 

with full-length FADD resulted in 

the formation of DISC-like structures that clustered together.

— Josh Baxt, Burnham Institute for 

Medical Research

F.L. Scott, B. Stec, C. Pop, M. Strokegorzata, K. Dobaczewska, J.J. Lee, E. 

Monosov, H. Robinson, G.S. Salvesen, 

R. Schwarzenbacher, S.J. Riedl, “The 

Fas–FADD Death Domain Complex 

Structure Unravels Signalling by Receptor Clustering,” Nature, 457, 1019-

1022 (2009).

sociation of other Fas molecules 

in the clustered complex. The 

researchers propose that Fas 

opening itself acts as a control 

switch for DISC formation and 

initiation of apoptosis.

Understanding the initiation of 

DISC is of great interest because 

if researchers can activate or inhibit cell death they can have a 

major impact on many diseases 

such as cancer.

This work sheds the first light on 

the detailed architecture of this 

elusive complex. The x-ray crystal 

structure now provides detailed 

Overall structure of the Fas-FADD death domain complex. The structure (left panel) shows 

a tetrameric arrangement of Fas–FADD death domain complexes. Contacts between the 

complexes are solely mediated by Fas molecules. The right panel shows a cartoon representation of the Fas–FADD complex structure. One Fas–FADD death domain complex is 

displayed in green (Fas) and blue (FADD) ribbons, whereas the remaining three complexes 

are colored red, magenta and blue (surface representation).

R
Life Sciences

28Sh

Science 

Highlights

X-Rays for Early Alzheimer’s Disease Detection 

Images of the brain of a transgenic 

mouse obtained through histology and 

the corresponding brain region imaged 

with DEI in computed tomography 

mode.

Researchers have demonstrated a new, highly detailed x-ray imaging technique that could be developed into a method for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is associated with plaques, areas of dense built-up proteins, in the affected 

brain. Many scientists believe that these plaques, called amyloid beta (Aß) plaques, actually cause the disease. But 

before anti-plaque drug therapies can be tested, researchers need a non-invasive, safe, and cost-effective way to 

track the plaques’ number and size. 

That is no easy task: Aß plaques are 

extremely small, and conventional 

techniques such as computed tomography (CT) poorly distinguish 

between the plaques and other 

soft tissue such as cartilage or 

blood vessels. 

A technique developed at 

Brookhaven, called diffractionenhanced imaging (DEI), might 

provide the extra imaging power 

researchers crave. DEI, which uses 

extremely bright beams of synchrotron x-rays, can visualize not 

only bone, but also soft tissue in 

brains to visualize a wide range of 

anatomical structures without the 

use of a contrast agent. 

The radiation dose used for this 

study is too high to safely image 

individual Aß plaques in humans 

— the ultimate goal — but the 

results provide researchers with 

promising clues. 

D.M. Connor, H. Benveniste, F. Avraham Dilmanian, M.F. Kritzer, L.M. Miller, Z. Zhong, “Computed Tomography 

of Amyloid Plaques in a Mouse Model 

of Alzheimer’s Disease Using Diffraction Enhanced Imaging,” NeuroImage, 

46, (4), 908-914 (2009).

a way that is not possible using 

standard x-rays.

In this study, researchers from 

Brookhaven and Stony Brook University used DEI in a high-resolution 

mode called micro-computed tomography to visualize individual 

plaques in a mouse-brain model 

of Alzheimer’s disease. The resulting images are similar to those produced by high-resolution magnetic 

resonance imaging (MRI), with the 

potential to even exceed MRI pictures in resolution. In addition, they 

prove that DEI can be used on whole 

X
Life Sciences

29Sh

Science 

Highlights

How Botulism Paralyzes Nerve Cells: New Details Revealed

New structures of a botulism toxin interacting with a mimic of the nerve-cell protein it destroys 

suggest new ways to block this often-fatal interaction. 

Botulism toxins are among the deadliest known poisons. The toxins come in seven distinct varieties, 

but all work the same way: One portion of the toxin binds to a nerve-cell membrane; another portion moves a 

smaller “catalytic domain” into the cell; then this catalytic domain binds to and cleaves a nerve-cell protein, making it impossible for the nerve cell to “fire,” or send signals. The result is paralysis — and often, death.

This study, conducted by scientists 

from Brookhaven and the U.S. 

Army Medical Research Institute for 

Infectious Diseases, looked specifically at how the catalytic domain of 

neurotoxin F recognizes and binds 

to its target nerve-cell protein to 

perform this final, paralyzing step.

The team synthesized two different 

mimics of the target nerve-cell protein, allowed each to bind to the 

catalytic domain of the toxin, and 

The scientists are also exploring 

the possibility that the inhibitor 

molecules they used in this study 

as mimics for the nerve-cell protein could themselves serve as 

anti-toxin drugs.

R. Agarwal, J.J Schmidt, R.G Stafford, 

S. Swaminathan, “Mode of VAMP 

Substrate Recognition and Inhibition 

of Clostridium botulinum Neurotoxin 

F,” Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, 16, 789 (2009). 

analyzed the structures using highintensity x-rays at the NSLS. 

The structures reveal that portions 

of the toxin that are distant from 

the “active site” that cleaves the 

nerve-cell protein, called exosites, 

are crucial to the toxin’s ability to 

bind to and destroy this protein 

and could serve as additional targets for the development of drugs 

designed to interfere with the toxin’s deadly action.

The catalytic domain of Clostridium 

botulinum neurotoxin type F (represented as a molecular surface, gray) 

bound to an inhibitor molecule (colored ribbon) designed to mimic the 

nerve-cell protein the toxin cleaves. The 

mimic protein interacts with the toxin 

at several exosites (purple-, brown-, 

and green-shaded areas) in addition to 

the active site (red) that performs the 

cleaving action, suggesting that blocking these interactions could thwart the 

toxin's deadly action.

Brookhaven biologists Subramanyam 

Swaminathan (left) and Rakhi Agarwal

H
Life Sciences

30Sh

Science 

Highlights

Watching the Birth of a Ribosome: Assembly Quicker, Squishier Than Thought 

X-ray footprinting of 30S ribosome assembly. 16S rRNA was 

mixed with all 20 30S proteins 

to begin assembly. Exposure 

to x-rays (X28C, NSLS) creates 

hydroxyl radical (•OH) that 

nicks the RNA. The absence 

of nicks at certain locations 

tells which parts of the rRNA 

were folded and covered by 

proteins. Structure of E. coli 

30 S ribosome (pdb 2avy) with 

proteins in yellow and rRNA in 

gray. RNA regions protected in 

the first 100 ms are in red.

Sarah Woodson

At the NSLS, researchers from Johns Hopkins University have shown how the intricate process of 

ribosome assembly happens on such a quick time scale. Their unexpected results challenge common thought about the early-stage formation of this vital molecular complex. 

A ribosome is a large particle 

made of protein and RNA that 

manufactures the numerous 

proteins required for living cells. 

Rapidly growing cells produce 

thousands of new ribosomes in 

mere minutes through a series of 

complicated, and often misunderstood, steps. 

In this study, the researchers took 

“snapshots” of the speedy interactions between ribosomal RNA from 

the bacteria E. coli and the 20 proteins that make up the smaller of 

the ribosome’s two subunits.

than wait for one part of the structure 

to finish before proceeding. In addition, they found that the “lock-andkey” model — a popular biological 

assembly mechanism that describes 

how one piece perfectly clicks into 

the other in just one step — is not 

followed in this process. Instead, in a 

process referred to as “induced fit,” 

the proteins and RNA continuously 

adjust their structures, squishing like 

Play-Doh until they’re in place. 

T. Adilakshmi, D.L. Bellur, S.A. Woodson, 

“Concurrent Nucleation of 16S Folding 

and Induced Fit in 30S Ribosome Assembly,” Nature, 455, 1268-1272 (2009).

First, they mixed together the E. coli 

RNA and proteins in a motorized 

syringe and then pushed the fluid 

stream through a flow cell at NSLS 

beamline X28C while performing 

a technique called x-ray footprinting. In this setup, the x-rays create 

a very reactive chemical that causes 

the RNA strand to break when it’s 

exposed. However, the RNA is protected when it’s tucked inside of the 

protein structure.

The researchers discovered that the 

different parts of the subunit start to 

assemble all at the same time, rather 

W
Life Sciences

31Sh

Science 

Highlights

High-Res View of Zinc Transport Protein

New, improved-resolution views of a zinc transporter protein deciphered at Brookhaven National 

Laboratory provide not just a structure but also a suggested mechanism for how cells sense and 

regulate zinc, an element that is essential for life, but which must be kept at a steady state to avoid 

problems like seizures, diabetes, and possibly Alzheimer’s disease.

The structure was revealed using 

x-ray crystallography at the NSLS, 

where the researchers had previously solved a zinc transporter protein structure at lower resolution. 

To achieve the new structure, the 

scientists added mercury atoms 

to stabilize protein packing in the 

crystals. This increased the resolution by a mere angstrom (tenth 

of a nanometer). But because it 

brought the overall resolution 

of their structure to just below 3 

angstroms — the point at which 

atoms begin to become visible — 

it enabled the scientists to see the 

protein in action.

the cellular membrane. So when 

zinc levels inside the cell rise too 

high, this shape shifting pushes 

zinc ions through the membrane 

and out of the cell.

The new findings suggest targets 

for zinc-regulating drugs, and 

may even advance the understanding of similar zinc-regulating enzymes in plant chloroplasts 

with possible implications for 

biofuel production.

M. Lu, J. Chai, D. Fu, “Structural Basis 

for Autoregulation of the Zinc Transporter YiiP,” Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, 16, 1063 (2009).

Using fluorescent probes, the scientists also studied how the protein changed shape in response to 

zinc binding. And they tested how 

changes to structural elements of 

the zinc transporter protein would 

affect its ability to transport zinc.

Together, these experiments suggest an auto-regulatory mechanism for zinc transport: Zinc binding 

within the cell triggers hinge-like 

movements of two electrically repulsive portions of the protein in 

the cell’s interior, which results in a 

conformational change in the portion of the protein that traverses 

Upper panels: Atomic details of zinc 

binding to the zinc transporter protein, 

known as YiiP. Lower panel: A cartoon illustrating how zinc binding may 

change the protein shape to regulate 

the coordination geometry of the active site for zinc transport (shown as a 

tetrahedron in upper right panel).

H
Life Sciences

32Sh

Science 

Highlights

Inhibitors of Important Tuberculosis Survival Mechanism Identified 

A close-up view of one portion of the TB proteasome before (gray) and after (green) interaction with an inhibitor molecule. The inhibitor molecule causes a conformational change 

(indicated by dotted lines and red arrow) that 

interferes with the ability of protein substrates 

to bind to the proteasome complex. In combination with other changes triggered by the 

inhibitor, this conformational change disables 

the proteasomes function in a highly specific 

way. Such inhibitors may thus be an effective 

strategy for combating TB.

The TB proteasome structure, 

shown here from the top, was 

originally described in a Molecular 

Microbiology paper in March 2006.

Huilin Li

Attempts to eradicate tuberculosis (TB) are stymied by the fact that the disease-causing bacteria 

have a sophisticated mechanism for surviving dormant in infected cells. Now, a team of scientists 

including researchers from Brookhaven National Laboratory, Stony Brook University, Weill Cornell 

Medical College, and The Rockefeller University has identified compounds that inhibit that mechanism — without damaging human cells.

Most people infected with mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes TB, remain symptom-free because the bacterium is 

kept in check within immune system cells. These cells produce compounds such as nitric oxide, which 

scientists believe damage or destroy the bacteria’s proteins. If allowed to accumulate, the damaged 

proteins would kill the bacteria.

But TB bacteria use a protein-cleaving complex known as a proteasome — identified in earlier research 

by this same team — to break down 

damaged proteins. This allows the 

bacteria to remain dormant, and 

possibly go on to cause active TB. 

Finding drugs to disable the proteahibitor molecules block the proteasome’s ability to degrade proteins in 

more than one way: by producing a 

direct chemical change to the proteasome active site, and by altering 

the conformation of the “pocket” 

into which protein fragments bind 

before being degraded.

A detailed understanding of the 

steps by which these inhibitors cause 

the conformational changes could 

therefore guide the design of the 

next generation of anti-TB drugs.

G. Lin, D. Li, L.P. Sorio de Carvalho, 

H. Deng, H. Tao, G. Vogt, K. Wu, J. 

Schneider, T. Chidawanyika, J.D. Warren, H. Li, C. Nathan, “Inhibitors Selective for Mycobacterial Versus Human 

Proteasomes,” Nature, 461, 621-626 

(2009).

some would be a new way to fight 

TB. However, because human cells 

also possess proteasomes, the drugs 

would have to specifically target the 

TB proteasome without adversely 

affecting the human protein-cleanup complex.

After screening 20,000 compounds, 

the researchers identified two inhibitors that are effective against the 

TB bacteria while showing no toxicity to mammalian cells.

To learn more about the inhibitory 

mechanism, the group used the 

NSLS to determine the atomic-level 

crystal structures of TB proteasomes 

following exposure to the inhibitors. 

The studies revealed that the inI
Life Sciences

33Sh

Science 

Highlights

Metal Deficiency in Mouse Brain Plaques Guides Direction of Human Alzheimer’s 

Disease Research

Minuscule plaques in the brains of mice with Alzheimer’s disease contain much less metal than 

the brains of affected humans, according to a study conducted at the NSLS. This surprising finding 

could help researchers pinpoint the effect of metal in the human disease. 

One of the hallmark features of Alzheimer’s diseased brain is amyloid 

beta (Aβ) plaques, small areas of 

dense built-up proteins. Previously, researchers have found an abundance 

of zinc, copper, and iron in the amyloid plaques in human Alzheimer’s 

disease. These metal ions are essential 

to brain function, but elevated levels 

in the plaques may catalyze the formation of free radicals, which are toxic to brain cells. However, researchers 

have found that mice that were bred 

to develop Aβ plaques don’t show 

the severe neurodegeneration associated with human Alzheimer’s disease. 

That difference, researchers have 

guessed, might be attributed to 

a lower concentration of metal in 

mouse Aβ plaques. 

plaques, by comparison, showed 

a 339-percent increase in zinc, a 

466-percent increase in copper, 

and a 177-percent increase in iron. 

Although differences in plaques 

could be due to a number of factors, this study provides a solid path 

to follow. If metals turn out to be 

the culprit of Alzheimer’s disease, 

further research might lead to the 

identification of targets for drug 

development or metal-targeted 

therapy to remove the excess metals from the plaques. 

A.C. Leskovjan, A. Lanzirotti, L.M. 

Miller, “Amyloid Plaques in PSAPP 

Mice Bind Less Metal Than Plaques 

in Human Alzheimer’s Disease,” NeuroImage, 47(4), 1215-1220 (2009).

To investigate, researchers from 

the NSLS, Stony Brook University, 

and the University of Chicago used 

an x-ray fluorescence microscope 

and Fourier transform infrared microscopy at the NSLS to determine 

the metal concentration in plaques 

and surrounding non-plaque tissue 

taken from mice representing endstage Alzheimer’s disease. They 

then compared the metal levels 

to previously collected data taken 

from human brains. 

In mice, the plaques only showed 

an elevation in one type of metal 

— zinc, up by 29 percent — as 

compared to the surrounding tissue. But the mouse plaques actually had less copper and iron than in 

the surrounding tissue. Human Aβ 

(A) Thioflavin S-stained PSAPP 

mouse brain tissue. X-ray fluorescence microprobe images of 

(B) Zn and (C) Cu distribution in 

the same tissue. All scale bars 

are 5 μm.

From left, Lisa Miller, Andreana 

Leskovjan, and Tony Lanzirotti

M
Soft Condensed Matter and Biophysics

34Sh

Science 

Highlights

DNA-Based Assembly Line for Precision Nano-Cluster Construction 

Using DNA to assemble nanoclusters: (a) (1) DNA linker strands 

(squiggly lines) are used to attach DNA-coated nanoparticles to 

a surface. (2) Linker strands are attached to the top side of the 

nanoparticle. (b) (3a) A nanoparticle of a second type with complementary DNA encoding recognizes the exposed linker strands and 

attaches to the surface-anchored nanoparticle. (4a and 5a) The assembled structure is released from the surface support, resulting in 

a two-particle, dimer cluster. (c) (3b) Alternatively, the immobilized 

particles produced in step (a) are released from the surface, leaving 

the opposite-side linker strands free to bind with multiple particles 

(4b) to form asymmetric “Janus” clusters.

This transmission 

electron micrograph 

shows nanoparticle 

dimers (two-particle 

clusters) assembled 

and released through 

the DNA-encoded solid-support approach.

Building on the idea of using DNA to link up nanoparticles — particles measuring mere billionths 

of a meter — scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory have designed a molecular assembly 

line for predictable, high-precision nano-construction. Such reliable, reproducible nanofabrication 

is essential for exploiting the unique properties of nanoparticles in applications such as biological 

sensors and devices for converting sunlight to electricity. 

The Brookhaven team has previously used DNA, the molecule that 

carries life’s genetic code, to link up 

nanoparticles in various arrangements, including 3-D nano-crystals. 

The idea is that nanoparticles coated with complementary strands of 

DNA — segments of genetic code 

sequence that bind only with one 

another like highly specific Velcro — help the nanoparticles find 

and stick to one another in highly 

specific ways. By varying the use of 

complementary DNA and strands 

that don’t match, scientists can 

and therefore a more predictable, 

reproducible high-throughput construction technique for building 

clusters from nanoparticles.

Instead of assembling millions and 

millions of nanoparticles into 3-D 

nanocrystals, as was done in the 

previous work, this technique allows the assembly of much smaller 

structures from individual particles.

M.M. Maye, D. Nykypanchuk, M. 

Cuisinier, D. van der Lelie, O. Gang, 

“Stepwise Surface Encoding for Highthroughput Assembly of Nanoclusters,” Nature Materials, 8, 388 (2009).

exert precision control over the 

attractive and repulsive forces between the nanoparticles to achieve 

the desired construction. 

The latest advance, which incorporated small-angle x-ray scattering 

experiments at the NSLS and studies 

at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials, has been to use the DNA 

linkers to attach some of the DNAcoated nanoparticles to a solid surface to further constrain and control 

how the nanoparticles can link up. 

This yields even greater precision, 

D
Soft Condensed Matter and Biophysics

35Sh

Science 

Highlights

Chemists Reach from the Molecular to the Real World 

with Creation of 3-D DNA Crystals

Chemists from New York University and Purdue University have created three-dimensional DNA 

structures, a breakthrough bridging the molecular world to the world where we live.

DNA’s double helices form when 

single strands of DNA — each 

containing two pairs of complementary molecular components 

called bases, attached to a molecular backbone — self-assemble by matching the complementary parts. The researchers added 

“sticky ends” — small cohesive 

sequences — to these double 

helices, forming single-stranded 

overhangs. Where these overhanging sticky ends are complementary, they bind together to 

link two double helices. By linking together multiple helices, the 

researchers form a lattice-like 

structure that extends in six different directions, thereby yielding a 3-D crystal.

A promising application of this approach is in nanoelectronics, where 

the enhanced flexibility of 3-D components could help manufacturers 

build parts that are smaller, closer 

together, and more sophisticated.

The scientists also expect that they 

can organize biological macromolecules by attaching them to these 

crystals, which would help in the 

development of new drugs.

— James Devitt, New York

University

J. Zheng, J.J. Birktoft, Y. Chen, T. Wang, 

R. Sha, P.E. Constantinou, S.L. Ginell, C. 

Mao, N.C. Seeman, “From Molecular to 

Macroscopic Via the Rational Design of 

a Self-Assembled 3D DNA Crystal,” Nature, 461, 74-77 (2009).

This technique allows researchers to organize more matter 

and work with it in many more 

ways than is possible with 2-D 

crystals.

The crystals were analyzed using x-ray diffraction at Argonne 

National Laboratory’s Advanced 

Photon Source and NSLS beamlines X6A and X25. Using a variety of detectors, scientists 

measure how a beam of intense 

x-rays scatters, or bounces off, 

the atoms in the sample. The 

resulting diffraction pattern allows them to reconstruct a 3-D 

molecular model of the material, 

showing the positions and relative orientations of the atoms.

Researchers created 3D DNA structures 

by using single-stranded sticky ends 

that link double helices in DNA triangles 

that point in different directions.

C
36 Yr

Year in

Review

NSLS and NSLS-II staff gather at the Light Sources Directorate 

Annual Awards Barbeque.
37 Yr

Year in

Review

The Light Sources Directorate 

includes more than 370 scientists, 

engineers, technicians, and 

support staff.
January - February

38 Yr

Year in

Review

NSLS-II Contract Will Mean 

Hundreds of Jobs for Long Island

The NSLS-II Project selects Torcon, Inc. to 

construct the building that will house the 

accelerator ring, the largest component of the 

machine. Torcon estimates that 90 percent 

of the total construction contract cost of 

more than $170 million will be spent directly 

with Long Island contractors and suppliers. 

Brookhaven Lab Receives $28 Million 

to Support Crystallography Facility

Brookhaven receives grants from the U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) 

totaling $28 million to support the X-ray Crystallography 

Research Resource at the NSLS. The grants of $15 million 

from DOE’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research 

and $13 million from NIH’s National Center for Research 

Resources will fund five years of operations and research.

NSLS Physicist 

Pete Siddons Named 

APS Fellow

Pete Siddons, an NSLS 

physicist, is among four 

Brookhaven scientists 

to be named Fellows of 

the American Physical 

Society, a professional 

organization with about 

46,000 members. 

Siddons was honored 

“for his contribution 

to x-ray optics, x-ray 

physics, x-ray detectors, and the development of synchrotron 

radiation instrumentation and experimental techniques.”

College Mini-Semester Students Spend 

Their Winter Break at Brookhaven Lab

Twenty-two students from 15 colleges spend five days of 

their winter break at Brookhaven discovering cuttingedge science. The students were enrolled in Brookhaven’s 

College Mini-Semester Program, which included lectures, 

team research experience, and tours of BNL facilities, 

including the NSLS.

446th Brookhaven Lecture: Lin Yang

NSLS scientist Lin Yang gives the 446th Brookhaven 

Lecture, titled, “When Crystallography Won’t Show You the 

Membranes,” focusing on a new, unique method to study 

proteins and lipids within their native environment as they 

form the essential permeable surface of a cell membrane. 

Department of Energy Approves 

Construction Start of NSLS-II Project

The U.S. Department of Energy grants 

“Critical Decision 3” (CD-3) status 

to the NSLS-II, approving the start of 

construction in fiscal year (FY) 2009 

and scheduling completion in FY 2015.

“During the last year, 

150 university, industrial, 

and national laboratory 

research groups made 

a total of 800 visits to 

work at this resource.” 

— Robert Sweet, principal investigator, of the

X-ray Crystallography Research Resource

J

January

F

February
March - April

39 Yr

Year in

Review

Senator Gillibrand 

Visits the NSLS

U.S. Senator Kirsten 

Gillibrand is welcomed 

to Brookhaven Lab 

during her first visit 

to Suffolk County 

since being appointed 

by Governor David 

Paterson to the seat 

formerly held by 

Hillary Clinton. Accompanied by U.S. 

Congressman Tim 

Bishop, and newly elected Brookhaven Town Supervisor Mark Lesko, the 

Senator toured the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic 

Heavy Ion Collider, the National Institute of Standards and 

Technology beamline at the National Synchrotron Light 

Source, and electron microscopy and other labs at the Center 

for Functional Nanomaterials. 

Hendrickson Appointed NSLS-II 

Associate Project Director for Life Sciences

Wayne A. Hendrickson, a longtime NSLS structural biology

user, university professor at Columbia University, and 

Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, is 

appointed Associate Project Director for Life Sciences at 

NSLS-II.

NSLS Physicist Elaine 

DiMasi Awarded Tenure

Elaine DiMasi, a physicist 

at the NSLS, is one of eight 

scientists granted tenure 

by Brookhaven Science 

Associates, based on her 

scientific accomplishments 

related to ordering at liquid surfaces as well as her 

research and leadership in 

the field of biomineralization.

RapiData Draws 50 Future 

Crystallographers to the NSLS

About 50 students gather at the NSLS for RapiData 2009, 

a weeklong crash course designed to introduce participants 

to the best and latest equipment and techniques for macromolecular x-ray crystallography. 

“Brain Week” Web Conference Links 

High Schoolers with NSLS Researchers

As part of “Brain 

Week,” a group of 

Sachem East High 

School students learn 

— and watch — how 

synchrotron light is 

being used to study 

ailments such as 

Alzheimer’s, Parkinsons, and Lou Gehrig’s diseases without 

stepping foot outside 

of their classroom. 

Via web conference, 

the students talked 

to and questioned scientists at the NSLS and “toured” a 

specialized beamline used for biological imaging.

Children Use Synchrotron Forensics, 

Detective Techniques to Solve Mock Hit-and-Run

With the help of NSLS researchers and BNL Police, about 

50 children of Light Sources Directorate staff and users put 

together clues to catch the culprit in a hit-and-run case. 

The “crime,” played out as part of the national Take Your 

Children to Work Day, transformed the students into 

temporary detectives and forensic scientists as they used 

synchrotron techniques at the NSLS to illuminate evidence.

JPSI Workshop: Microelectronics 

Research Opportunities at the 

National Synchrotron Light Source

The Joint Photon Sciences Institute 

sponsors its first workshop to bring 

together researchers from industry, 

education, and government to share 

information and form new collaborative 

projects. The microelectronics-focused workshop, held at Albany Nanotech’s Nanofab South, 

assembled a team of experts in synchrotron techniques and 

brought it to the “customer” — microelectronics researchers 

from Sematech, IBM, University of Albany’s College of 

Nanoscale Science and Engineering, TEL, and Intel.

Workshop Breaks New Ground, 

Introduces Synchrotron Techniques 

to Glass Community 

A Workshop on Applications of Synchrotron

Techniques in Glass Research is held 

at Brookhaven by the National Science 

Foundation’s International Materials Institute 

for New Functionality in Glass and the NSLS.

M

March

A

April
May - June

40 Yr

Year in

Review

NSLS Conference Room Named in Honor 

of Former Project Director

Almost 27 years after the dedication of the NSLS, Arie van 

Steenbergen, the man who helped bring the facility to fruition, receives his own ceremony. Numerous relatives, friends, 

and colleagues of van Steenbergen, a former Deputy NSLS 

Department Chairman who died in January 2009, gathered 

at the NSLS to name Conference Room A in his honor.

First Major Milestone Achieved for Brookhaven’s 

Next Big Machine, NSLS-II

The development of the magnet girder assembly for NSLS-II,

a project requiring almost four years of research and 

engineering design, is completed when NSLS-II staff 

confirmed that the magnets’ high-precision alignment 

would survive the process of transporting them from their 

assembly point to the NSLS-II tunnel.

JPSI Workshop: Energy Storage 

Research Opportunities at the NSLS

About 45 participants attend the “Energy 

Storage Research Opportunities at the National Synchrotron Light Source” workshop, 

sponsored by the Joint Photon Sciences Institute and the NSLS. 

NSLS-CFN Joint Users’ Meeting Highlights Boost, 

Opportunities in Science Funding

About 400 people attend the 2009 joint meeting of 

the NSLS and Center for Functional Nanomaterials user 

communities, which focused on the increased support for 

science in the nation. Plenary speakers included: Laboratory 

Director Sam Aronson; Harriet Kung, Director of DOE’s 

Office of Basic Energy Sciences; Pedro Montano, Director 

of the BES Scientific User Facilities Division; Steve Dierker, 

Associate Laboratory Director for Light Sources; NSLS Chair 

Chi-Chang Kao; and CFN Director Emilio Mendez.

Chuan-Hsiang Huang 

Receives 2009 Julian 

Baumert Award

Chuan-Hsiang Huang, a 

post-doctoral fellow at The 

Johns Hopkins University 

School of Medicine, 

is awarded the 2009 

Julian Baumert Ph.D. Thesis 

Award for his work on 

solving the structure of a 

protein frequently mutated 

in human cancers.

The NSLS-II Celebration: New Jobs and New Science

The NSLS-II Project marks the 

start-of-construction with 

music and dance performances, food, and remarks from 

Senators Charles Schumer 

and Kirsten Gillibrand, Congressman Tim Bishop, and numerous representatives from 

Brookhaven, the U.S. Department of Energy, Battelle, and 

Stony Brook University.

UEC Community Service 

Award Goes to Keith Klaus

The NSLS Users’ Executive 

Committee awards Keith Klaus, 

the NSLS Safety Engineer, with 

the 2009 UEC Community 

Service Award for outstanding 

service, innovation, and 

dedication to users of the 

NSLS.

Workshop Highlights New 

Opportunities in Hard X-ray 

Photoelectron Spectroscopy

The third international workshop on 

hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) brings together about 

100 scientists from 14 countries. The 

three-day workshop was sponsored by 

the NSLS, the NSLS-II Project, Brookhaven’s Condensed 

Matter Physics and Materials Science Department, and 

the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

M

May

J

June
July - August

41 Yr

Year in

Review

Third Annual Meeting of INCREASE Consortium 

Focuses on Heightening Involvement

The third meeting of the Interdisciplinary Consortium for 

Research and Educational Access in Science and Engineering 

(INCREASE) stresses the importance of amplifying the 

participation of faculty and students from minorityserving institutions. Held at the NSLS, the workshop attracted 

11 faculty members from 10 institutions to learn how to 

transform themselves and their students into successful 

synchrotron users.

MX Frontiers at the One Micron Scale: 

Making the Case for Micro-Beams

The Macromolecular Crystallography (MX) Frontiers at 

the One Micron Scale workshop is held at Brookhaven to 

explore structural biology scientific opportunities made 

possible through the use of micro-beams. More than 100 

attendees participated in the workshop, which included 

one-and-a-half days of lectures, discussions, and a semiformal poster session.

Summer Sunday Teaches Science 

with Gumdrops, Beethoven

The Light Sources Directorate annual open house, part 

of Brookhaven Lab’s Summer Sundays program, draws a 

record-breaking number of both visitors and volunteers. 

A slew of hands-on scientific demos, basic lectures, giveaways, and tours attracted nearly 850 visitors from the local 

community to the NSLS.

NSLS Summer Students Complete Projects 

Ranging from Geology to Physics

Twenty-seven college students and 

five professors join 

the NSLS for the 

summer, working 

with scientists and 

engineers from the 

department in research fields ranging from geology 

and environmental 

sciences to electrical and mechanical engineering. In addition to their research 

projects, students have the opportunity to attend scientific 

lectures, tour BNL research facilities, and participate in numerous social activities.

First Concrete Poured 

for NSLS-II Ring Building

The first bits of the NSLS-II ring building

start taking shape as the concretepouring process for the new, worldclass facility begins. Once complete, 

the 400,000 square-foot building 

will house the accelerator ring, the 

largest component of the machine.

Another First at the NSLS-II 

Construction Site 

Workers at the NSLS-II ring building 

construction site complete the first 

complicated concrete pour for the 

approximately 19-ft.-tall walls of the Utility 

Tunnel. The continuous pour was the first 

of its kind, as previous pours have been for 

footings and the foundations of footings.

“People have been 

watching us perform 

earthwork for two months, 

and now we'll have 

something to show for it.” 

—Marty Fallier, NSLS-II DIvision Director 

for Conventional Facilities 

J

July

A

August
September - October

42 Yr

Year in

Review

Contracts Awarded for Production 

of NSLS-II Storage Ring Magnets

The last of seven contracts for the production of the NSLS-II 

storage ring magnets is awarded — a significant milestone 

for the project. The magnets — 750 in total — will be made 

by vendors in the United States, Russia, China, Europe, and 

New Zealand.

NSLS Hosts First Training Session 

on Solution X-ray Scattering

To learn the ways of solution x-ray scattering, about a 

dozen researchers from eight different institutions come 

to the NSLS for hands-on training and tips from experts 

in the field. The inaugural training session was based at 

NSLS beamline X9, a newly commissioned, undulatorbased beamline that specializes in taking small angle x-ray 

scattering measurements — data that are very valuable for 

studying biological macromolecules.

Light Sources Staff Makes Strong 

Showing at Instrumentation 

Conference

More than 20 Light Sources Directorate 

employees attend the 10th international 

conference on Synchrotron Radiation Instrumentation (SRI) to learn about and present 

the latest developments in the field. 

BNL Hosts Workshop on Materials 

in Next-Generation Energy Systems

A BNL workshop on the characterization of materials under 

extreme conditions of next-generation energy systems is 

organized by BNL’s Energy Sciences Technology Department, 

the NSLS, and the Joint Photon Sciences Institute.

First Structural Steel Erected for NSLS-II

Ten steel columns are incorporated into the ever-growing 

framework for the NSLS-II — the first structural steel 

erected for the future 400,000-square-foot facility.

Light Source Employees Honor Year’s Achievements, 

Co-Workers at Annual Picnic

Discounting dark skies 

and sprinkles, almost 

200 Light Source Directorate employees gather 

for food, drinks, and the 

chance to reflect upon 

the past year’s accomplishments at the annual 

picnic and awards ceremony.

Seminal Work for 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 

Conducted at NSLS

The 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded to three 

researchers, including long-time NSLS users Venkatraman 

Ramakrishnan, Medical Research Council Laboratory of 

Molecular Biology, a former employee in Brookhaven’s 

biology department; and Thomas A. Steitz, Yale University. 

They shared the prize with Ada E. Yonath, Weizmann 

Institute of Science, for studying the structure and function 

of the ribosome.

NIH Funding Renewed for Case 

Center for Synchrotron Biosciences

Funding for the Center for Synchrotron

Biosciences (CSB), a consortium that 

runs five beamlines at the NSLS, is 

renewed through the National Institutes 

of Health. The CSB, based at Case 

Western Reserve University, will receive 

a five-year, $4 million grant to continue the exploration of 

the structure and dynamics of proteins and nucleic acids.

September

S O

October
November - December

43 Yr

Year in

Review

NSLS Users Rack Up Numerous Awards 

Eight NSLS users win a number of prestigious

honors. They include: Brookhaven physicist 

and former NSLS Deputy Chair Samuel 

Krinsky, winner of the 2008 Free 

Electron Laser (FEL) Prize; National Institute of

Standards

and Techn o l o g y 

(NIST) scientists Dean 

DeLongchamp and Dan 

Fischer, who received 

NIST’s highest honor, the 

Departmental Bronze 

Medal; Delongchamp, 

Thomas Epps III (University of Delaware), and 

Jason Graetz (Brookhaven 

Lab), who were among 

100 recipients of the 

2009 Presidential Early 

Career Award for Scientists

and Engineers; University 

of Delaware postdoctoral researcher 

Matthew Ginder-Vogel, 

who was awarded a 

seed grant from the 

Delaware National Science

Foundation Experimental 

Program to Stimulate 

Competitive Research 

(NSF EPSCoR) office; and 

Bonnie Ann Wallace, a 

researcher at Birkbeck 

College, University of 

London, who won the 

2009 Royal Society of 

Chemistry Interdisciplinary

Prize and the 2010 

Biochemical Society’s 

AstraZeneca Award.

Inscribed Concrete Boulder 

Found on NSLS-II Excavation 

Site Sparks Curiosity

Construction workers at the NSLS-II 

excavation site discover a large concrete 

“boulder” with writing and a drawing 

inscribed on it that likely has ties to 

Camp Upton — the military base that 

existed prior to the creation of BNL.

“This boulder has been 

underground for over 70 years, 

but the writing on it was 

quite legible.” 

— Tim Green, BNL Cultural and Natural Resources Manager, 

on the NSLS-II excavation site boulder 

N

November December

D
Safety Update

44 Fr

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The NSLS Environment, Safety, Health, and Quality (ESH&Q) Division 

includes contributions from a mixture of department and assigned 

Laboratory personnel from BNL’s ESH Directorate. The group works to 

manage the various ESH, quality assurance, and training issues presented 

by facility and experiment operations.

There is a continued emphasis on 

integration of ESH&Q principles into 

all work at BNL. Laboratory initiatives 

for 2009 included continued focus 

on implementation of Human Performance principles into work planning 

and execution, better communication 

across directorates for lessons learned 

and corrective actions needed when 

an incident or audit uncovers some 

program deficiency, and on efforts 

to consolidate resources and 

improve management efficiency 

through the directorate’s new 

Blueprint and Leadership Action Plan.

There were a number of significant 

accomplishments this year at the 

NSLS. Implementation of Human 

Performance principles continued 

as directorate and beamline staff 

attended training developed for 

application of Human Performance 

concepts to facility, beamline, and 

experimental operations. And hazard analyses were completed for 

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each beamline to identify risks and 

error-likely situations presented by 

routine work tasks not captured 

through use of the experiment 

Safety Approval Forms.

Another major activity of the year 

was redesigning the Beam Line 

Operational Safety Awareness 

(BLOSA) program. BLOSA forms 

are now better customized to each 

beamline, and revision control for 

the new checklists is much improved. The basic information required for all forms was rewritten 

with redundant or unnecessary 

information eliminated to allow 

for a more effective and efficient 

process.

Management of the set-up laboratories was improved. Much legacy 

equipment has been discarded. 

Task definition and risk analyses 

have been completed for each 

laboratory, and the 

steward program 

is better defined. 

In addition, a new 

webpage was established to collect 

needed information and the Safety 

Approval Forms 

were modified to 

assure review of 

the work planned 

for these spaces.

A final significant achievement to 

note for 2009 is the successful reduction of the risks presented by 

cryogen use at the NSLS. Through 

ardous waste generation remains 

low. Only three events rose to the 

level of required reporting and 

each was minor and efficiently resolved. Unfortunately, there were 

six injuries at the NSLS during 

2009 and two of those resulted 

in some lost work time. Each was 

well investigated and corrective 

actions were taken to reduce the 

risk of recurrence.

2009 was both a productive and 

challenging year for the Laboratory and NSLS ESH&Q programs. 

Much progress was made, but 

the accident rate on site continues to be troublesome. Several 

significant events have illustrated 

the need for more attention on 

the controls in place for managing how work is conducted, how 

work changes are evaluated and 

documented, and how facilities are used and 

their configuration 

maintained. The 

NSLS ESH&Q staff 

is engaged in the 

Laboratory’s efforts to improve 

these processes 

and to help develop requirements 

that fit the needs 

of the department 

and the Laboratory. Continued 

cooperation from 

everyone will be 

needed to implement those requirements and continue with an 

exemplary and safe science program.

much discussion and analysis, specific personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements for handling cryogens were established to 

allow for efficient work progress 

and still provide needed protection, and improvements implemented at the beamlines have led 

to better control of the oxygen 

deficiency hazards presented by 

these materials. A considerable 

volume of liquid nitrogen and helium is in constant use at the facility and the improvements made 

toward controlling the risks they 

present were highly needed.

Tracking of various performance 

measures shows that all risks are 

well managed at the NSLS, and 

17 audits of the department’s 

ESH&Q programs yielded few 

findings and much praise. Workplace inspections continue to find 

deficiencies, but the time needed 

for correction has been reduced. 

Measured personnel radiation exposures were negligible and haz-

“Tracking of various 

performance measures shows 

that all risks are well managed 

at the NSLS and 17 audits 

of the department’s ESH&Q 

programs yielded few findings 

and much praise.”

Andrew Ackerman

Environment, Safety, Health, and Quality Division Head
The Accelerator Complex

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The NSLS storage ring complex completed another very productive year 

of operations in 2009. The X-ray Ring finished the year with 97.2 percent 

reliability, while the Vacuum Ultraviolet (VUV) Ring came in at 98.4 percent. 

These statistics handily exceeded our DOE requirement of 90 percent 

reliability and even bested the NSLS stretch goal to exceed 95 percent reliability. In 

addition, reliability in each ring was greater than 95 percent for each month of the 

year. This exceptional performance can be attributed to planned improvements in some 

of our critical high- power systems, such as the radiofrequency (RF) system, and enhanced 

preventive maintenance activities. Mother Nature pitched in a little help by providing 

a relatively quiet summer season with few power dips.

In the winter 2008 shutdown, the 

X-Ray RF system 3 was upgraded 

with a new solid-state 3 kW amplifier and circulator. Commissioning of this critical component took 

place in January 2009. The new 3 

kW solid-state amplifier replaced 

an aging tube amplifier. This component amplifies the 52.88 MHz 

signal and drives the final 125 kW 

stage. Since the electronics in the 

new amplifier cannot tolerate any 

reverse power from its load, it is 

isolated from the 125 kW amp 

through a circulator that diverts 

reflected power to a load resistor. 

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Following the careful installation 

of the amplifier, along with extensive modifications to the controls 

of XRF3, commissioning went very 

smoothly and we were back to operations on schedule early in 2009.

The 125 kW amplifier in each of 

the X-Ray RF systems is tube-based 

and requires a large power supply to drive the tube. This power 

supply occupies two racks. The 

rack that holds the magnetic components of the supply for X-Ray 

RF system 3 weighs about 3,000 

pounds and had to be lowered to 

the ground from the roof of the 

building (about 25 feet). This task 

was carefully planned by our staff 

along with staff members from 

the BNL rigging shop, who completed the move flawlessly during 

the spring shutdown. Although 

weighing only slightly less, raising 

the new supply from the ground 

to the roof was equally challenging 

and went equally 

well. Commissioning of this device 

went smoothly 

at the end of the 

May shutdown. 

We expect reliable 

performance from 

both of these critical XRF3 devices in 

the years to come.

Commissioning of 

the new Booster-to-VUV kicker 

power drivers occurred early in 

2009 following their installation 

during the winter 2008 shutdown. 

These are the last new drivers 

scheduled to be installed. Their 

successful commissioning lays to 

rest a critical vulnerability that was 

identified in the 2006 Machine 

Operations and Reliability Evaluation (MORE). The new supplies use 

available components and are designed to be modular, promoting 

ease of component replacement in 

the event of a failure.

January of 2009 saw the final 

phase of the X9 mini-gap undulator commissioning. We fully tested 

and commissioned the X9 Active 

Interlock system, which protects 

the vacuum pipe from synchrotron light damage by detecting 

an electron beam orbit outside of 

a designated window. This crucial 

system had to be fully operational 

66.6%

8.0%

9.1%

VUV-IR

16.3%

6.4%

15.0%

X-Ray

58.6%

20.0%

Scheduled Operations

Unscheduled Operations

Maintenance

Other - Studies, Com/Con, Holiday, 

Injection, Unscheduled downtime, 

Interlock

Calendar year 2009 machine activities

Other VUV/IR X-Ray

Studies 2.5% 5.0%

Com/Con 2.3% 3.8%

Holiday 2.5% 2.5%

Injection 0.8% 1.5%

Unsched. downtime 1.0% 1.6%

Interlock 0.0% 0.6%

User Metrics VUV/IR X-Ray

Reliability 98.4% 97.2%

Availability 110.2% 107.9%

Studies

Interlocks

Injection

Unscheduled

downtime

“The NSLS storage 

ring complex completed 

another very productive 

year of operations 

in 2009. ”

James B. Murphy

Deputy Chairman for Accelerators and Operations
The Accelerator Complex

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before the new X9 beamline can 

accept the light from the full 300 

mA electron beam. With the Active Interlock system in place and 

fully functional, the final stages of 

the beamline commissioning were 

completed.

Following a vacuum leak at a bellows weld joint in the X27 frontend mask early in the year, plans 

were made to replace the mask 

with one having additional water 

cooling and a modified aperture. 

This mask was successfully installed 

during the winter shutdown. Diagnostics placed on the mask shows 

that the new design operated as 

intended and temperatures on the 

mask are well below levels that 

would be of concern.

The issue with high mask 

temperatures was also 

discovered on the X7 

mask. Plans to replace 

this mask were made for 

the winter shutdown, 

but upon further surveys 

and studies, a simple 

horizontal rotation of 

the mask was attempted 

to alleviate the problem. 

With the full mask replacement 

task planned for the winter shutdown, we made the rotation during 

some unscheduled ops at the start 

of maintenance. The first rotation 

proved that this plan may work. 

Following two more rotations, we 

were satisfied that the temperature 

at the critical bellows weld dropped 

significantly and a full replacement 

would not be necessary.

The installation of the new X17 

hutch occurred in 2009. Work on 

this new addition to the beamline 

family began during the spring 

shutdown with relocation of some 

electrical panels and wiring and 

the relocation of a rack of x-ray 

beam-position monitors to the top 

of the sawtooth to make room for 

the new hutch and transport enclosure extensions. This work conInstalling the new booster safety interlock system

Carefully lowering the old 3,000-pound plate supply Some of the plate supply team members
49 Fr

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tinued during the winter shutdown 

when we relocated the X17 Active 

Interlock electronics to the top of 

the sawtooth as well as some rearranging of vacuum equipment. 

With the area clear, the enclosure 

vendor came in and installed all of 

the needed structures according 

to plan.

An Electrical Equipment Inspection 

(EEI) deadline to have all electrical 

items inspected by the end of FY09 

was met. In all, about 15,000 items 

were listed and inspected. Thanks 

to our team of EEI inspectors, this 

daunting task was completed by 

the deadline. Hats off to them for 

a job well done.

Throughout the year, several projects were completed to improve 

our operations with equipment 

upgrades. A new VAT valve controller was designed and commissioned during the spring shutdown. The new system is based 

on state-of-the-art programmable 

logic controller (PLC) technology 

and replaces a 1980s vintage system that simply ran out of available 

inputs. The new system gives us a 

user-friendly touch screen interface 

and is expandable. A new booster 

safety interlock system was designed and installed during the 

winter shutdown. Also based on 

PLC technology, this system uses 

a special safety PLC that meets 

the high standards of a personnel 

safety system.

With an eye toward maintaining 

robust operations for the full life of 

the NSLS, we purchased several pieces of RF and Power 

Systems equipment 

to upgrade aging 

hardware. This included another 3 

kW solid-state amplifier and circulator 

for X-Ray RF system 

1, a spare klystron 

oil tank so that we 

can keep a hot klystron spare while we 

test other tubes in 

our test dock. We 

also upgraded several x-ray transport 

line power supplies 

and a new elliptically polarized wiggler 

(EPW) feed-forward 

correction system 

that is now in development.

X-Ray Ring Injection

Improvements with a New 

Pulsed Trim Magnet

It has been known for a long time 

that the X-Ray Ring injection process was not fully optimized. Both 

the X-Ray and VUV rings share 

the Booster, which operates at the 

same current when injecting into 

either ring. Prior to spring 2009, we 

were injecting the X-Ray Ring at a 

rate of 0.2 to 0.4 mA/shot, when 

1.5 maA/shot should be possible 

from the Booster. Therefore each 

re-fill of the X-Ray Ring was taking 

around 10-20 minutes (the NSLS 

booster operates at 1.2 Hz). 

Injection losses were quantified in 

more detail with new diagnostics, 

in particular, wall current monitors were instrumented in 2005. 

From studies of residual activation 

around the Booster, it was established that a significant amount of 

Booster beam was lost in a relatively short region around the Boosterto-X-Ray extraction area, where 

we had limited steering ability. To 

address this, a compact, C-frame, 

pulsed trim magnet was designed, 

built, measured, and installed in 

the Booster-to-X-Ray extraction 

line to aid in reducing beam losses 

during the injection process. The 

new trim magnet provides about 

New trim magnet in the lab (top) and installed in the 

Booster-to-X-Ray extraction line (bottom)
The Accelerator Complex

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1 mrad kick in both horizontal and 

vertical directions. To allow simple 

convection air cooling, the trim 

magnet operates in pulsed mode, 

powered on only for about 10 ms 

during beam extraction.

The effort was spearheaded by Xi 

Yang of the NSLS Accelerator Physics Group. The magnet was designed 

by George Rakowsky, built by Mike 

Lehecka, and measured by Dave 

Harder of the NSLS Magnet Measurement Group, while the pulsed 

current supply was implemented by 

Pete Zuhoski from Electrical Engineering, assisted by electrical technicians Mike Fulkerson and Pete Davila. 

Installation assistance was provided 

by the Mechanical Tech Group.

The magnet was installed during the 

2008-09 winter shutdown and it 

has undergone successful commissioning in spring of 2009. The benefits of the new system were quite 

obvious; in particular, injection rates 

have gone up and radiation losses in 

some locations went down. Longstanding records for charge-per-shot 

have been quickly shattered by a 

large margin with the new ones now 

standing at above 1.5 mA/shot and 

(zero to 300 mA) X-Ray Ring re-fill 

in less than 4 minutes. The new trim 

magnet was put into routine operations right after the spring 2009 

machine shutdown, and it has been 

performing extremely well. With 

optimized kick settings, average injection rates have tripled, reducing 

the X-Ray Ring refill time to around 

6 minutes. Most importantly, many 

NSLS users have noticed faster machine re-fills and have commented 

very favorably on this improvement 

in machine performance.

Source Development

Lab (SDL)

The Source Development Lab (SDL) 

at the NSLS is a laser- and linacbased facility dedicated to R&D on 

future light source technology and 

applications. The SDL is the world 

leader in the development of laserseeded and high gain harmonic 

generation (HGHG) free electron 

lasers (FELs), which provide fully coherent ultrashort pulse radiation in 

the IR and VUV regimes. The SDL 

is an ideal platform to explore new 

cutting-edge ideas in FEL and highbrightness electron beam R&D. We 

have made significant progress in 

laser-seeded FELs, intense terahertz 

(THz) application and ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) in 2009. We 

have successfully demonstrated undulator tapering that will not only 

improve the laser-seeded FEL efficiency, but also preserve the FEL 

longitudinal and transverse coherence in the saturation regime.

We continue to explore the unique 

characteristics of single-cycle intense THz pulses generated at the 

NSLS SDL. We demonstrated that 

an intense single-cycle THz pulse 

combined with an electro-optic 

crystal and a dispersive element 

can act as a time lens for ultrafast 

laser pulses. We have compressed 

an unchirped 165 femtosecond (fs) 

laser pulse down to about 45 fs. We 

X-Ray Ring beam current in mA (left axis) and radiation 

monitor readings (arb. units, right axis) during the X-Ray Ring 

injection with the new trim magnet off and on

X-Ray Ring injection improvement after pulsed trim magnet 

installation
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The FEL spectrums at the three different undulator positions for uniform and tapered undulators. The red dashed line and blue solid line represent experimental 

data and simulation, respectively.

The MeV UED system installed at the NSLS SDL

have applied the intense THz pulse 

for materials studies, successfully 

observing the threshold for a single 

THz pulse to destroy the superconducting state in a thin film superconductor (NbN). 

UED is a promising technique that 

allows us to observe a molecular 

structure transition on the time 

scale less than 100 fs. UED has 

been continuously developed as a 

complementary technology to an 

x-ray FEL (XFEL) for probing ultrafast events of ultra-small objects. 

UED has some advantages over an 

XFEL in terms of its compactness, 

the size of its interaction cross-section (10 million times larger than an 

XFEL), because it’s less damaging to 

the samples. Our goal is to design, 

optimize, and experimentally demonstrate a single-shot MeV UED 

system with an atomic-scale spatial 

resolution and a time resolution on 

the order of 100 fs. The SDL UED 

system will be a unique tool for the 

ultrafast science and beam physics 

at BNL. 

The design of the proposed UED system has been optimized by tracking 

electrons from the start (photocathode RF gun) to the end (detector), 

using both a particle tracking code 

PARMELA and a custom MATLAB 

code that calculates a scattering intensity distribution by an aluminum 

sample placed between the photocathode RF gun and the UED detector. We have completed the detailed 

engineering design of the MeV UED, 

and all major components are being 

installed at the SDL.
Experimental Systems

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The major activities, projects, and accomplishments of the Experimental Systems Division in 2009 are summarized below:

Beamline R&D

During 2009, various beamline-related R&D projects were completed 

while others continued or began.

Construction of the new X9 beamline and endstation for small angle 

x-ray scattering (SAXS) and wide 

angle x-ray scattering (WAXS) was 

completed, and the beamline and 

endstation were commissioned and 

serving general users by July 2009. 

This permitted the relocation of 

these experimental programs from 

beamline X21 to X9, thereby resulting in larger beam time fractions for 

X21’s remaining programs in scattering in the presence of high magnetic 

fields, high-resolution diffraction, 

and materials growth. Although a 

dedicated undulator beamline for 

SAXS/WAXS (spanning both transmission and grazing incidence geometries, and incorporating a microfocused beam option) came about 

through the commissioning of X9, 

the available beam time there was 

oversubscribed right from the start. 

One-tenth of the available beam 

time at X9 is allocated to protein solution scattering experiments, and 

the first publications have recently 

appeared, one in a high-profile jourT
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nal (PNAS). X9 came into operation 

using water-cooling of the monochromator’s first crystal, resulting in 

restrictions on the accessible ranges 

of delivered photon energy (in order 

to avoid excessive thermal loads on 

the crystal). To mitigate this, a cryogenic cooling system for cooling the 

first crystal has been purchased, and 

its delivery is expected by the end of 

2010.

An upgrade of beamline X18A was 

completed and began to serve users employing diffraction and extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS). Measurements will 

be facilitated in the future through 

further upgrades that are underway 

to permit quick EXAFS (QEXAFS) to 

be carried out and through a new 

area detector that is being acquired 

with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds. Also, 

a HEPA-filtered exhaust system, 

which will permit nanoscience experiments to be carried out, was 

implemented in 2009.

An infrared focal plane array (FPA) 

microspectrometer system designed 

to work with a large-horizontalcollection-angle infrared beamline, 

which had been tested and optimized earlier at beamline U4IR, was 

installed at beamline U10B in 2009 

and began to serve users there. This 

new system was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Beamline projects that continued 

in 2009 included the construction 

of a new endstation for soft x-ray 

scattering at beamline X13A, and 

the construction of a new beamline 

and endstation for pair 

distribution 

function measurements at 

X17A. 

Acquisition 

of a transmission x-ray 

microscope 

(TXM) was 

made possible through 

ARRA funds, 

and a suitable instrument was specified and ordered from Xradia by the 

end of 2009. Simultaneously, the 

X8C beamline began to be evaluated as the potential host beamline 

for this instrument, which is expected to arrive at the end of 2010. 

When implemented, the TXM will 

be used for in-situ imaging (including tomographic reconstruction) of 

materials for energy storage, biofuels, and microelectronics.

Also in 2009, design and 

acquisition of hardware 

to permit a remote access capability for diffraction and reflectivity 

experiments at beamline 

X20B was undertaken. 

This capability will be implemented during 2010.

NSLS beamline staff continued to make significant contributions to the 

design and development 

of NSLS-II Project beamlines in 2009, albeit at a 

lower total effort than 

in 2008 owing to the recruitment 

by the NSLS-II project of dedicated 

staff for these beamlines. 

For example, with a view to present and future needs to quantify 

precisely the coherence of highbrightness x-ray beams, NSLS 

scientists have nano-fabricated a 

prism array from silicon and carried out a virtual Young’s double 

slit experiment using pairs of such 

prisms at the Advanced Photon 

The extended SAXS/WAXS range of q coverage 

in X9 experiments. The figure shows transmission SAXS/WAXS data from a sample of 3.8 mg/

ml lysozyme solution; the displayed data consist 

of sets merged from two different detectors (the 

SAXS detector spans from q = 0.004 Å-1 to q = 0.2 

Å-1 and the WAXS detector spans from q = 0.15 Å-1

to q = 2.0 Å-1).

“In 2009, we successfully 

delivered new beamline R&D 

projects and expertly supported 

existing ring and beamline 

mechanical systems. We have 

made progress on our first 

detector system using 3-D 

integration technology.”

Steven Hulbert

Experimental Systems Division Head
Experimental Systems

54 Fr

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Source (APS). With this 

device, interference patterns were measured, 

and from the visibility 

of the patterns’ fringes, 

the horizontal and vertical coherence lengths 

of the x-ray beam could 

be determined and their 

expected anisotropy 

could be confirmed. 

Detectors

In 2009, the NSLS Detector Development Group 

was fully occupied by 

the fast-imaging detector project for the Linac 

Coherent Light Source 

(LCLS), and completing 

the full-size version (384 

pixels) of the Maia rapid 

spectroscopy system. 

Good progress has been 

made, but neither is yet 

ready for deployment. 

We expect them both 

to be completed by midsummer 2010.

We suffered a sad loss of 

a valuable colleague from 

Brookhaven’s Instrumentation Division. Pavel Rehak was the inventor of 

the silicon drift detector, 

which the synchrotron 

community uses extensively, and was also the 

inventor of the x-ray active matrix pixel sensors 

(XAMPS) imaging detector concept, which is the 

basis of our LCLS developments. He passed away following 

complications from a stroke. He was 

a source of inspiration to us all in the 

detector community and a fount of 

information on many topics, and is 

hugely missed.

We have also made progress (with 

the help of our collaborators from 

Fermilab and ASH University, Krakow) 

on our first detector system using 

3-D integration technology. This first 

detector will be designed to bring the 

enhanced on-pixel processing power 

provided by 3-D integration to bear 

on the x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) technique. A twolayer application-specific integrated 

circuit (ASIC) has been designed and 

is currently being fabricated, providing analog signal conditioning in one 

layer and sparsified time-stamped 

readout in the other. This integrated 

circuit will then be bonded to sensors 

fabricated at BNL to form a prototype 

detector. The detector will provide 10 

microseconds time resolution and 

contain a 64-by-64 array of pixels, 

each 80 microns square. If this prototype is successful, we will then make 

a second version with resolution in 

the 10s of nanoseconds. Our dream 

is to provide on-chip time autocorrelation, but that is for the future. 

Although XPCS is not a technique 

much practiced at the NSLS, it will be 

the main focus of one of the NSLS-II 

Project beamlines. 

Another idea that we are pursuing 

for the application of 3-D circuit 

fabrication is the realization of energy-resolving pixel detectors. This 

is a challenging project, since it requires every detected photon to be 

In a demonstration experiment at beamline X18A, 

chemical and structural changes accompanying 

high-temperature reduction of CuFe2O4 were measured using EXAFS and powder diffraction, respectively, data for which are shown in these figures.

Interference patterns measured for different prism 

angles of the nano-fabricated silicon prism array, 

demonstrating their use in a virtual Young’s double 

slit experiment
55 Fr

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digitized to high precision, as well as the 

provision of in-pixel 

memory to hold the 

histograms acquired. 

We are approaching 

this project in stages, 

first to develop the 

analog front end with 

low noise, but also 

very low power (since 

even a microwatt 

per pixel totals to a 

Watt when you pack 

a million of them together!). Then we 

need to make a digitizer capable 

of converting the analog pulses 

into histogram entries, which must 

also not consume too much power. Lastly, we need to address the 

memory needs of such a system. 

There are many other technical 

challenges to this project, and it 

will take some time to bring it to 

fruition. It is, however, the mostrequested device in any survey of 

detector needs that we have seen.

Mechanical Systems

Several major mechanical system 

activities were undertaken by the 

Mechanical Systems Section in 

2009, contributing significantly to 

the NSLS by sustaining machine 

operations and advancing research 

capabilities. This section's engineers, designers, and technicians 

also continued developing and 

implementing preventative maintenance programs and performing 

emergency repairs on many accelerator and storage ring systems 

and components. 

The major NSLS projects for which 

the Mechanical Systems Section 

provided significant support during 

2009 include:

X-Ray Ring

It has been known since about 2007 

that several x-ray beamline front end 

components are heated well above 

room temperature by bend magnet 

radiation that impinges on uncooled 

surfaces of these components. In 

December 2008, a vacuum leak 

developed near one of these overheated areas on the X27 front end 

mask chamber, requiring remedial 

action. The mechanical engineering and design groups conducted 

a thorough engineering analysis 

via beam tracing and concluded 

that the cause of this overheating 

is bending magnet radiation from 

non-ideal electron orbit positions. A 

newly designed water-cooled aperture to block this unwanted radiated 

power was fabricated and installed 

immediately downstream of the dipole chamber exit flanges and was 

successful in reducing the X27 front 

end temperatures to acceptable values. The X7 front end temperatures, 

as determined by a remote temperature monitoring system, were even 

higher than at X27. A similar fix 

was planned for the X7 front end, 

to be installed during the December 2009 shutdown. Fortunately, a 

much less invasive solution consisting of a simple rotation of the X7 

mask chamber, was successful. The 

rotation was able to move any uncooled surfaces inside the X7 mask 

chamber out of the direct beam 

path. This obviated the need to 

vent, pump, and bake the entire XRay Ring superperiod that includes 

The detailed layout of the circuitry in 

each pixel on the two application specific 

integrated circuit (ASIC) layers. The analog circuits are in the layer on the top and 

the digital hit-finder and sparse readout 

logic is in the layer on the bottom. These 

two chips are bonded together to make 

a 3-D chip. This in turn will be bonded to 

a third sensor layer.

Schematic diagram of the 3-D XPCS detector. Each 

pixel consists of an amplifier/discriminator feeding a 

“hit-detector,” which records the fact that a photon 

has arrived in this pixel. Every 10 microseconds, the 

system requests all recorded hits to be downloaded for 

off-chip processing. Note that only actual events are 

transferred; no time is wasted downloading zeros.
Experimental Systems

56 Fr

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the X7 front end. The remaining front 

ends that are potentially subject to 

this heating problem (X3, X11, X15, 

X19, and X23) have not shown unacceptably high chamber temperatures, 

but are being monitored in case this 

changes.

In addition, the mechanical section 

addressed a stability problem plaguing one of the radio frequency (RF) 

systems. The RF cavities’ resonant frequencies are maintained via several 

mechanisms, including coarse control 

by the water cooling/heating systems 

and more finely by mechanically driven loop tuners. The ring mechanical 

group fine-tuned the control valves 

of the XRF1 system and resolved the 

mechanical binding problem with its 

drive shaft, thereby eliminating the 

temperature jitter in this RF system 

and the resulting excessive wear on 

the tuner from overuse in attempting 

to compensate for this jitter. 

VUV Ring

During the December 2009 maintenance period, three VUV front ends 

had to be bled up. Two of these ventings were required to solve vacuum 

problems that developed in the prior 

running period: (1) a vacuum leak 

in the actuating bellows of the U4 

mask and (2) a malfunctioning front 

end valve at U10. The third chamber 

requiring venting was the U12IR mirror chamber, which is connected to 

the VUV ring chamber, for a planned 

recoating of the first two (of three) 

mirrors in the U12IR far-IR spectroscopy beamline. Despite the workload 

placed upon the NSLS vacuum group 

by these three concurrent jobs, all 

were completed successfully.

Transport lines

In fall 2009, the Booster to X-Ray transport line bending magnet (BXB3HV) 

coil experienced a water-cooling interruption while still powered, owing to 

a relay failure in the protection system 

circuit that resulted in severe damage 

to the dipole coil and (high resistance) 

conductivity to ground. During the 

December 2009 maintenance period, 

this coil was successfully replaced with 

a new one to assure continued reliable operation. The NSLS mechanical 

and electrical groups worked hand in 

hand to accomplish this delicate repair 

on schedule.

Utilities

Utility group responsibilities include 

maintaining all four machine cooling 

systems as well as dedicated cooling 

systems for several insertion devices 

and seven RF systems, maintaining 

instrument air and gaseous nitrogen 

supplies for the machines, beamlines, and endstations, maintaining 

comfort air conditioning and heating for all of the NSLS facilities, and 

servicing the Source Development 

Laboratory’s needs. The unscheduled machine downtime in 2009 

was remarkably low due to implementation of a vigorous preventive 

maintenance program and regular 

upgrading of components. 

Vacuum

The vacuum group embarked on 

an ambitious plan to unify all of the 

widespread vacuum readings in a 

unified global vacuum monitoring 

system, viewable on-line at http://

vacmon.nsls.bnl.gov/vacmon/NSLSmon.html and on local TV channel 14. Accomplishing this goal 

required coordinated efforts from 

almost all NSLS technical groups. 

The comprehensive, graphically 

Web page readout of a typical remote temperature-monitoring system Damaged BXB3HV coil
57 Fr

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depicted, color-coded layout will 

help the vacuum group to pinpoint 

abnormal pressure readings for proactive troubleshooting. In 2010, we 

will add real-time residual gas analyzer scanning to this global vacuum-monitoring system.

Beamlines

The engineering and design work for 

the addition of a new beamline at 

X17A was a large undertaking for the 

Mechanical Systems Section in 2009. 

Adding the X17A beamline to the existing X17B and X17C beamline suite 

required expansion of the small and 

large X17 transport enclosures on the 

X16 side and the addition of a new 

X17A experimental endstation enclosure (EESE). 

Engineering and design of a singlebounce sagittally bent Laue monochromator (511 silicon reflection, 

Zhong optical design) to diffract and 

focus a beam of ~70 keV photons into 

the new X17A beamline was completed in 2009. A novel monochroBooster vacuum system

Plan view of X17A hutch installation and X17 transport enclosure modifications

X-Ray vacuum readout

mator design is being undertaken for 

this beamline that will utilize two-axis 

bending of the silicon crystal to simultaneously focus high-energy photons 

in two orthogonal planes. In order 

to prove out this novel approach, a 

test fixture design was designed and 

fabricated to determine the limits of 

two-axis bending of the silicon crystal. A patent disclosure was submitted for this novel two-axis focusing 

monochromator design. 

The X17A monochromator includes 

a water-cooled silicon filter with nine 

discrete apertures upstream of the 

silicon crystal, a water-cooled white 

beamstop, and a tungsten alloy collimator to assure the safety of beamline workers from high-energy x-rays. 

Thermal stress analyses were undertaken to verify that the monochromator would perform appropriately, 

as well as analyses to determine compliance of its vacuum chamber design 

with DOE pressure vessel rules. 

Also of note during 2009 was the installation of a new HEPA-filtered external exhaust system for beamlines 

X18A, X18B, and X19A for nanoscience research work and beamlines 

X21 and X22B for endstation equipment requiring external venting. 

Cutaway elevation view of the X17A monochromator
Introduction

58 Ff

Facility Facts

and Figures

The NSLS is a facility — open to researchers from various institutions worldwide who we call “users” — that operates around the clock and throughout 

the year, except during pre-announced maintenance and studies periods. In 

2009, 50 X-Ray and 13 Vacuum Ultraviolet-Infrared operational beamlines 

were available for a wide range of experiments utilizing a variety of techniques.

There are two types of beamlines at 

the NSLS: Facility Beamlines (FBs), of 

which there are 18; and Participating 

Research Team (PRT) beamlines, currently totaling 46. FBs are operated 

by the NSLS staff and reserve a minimum of 50 percent of their beam 

time for users. Some FBs also host 

Contributing Users (CUs), who enhance endstation capabilities and 

provide generalized support to users. PRT beamlines are operated by 

user groups with related interests 

from one or more institutions. PRT 

beamlines reserve 25 percent of 

their beam time for users, although 

they can grant additional time at 

their own discretion. Membership 

in a PRT or CU program is open to 

all members of the scientific community who can contribute significantly to the program of the 

beamline. For example, this can 

include funding, contribution of 

equipment, scientific program, design and engineering, or operations 

staffing. The following pages provide details on the NSLS operational 

beamlines, including their unique 

characteristics.

Users at the NSLS primarily are 

awarded beam time by submitting 

a “General User” proposal through 

T
59 Ff

Facility Facts

and Figures

our peer-reviewed, web-based proposal system. The proposal is rated 

based on various scientific criteria, 

and can remain active for up to six 

cycles of operations (or about two 

years). In fiscal year 2009, more than 

1,100 requests for beam time were 

submitted, with nearly half of those 

requests on new proposals. Beam 

time is given without charge, as long 

as the research results are published 

in open literature. Work that is proprietary in nature is charged on a fullcost recovery basis according to U.S. 

Department of Energy guidelines. 

During fiscal year 2009, hundreds 

of visitors attended the many workshops, short courses, seminars, reviews, and tours offered at the NSLS. 

In addition to the annual Joint NSLS/

Center for Functional Nanomaterials 

(CFN) Workshop in May, 10 other 

workshops were held, as well as 212 

seminars (almost double that of last 

year!) and 93 tours of the facility.

We instituted some new things this 

year. In particular, we established an 

automated notification to request 

responses to a short survey after a 

user completes an experimental run. 

This has helped us increase our response rate tremendously, but more 

important, it has given us much 

more feedback than ever before. It 

has been a challenge to keep up, 

but we have been able to implement 

changes to the user experience because of the great suggestions.

In fiscal year 2009, more than 400 

different institutions sent over 2,200 

users to the NSLS to conduct their 

research. Of this number, nearly 700 

were new users. The majority of users (72%) come from academic institutions, and a steady 7 percent of 

users were from industry.

The users who visited in 2009 were 

characterized by their field of research in different ways. The greatest number works in the life sciences 

field, with materials sciences studies 

the second largest group. Considering the number of days spent on 

experiments — based on running 

times gathered from experimental 

Safety Approval Forms, which are required for every experiment — materials sciences studies make up the 

greatest portion of beam time used. 

About half of 

our users are 

U.S. citizens, 

and almost 30 

percent are 

women. Nearly 

one-third of our 

users are from 

within New 

York State, and 

another third 

come from locations nearby 

in the northeastern states.

In 2009, nearly 40 percent of the researchers working at the NSLS were 

students in undergraduate or graduate studies. About 23 percent of the 

users were post-doctoral researchers, with faculty members, professional staff, or research scientists 

making up the balance.

Remaining steady for a few years 

now, NSLS users and staff published 

957 articles in FY 2009. Of these, 

“Thanks to a new automated 

notification system, our end-of-run 

survey response rate has increased

tremendously. It has been a challenge 

to keep up, but we have been 

able to implement changes to the 

user experience because 

of the great suggestions.”

nearly 20 percent were published 

in premier journals. A publication 

is considered premier if the journal 

has an impact factor of 6 or greater 

(from Journal Citation Report 2005, 

Thomson Institute for Scientific Information). The table shown on page 

60 summarizes publications during 

the past year. The first column in the 

table lists the number of publications 

reported to the NSLS during the 

2009 fiscal year (October 1, 2008 

through September 30, 2009) and 

published between 2006 and 2009. 

Although some of these publications 

were published earlier than FY 2009, 

they were not reported to the NSLS 

until this fiscal year. Thus, they have 

not been counted in prior years’ reports. The second column in the 

table lists the number of papers published in the 2009 calendar year and 

reported to the NSLS as of February 

28, 2010. These numbers are slightly 

lower than the fiscal year values because they contain only publications 

from 2009, and it often takes many 

months or years to account for user 

and staff publications.

Kathleen Nasta

Manager, Information, Outreach, & User Administration
Parameters and Publications

60 Ff

Facility Facts

and Figures

X-Ray VUV-IR

Energy 2.800 GeV 0.808 GeV

Maximum Current 300 mA 1.0 A 

Photon Critical Wavelength

(Energy) for Dipole 1.75 Å (7.1 keV) 20.3 Å (612 eV)

Photon Critical Wavelength

(Energy) for X17 wiggler at 4.2T 0.57 Å (22 keV) 

Horizontal Emittance 62 nm-rad 160 nm-rad

Vertical Emittance 0.34 nm-rad ≥ 0.35 nm-rad (4 nm-rad in normal ops.)

Electron Orbital Period 567.2 nanoseconds 170.2 nanoseconds

Number of RF Buckets 30 9

Typical Bunch Mode 30 7

Natural RMS Energy Spread 9.2 x 10-4 5.0 x 10-4 ( Ib< 20 mA)

RMS Bunch Length 44 mm 5 cm (Ib< 20 mA)

X-Ray and VUV-IR Parameters

2009 Publications

Reported in FY09* Published in CY09**

Journals, peer-reviewed, premier 176 158

Journals, other peer-reviewed 576 500

Journals, non peer-reviewed 32 25

Books / Chapters in Books 13 7

Published Conference Proceedings 91 49

Reports: Technical, Formal, Informal 6 3

Theses / Dissertations 52 19

Patents 11 3

Total Publications 957 764

NSLS VUV-IR User Publications 91 73

NSLS X-Ray User Publications 742 596

NSLS Staff Publications 124 95

Total Publications 957 764

* Publications reported to the NSLS from Oct. 1, 2008 - Sept. 30, 2009 and published between 2006 - 2009.

** Publications published in 2009 as reported to the NSLS by Feb. 28, 2010.
User Statistics

61 Ff

Facility Facts

and Figures

Users by Field of Research

Fiscal Year 2009

Geographical User Distribution

Fiscal Year 2009

Users by Affiliation

Fiscal Year 2009

Beamtime Used*

Fiscal Year 2009

*Based on running times

from Safety Approval Forms.

Life Sciences

Geosciences and Ecology

3% - Applied Sciences and Engineering

3% - Unknown

Optical/Nuclear/General Physics

Chemical Sciences

Materials Sciences

42%

13%

5%

5%

29%

Academic

BNL Employees

Industry/Corporate

Other Labs and Affiliations

DOE Employees (non-BNL) - 2%

Federal Agencies (non-DOE) - 2%

72%

10%

7%

6%

Life Sciences

Environmental and Geosciences

Optical/Nuclear/General Physics

Applied Sciences and Engineering

Chemical Sciences - 4%

Other

Materials Sciences

39%

11%

10%

5%

6%

22%

New York Only

Northeast

(not New York)

Non-Northeast

Foreign

33%

33%

20%

14%
Beamline Guide

62 Ff

Facility Facts

and Figures

ARPES Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Angle-Resolved PRT Participating Research Team

DAFS X-Ray Diffraction Anomalous Fine Structure SAXS Small Angle X-Ray Scattering

DEI Diffraction-Enhanced Imaging STXM Scanning Transmission X-Ray Microscopy

EXAFS X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy, Extended Fine Structure UPS UV Photoelectron Spectroscopy

FB Facility Beamline UV-CD Ultraviolet Circular Dichroism

HARMST High Aspect Ratio Microsystems Technology WAXD Wide-Angle X-Ray Diffraction

IRMS Infrared Microspectroscopy WAXS Wide-Angle X-Ray Scattering

MAD Multi-Wavelength Anomalous Dispersion XAS X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy

MCD Magnetic Circular Dichroism XPS X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

NEXAFS Near Edge X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy XRD X-Ray Diffraction

PEEM Photo Emission Electron Microscopy

Beamline Guide Abbreviations

Diraction

& Scattering 0 21

Macromolecular

Crystallogrophy 0 10

Microspectroscopy 3 6

Spectroscopy 9 9

Other 1 4

Insertion Devices

VUV-IR X-Ray

X-Ray Ring

VUV-IR Ring

U9 B U7 A

U5 UA

U4 B

U4 IR

U3 C

U2 A,B

U13 UB

X21

X25

U11

U12 A

U12 IR

U10 B

X1 A1, B

X4 A,C

X6 A, B

X7 B

X9

X8 A, C

X10 A, B, C

X11 A, B

X12 B, C

X13 A, B

X17 B1, B2, B3, C

X14 A

X15 A, B

X16 C X18 A, B

X19 A, C

X20 A, C

X22 B, C

X23 A2

X24 A, C

X26 A, C

X27 A, B, C

X28 C

X29 A

X3 A, B

X2 B

Diraction

& Scattering 0 21

Macromolecular

Crystallogrophy 0 10

Microspectroscopy 3 6

Spectroscopy 9 9

Other 1 4

Insertion Devices

VUV-IR X-Ray

X-Ray Ring

VUV-IR Ring

U9 B U7 A

U5 UA

U4 B

U4 IR

U3 C

U2 A,B

U13 UB

U11

U12 A

U12 IR

U10 B

X1 A1, B

X4 A,C

X6 A, B

X7 B

X8 A, C

X26 A, C

X27 A, B, C

X28 C

X29 A X3 A, B

X2 B

Beamline Status
Beamline Guide

63 Ff

Facility Facts

and Figures

Beamline Source Type of Research Energy Range Type Organization

VUV-IR Beamlines

U2A Bend

IRMS 

High pressure research 

IR spectroscopy

30-10000 cm-1 FB

BNL-NSLS

COMPRES

Carnegie Institution of Washington

U2B Bend IRMS 500-4000 cm-1 FB BNL-NSLS

U3C Bend Metrology 50-1000 eV PRT

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 

Los Alamos National Laboratory 

National Security Technologies 

Sandia National Laboratory

U4B Bend

X-ray reflectivity

X-ray scattering, magnetic

X-ray scattering, resonant

MCD

XAS

X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy

20-1200 eV FB BNL-NSLS

Montana State University 

U4IR Bend

IRMS

IR spectrospcopy

Time-resolved spectroscopy

8-20000 cm-1 FB BNL-NSLS

New Jersey Institute of Technology

U5UA Insertion 

Device

ARPES 

UPS, spin-resolved 15-150 eV FB BNL-NSLSBNL-CFN

U7A Bend NEXAFS 

XPS 180-1200 eV PRT

BNL-Chemistry 

Dow Chemical Company 

National Institute of Standards & 

 Technology

U9B Bend

Time-resolved spectroscopy 

UV-CD 

UV fluorescence spectroscopy

0.8 - 8.0 eV PRT BNL-Biology

U10B Bend IRMS 500-4000 cm-1 FB BNL-NSLS

U11 Bend UV-CD 3-10 eV PRT BNL-Biology

U12A Bend XAS 

XPS 100-800 eV PRT Oak Ridge National Laboratory

U12IR Bend

IR spectroscopy 

Magnetospectroscopy 

THz / millimeter wave spectroscopy 

Time-resolved spectroscopy

8-600 cm-1 FB BNL-NSLS

U13UB Insertion 

Device

UPS 

ARPES 3-30 eV PRT

Boston College 

Boston University 

BNL-Physics 

Columbia University

X-Ray Beamlines

X1A1 Insertion 

Device

STXM 

NEXAFS 0.25-0.50 keV PRT

BNL-Environmental Sciences 

ExxonMobil Research and

 Engineering Co.

Stony Brook University 

SUNY @ Plattsburgh 

University of Texas @ Houston
Beamline Guide

64 Ff

Facility Facts

and Figures

Beamline Source Type of Research Energy Range Type Organization

X1B Insertion 

Device

XAS 

X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy 

XPS

X-Ray Scattering, Resonant

0.2-1.6 keV PRT

Boston University 

Thomas Jefferson National 

 Accelerator Facility 

University of Illinois

X2B Bend X-ray microtomography 8-35 keV PRT ExxonMobil Research and

 Engineering Co.

X3A Bend MAD 

Macromolecular crystallography 4.6-15.1 keV PRT

Case Western Reserve University 

Rockefeller University 

Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer 

 Research

X3B Bend XAS 

EXAFS 3.8-13.3 keV PRT Case Western Reserve University

X4A Bend MAD 

Macromolecular crystallography 3.5-20 keV PRT

Albert Einstein College of Medicine 

City University of New York (CUNY) 

Columbia University 

Cornell University 

Mount Sinai School of Medicine 

New York Structural Biology Center 

New York University 

SUNY @ Buffalo 

Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer 

 Research 

Wadsworth Center

X4C Bend MAD 

Macromolecular crystallography 7-20 keV PRT

Albert Einstein College of Medicine 

City University of New York (CUNY) 

Columbia University 

Cornell University 

Mount Sinai School of Medicine 

New York Structural Biology Center 

New York University 

Rockefeller University 

SUNY @ Buffalo 

Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer 

 Research 

Wadsworth Center

X6A Bend MAD 

Macromolecular crystallography 6-23 keV FB BNL-NSLS

X6B Bend

XRD, surface 

WAXD 

X-ray reflectivity

6.5-19 keV FB BNL-NSLS

BNL-CFN

X7B Bend

XRD, single crystal 

XRD, time resolved 

WAXD 

WAXS

25-50 keV PRT BNL-Chemistry 

General Electric

X8A Bend Metrology 1.0-5.9 keV PRT

Lawrence Livermore National

 Laboratory 

Los Alamos National Laboratory 

National Security Technologies 

Sandia National Laboratory

X8C Bend MAD 

Macromolecular crystallography 5-19 keV PRT

Biogen Incorporated 

Biotechnology Research Institute 

Hoffmann-La Roche 

National Institutes of Health

X9 Bend

X-ray Scattering, biomolecular solution

SAXS 

WAXS

10-20 keV FB BNL-NSLS

BNL-CFN
Beamline Source Type of Research Energy Range Type Organization

X10A Bend

XRD, powder 

WAXD 

SAXS 

WAXS

8-11 keV PRT ExxonMobil Research and

 Engineering Co.

X10B Bend

XRD, powder 

XRD, surface 

WAXD 

X-ray reflectivity 

X-ray scattering, surface 

WAXS

14 keV PRT ExxonMobil Research and 

 Engineering Co.

X10C Bend

XAS 

EXAFS 

NEXAFS

4-24 keV PRT ExxonMobil Research and

 Engineering Co.

X11A Bend

DAFS 

XAS 

EXAFS 

NEXAFS

4.5-35 keV PRT

BNL-Material Sciences 

BNL-Environmental Sciences 

Canadian Light Source 

ETH Labs - Zuerich 

Natural Resources Canada 

Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) 

Naval Surface Warfare Center 

New Jersey Institute of Technology 

North Carolina State University 

Sarah Lawrence College 

Stony Brook University

X11B Bend

XAS 

EXAFS 

NEXAFS

5-23 keV PRT

BNL-Environmental Sciences 

BNL-Material Sciences 

Canadian Light Source 

ETH Labs - Zuerich 

Natural Resources Canada 

Naval Research Laboratory 

Naval Surface Warfare Center 

New Jersey Institute of Technology 

North Carolina State University 

Sarah Lawrence College

Stony Brook University

X12B Bend MAD 

Macromolecular crystallography 5-20 keV PRT BNL-Biology

X12C Bend MAD 

Macromolecular crystallography 5.5-20 keV PRT BNL-Biology

X13A Insertion 

Device

X-ray scattering, magnetic 

X-ray scattering, resonant 

MCD

0.2-1.6 keV FB BNL-NSLS

X13B Insertion 

Device Microdiffraction Imaging 4-16 keV FB BNL-NSLSColumbia University

X14A Bend

MAD 

XRD, powder 

XRD, single crystal 

XRD, time resolved 

WAXD 

X-ray reflectivity

6-22 keV PRT

New Jersey Institute of Technology

New York State College of Ceramics 

Oak Ridge National Laboratory 

University of Tennessee

X15A Bend DEI 10-60 keV FB BNL-NSLS

65 Ff

Facility Facts

and Figures
Beamline Guide

Beamline Source Type of Research Energy Range Type Organization

X15B Bend

XAS 

EXAFS 

NEXAFS

0.8-15 keV PRT

BNL-Environmental Sciences

Corning, Inc.

Georgia Institute of Technology

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Lucent Technologies, Inc.

Miami University

North Carolina State University

Princeton University

Stony Brook University

University of Delaware

Woods Hole Oceanographic 

 Institute

X16C Bend XRD, powder 6.5-25 keV PRT Stony Brook University

X17B1 Insertion 

Device XRD, powder 20-150 keV FB BNL-NSLS Rutgers University

X17B2 Insertion 

Device

XRD, powder 

XRD, time resolved 

High pressure research

20-130 keV FB

BNL-NSLS

COMPRES 

Stony Brook University - Mineral 

 Physics Institute

X17B3 Insertion 

Device

XRD, powder 

XRD, single crystal 

High pressure research

5-80 keV FB

BNL-NSLS

COMPRES

Princeton University 

Stony Brook University

X17C Insertion 

Device

XRD, powder 

XRD, single crystal 

High pressure research

5-80 keV FB

BNL-NSLS

COMPRES

Princeton University 

Stony Brook University

X18A Bend

XRD, powder 

XRD, single crystal 

XRD, surface 

WAXD 

X-ray reflectivity 

X-ray scattering, surface 

WAXS

XAS

5-25 keV FB

BNL-NSLS

BNL-Chemistry

BNL-Electrochemistry

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

UOP LLC

University of Delaware

University of Massachusetts - 

 Dept. of Chemistry

Yeshiva University

X18B Bend

XAS 

EXAFS 

NEXAFS

4.8-40 keV FB

BNL-NSLS 

BNL-Chemistry 

BNL-Electrochemistry 

Oak Ridge National Laboratory 

UOP LLC 

University of Delaware 

Yeshiva University

X19A Bend

X-ray scattering, resonant 

XAS 

EXAFS 

NEXAFS

2.1-17 keV FB

BNL-NSLS 

BNL-Chemistry 

BNL-Electrochemistry 

Oak Ridge National Laboratory 

UOP LLC 

University of Delaware 

Yeshiva University

X19C Bend

XRD, surface 

X-ray topography 

X-ray reflectivity 

X-ray scattering, liquid 

X-ray scattering, surface

6-17 keV PRT

BNL-Instrumentation

Fairfield Crystal Technology, LLC 

Kansas State University 

Stony Brook University 

SUNY @ Albany 

University of Illinois @ Chicago

66 Ff

Facility Facts

and Figures
Beamline Source Type of Research Energy Range Type Organization

X20A Bend

XRD, single crystal 

WAXD 

Microdiffraction Imaging 

X-ray reflectivity 

X-ray scattering, surface

4.5-13 keV PRT IBM Research Division

X20C Bend

XRD, single crystal 

XRD, surface 

XRD, time resolved 

X-ray reflectivity 

X-ray scattering, surface

4-11 keV PRT IBM Research Division

X21 Insertion 

Device

XRD, single crystal

XRD, surface

WAXD

X-ray scattering, magnetic

X-ray scattering, resonant

X-ray scattering, surface

WAXS

6-16 keV FB

BNL-NSLS 

Boston University 

University of Vermont

X22B Bend X-ray scattering, liquid 8 keV PRT BNL-CMPMSD 

BNL-CFN

X22C Bend

XRD, single crystal 

XRD, surface 

X-ray reflectivity 

X-ray scattering, magnetic

3-12 keV PRT

BNL-CMPMSD 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

Rutgers University

X23A2 Bend

DAFS 

XAS 

EXAFS 

NEXAFS

4.7-30 keV PRT National Institute of Standards 

 & Technology

X24A Bend

XSW 

Auger spectroscopy 

EXAFS 

X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy 

XPS

1.8-6 keV PRT National Institute of Standards 

 & Technology

X24C Bend

X-ray reflectivity 

UV absorption spectroscopy 

XAS

0.006-1.8 keV PRT

Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) 

SFA, Inc.

Universities Space Research

 Association

X25 Insertion 

Device

MAD 

Macromolecular crystallography 5-20 keV FB BNL-NSLSBNL-Biology

X26A Bend Microdiffraction Imaging 

X-ray microprobe 3-30 keV PRT

BNL-Environmental Sciences 

University of Chicago 

University of Kentucky

X26C Bend MAD 

Macromolecular crystallography 5-20 keV PRT

BNL-Biology 

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory 

Stony Brook University

X27A Bend X-ray microprobe 4.5-32 keV FB BNL-NSLS

BNL-Environmental Sciences

X27B Bend HARMST 8-40 keV PRT BNL-Nonproliferation & National 

 Security

X27C Bend

XRD, time resolved 

WAXD 

SAXS 

WAXS

9 keV PRT

Air Force Research Laboratory 

National Institutes of Health 

Naval Surface Warfare Center 

Stony Brook University

X28C Bend X-ray Footprinting Focused White 

 Beam PRT Case Western Reserve University

X29A Insertion 

Device

MAD 

Macromolecular crystallography 6-15 keV PRT

BNL-Biology 

Case Western Reserve 

 University 67 Ff

Facility Facts

and Figures
Advisory Committees

68 Ff

Facility Facts

and Figures

Users’ Executive Committee

The NSLS regularly consults with the Users’ Executive Committee (UEC). This committee provides a forum for ongoing, 

organized discussions between representatives from the 

NSLS user community in various research disciplines and the 

management and administration at the NSLS and Brookhaven 

National Laboratory. The purpose is to communicate current 

and future needs, concerns, and trends, and to disseminate 

information about future plans for the NSLS and BNL.

Chair Bruce Ravel, National Institute of Standards 

and Technology (NIST)

Vice Chair Tony Lanzirotti, University of Chicago

Past Chair John Parise, Stony Brook University (SBU)

Secretary Jean Jordan-Sweet, IBM

General Member Jen Bohon, Case Western University

General Member Dan Fischer, NIST

General Member George Flynn, SUNY Plattsburgh

Ex-Officio Chi-Chang Kao, BNL, NSLS Chair

Ex-Officio Kathleen Nasta, BNL, NSLS Information,

Outreach & User Administrator

Special Interest Group Representatives

Special Interest Group (SpIG) Representatives are listed below. These groups, divided into areas of common concern, 

communicate with NSLS management through the UEC.

Bio. Crystallography 

& Diffraction Annie Heroux, BNL, Biology

High Pressure Lars Ehm, BNL, NSLS

Imaging Paul Northrup, BNL, Enviro. Sciences

Industrial Users Jean Jordan-Sweet, IBM

Infrared Users Yizhi Meng, SBU

Magnetism Cecilia Sanchez-Hanke, BNL, NSLS

NSLS-II Howard Robinson, BNL, Biology

Students & Post Docs Megan Bourassa, SBU

Time Resolved 

Spectroscopy John Sutherland, BNL, Biology

Topography Michael Dudley, SBU

UV Photoemission & 

Surface Science

Tony Caruso, University of Missouri at 

Kansas City

XAFS Syed Khalid, BNL, NSLS

Scientific Advisory Committee

The NSLS Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) advises the 

NSLS Chair and the Associate Laboratory Director for Light 

Sources on scientific, technical, and policy issues related to 

the optimization of the scientific productivity of the NSLS.

Mario Amzel, Johns Hopkins University

Simon Bare, UOP, LLC 

Joel Brock, Cornell University 

Tony Heinz, Columbia University

Robert Hettel, Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory/

 SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory 

Eric Isaacs (Chair), Argonne National Laboratory 

Leemor Joshua-Tor, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

James Kaduk, INEOS Technologies

Edward Kramer, University of California, Santa Barbara

Simon Mochrie, Yale University

James Penner-Hahn, University of Michigan

William Thomlinson, Canadian Light Source 

John Parise (UEC Chair), SBU

Proposal Review Panels

As part of the peer-review process of GU proposals, the Proposal Review Panels (PRPs) at the NSLS review and rate the 

proposals within their scientific area. Members are drawn 

from the scientific community and usually serve a two-year 

term. Each PRP has an appointed Chair, who is part of the 

Proposal Oversight Panel or POP, established to review any 

proposals that might need special attention due to use of 

multiple techniques or conflicts in scores. The POP has additional appointed members, listed below after the PRP 

membership.

* = Chair of PRP
69 Ff

Facility Facts

and Figures

Imaging and Microprobes: Biological and Medical 

Leroy Chapman, University of Saskatchewan

Paul Dumas, Soleil Synchrotron

Kathleen Gough, University of Manitoba

Barry Lai*, Argonne National Laboratory

Carolyn Larabell, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 

Irit Sagi, Weizmann Institute of Science

Franz Vogt, Argonne National Laboratory

Gayle Woloschak, Northwestern University

Imaging and Microprobes: Chemical and Materials Sciences 

Harald Ade*, North Carolina State University

David Black, Topographix

Darren Dale, Cornell University

Paul Evans, University of Wisconsin

Ismail Noyan, Columbia University

Mark Rivers, University of Chicago

Nobumichi Tamura, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Paul Zschack, Argonne National Laboratory

Imaging and Microprobes: Environmental and Geosciences

Don Baker, McGill University

David Black, Topographix

Darren Dale, Cornell University

George Flynn, SUNY @ Plattsburgh

Matthew Ginder-Vogel, University of Delaware

Keith Jones*, BNL, Environmental Sciences

Mark Rivers, University of Chicago

Donald Ross, University of Vermont

IR / UV / Soft X-ray Spectroscopy: Chemical Sciences / Soft 

Matter / Biophysics 

Daniel Fischer*, National Institute of Standards & Technology

Mary Gilles, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Joseph Lenhart, Army Research Laboratory

Robert Lodder, University of Kentucky

Gary Mitchell, The Dow Chemical Company

IR / UV / Soft X-ray Spectroscopy: Magnetism / Strongly 

Correlated Electrons / Surface 

Robert Bartynski*, Rutgers University

Di-Jing Huang, Synchrotron Radiation Research Center

Jeffrey Keister, SFA, Inc.

Alexander Moewes, University of Saskatchewan

David Mullins, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Robert Opila, Jr., University of Delaware

Boris Sinkovic, University of Connecticut

Jiufeng Tu, City University of New York (CUNY)

Tonica Valla, BNL, Condensed Matter Physics & Materials 

 Science

Methods and Instrumentation 

Leroy Chapman, University of Saskatchewan

Kenneth Finkelstein, Cornell University

Jeffrey Keister, SFA, Inc.

Ralf Hendrik, Menk Sincrotrone Trieste

Peter Takacs*, BNL, Instrumentation

Macromolecular Crystallography

Steven Almo, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Alex Bohm*, Tufts University

Olga Boudker, Cornell University

Barnali Chaudhuri, Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research 

 Institute

Ashley Deacon, Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lab

Annie Heroux, BNL, Biology

Xiangpeng Kong, New York University

Nicolas Nassar, SBU 

Peter Prevelige, University of Alabama

Steven Roderick, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Brenda Schulman, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Bianca Sclavi, Centre National de La Recherche Scientifique

Hao Wu, Cornell University

Powder / Single Crystal Crystallography

Emil Bozin, Columbia University

Andrew Campbell, University of Maryland

Yu-Sheng Chen, University of Chicago

Przemyslaw Dera, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Thomas Duffy*, Princeton University

Andrew Fitch, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility

Jon Hanson, BNL, Chemistry

James Kaduk, Poly Crystallography, Inc.

Volker Kahlenberg, University of Innsbruck

Peter Khalifah, BNL, Chemistry

Peter Lee*, Argonne National Laboratory

James Martin, North Carolina State University

Wendy Panero, Ohio State University

Stephen Shapiro, BNL, Condensed Matter Physics &

 Materials Science

Peter Stephens, Stony Brook University

X-Ray Scattering: Magnetism / Strongly Correlated 

Electrons / Surface 

Peter Abbamonte, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Kenneth Finkelstein*, Cornell University

Peter Hatton, University of Durham

Karl Ludwig, Boston University

Christopher Marrows, University of Leeds

George Srajer, Argonne National Laboratory

Trevor Tyson, New Jersey Institute of Technology

Gerrit Van Der Laan, Diamond Light Source

X-Ray Scattering: Soft Matter and Biophysics 

Masafumi Fukuto, BNL, Condensed Matter Physics &

 Materials Science

Randall Headrick, University of Vermont

Benjamin Hsiao*, SBU

Huey Huang, Rice University

Thomas Russell, University of Massachusetts

Detleff-Matthias Smilgies, Cornell University

Lei Zhu, University of Connecticut

X-Ray Spectroscopy: Biological, Environmental and 

Geosciences 

Suzanne Beauchemin, Natural Resources Canada

Martine Duff, Westinghouse Savannah River Co.

Graham George, University of Saskatchewan

Douglas Hunter, Westinghouse Savannah River Co.

Satish Myneni*, Princeton University

Matthew Newville, University of Chicago

Bruce Ravel, National Institute of Standards & Technology

X-Ray Spectroscopy: Chemical and Material Sciences 

Simon Bare, UOP

Scott Calvin, Sarah Lawrence College

Anatoly Frenkel , Yeshiva University

Steve Heald, Argonne National Laboratory

Bruce Ravel, National Institute of Standards & Technology

Jean-Pascal Rueff, Synchrotron SOLEIL

Tsun-Kong Sham, University of Western Ontario

Trevor Tyson*, New Jersey Institute of Technology

Proposal Oversight Panel Members

Antonio Lanzirotti, University of Chicago

Jonathan Hanson, BNL, Chemistry

Stephen Shapiro, BNL, Condensed Matter Physics & 

 Materials Science

Peter Stephens, SBU

Subramanyam Swaminathan, BNL, Biology
VIIIB

Y Nb 41 Tc 43 Rh 45 Zr 40 Mo

42 Ru44 

Sc

4492

498.0*

403.6*

398.7*

51.1*

28.3*

28.3*

um

V

K 1s 5465

LI 2s 626.7+

LII 2p1/2 519.8+

LIII 2p3/2 512.1+

MI 3s 66.3+

MII 3p1/2 37.2+

MIII 3p3/2 37.2+

Vanadium

23 Mn

K 1s 6539

LI 2s 769.1+

LII 2p1/2 649.9+

LIII 2p3/2 638.7+

MI 3s 82.3+

MII 3p1/2 47.2+

MIII 3p3/2 47.2+

Manganese

25 Co

K 1s 7709

LI 2s 925.1+

LII 2p1/2 793.2+

LIII 2p3/2 778.1+

MI 3s 101.0+

MII 3p1/2 58.9+

MIII 3p3/2 59.9+

Cobalt

27 

Ti

K 1s 4966

LI 2s 560.9+

LII 2p1/2 460.2+

LIII 2p3/2 453.8+

MI 3s 58.7+

MII 3p1/2 32.6+

MIII 3p3/2 32.6+

Titanium

22 Cr

K 1s 5989

LI 2s 696.0+

LII 2p1/2 583.8+

LIII 2p3/2 574.1+

MI 3s 74.1+

MII 3p1/2 42.2+

MIII 3p3/2 42.2+

Chromium

24 Fe

K 1s 7112

LI 2s 844.6+

LII 2p1/2 719.9+

LIII 2p3/2 706.8+

MI 3s 91.3+

MII 3p1/2 52.7+

MIII 3p3/2 52.7+

Iron

26 

IB IVB VB VIB VIIB 

National Synchrotron Light Source

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Upton, NY 11973

www.nsls.bnl.gov