CHESS Holds Town Hall - Extended funding and other updates from around the lab

Rick Ryan

CHESS staff restarted the Storage Ring last week in preparation for users returning for the spring run, which begins Wednesday, April 26th. 

This milestone and other updates were discussed at the CHESS Town Hall on April 12th, an event to inform users of upcoming activities at the X-ray user facility.

Scientists at CHESS beamline

The virtual town hall was held on April 12

Updates from Joel Brock, CHESS Director, included a “thank you” to CHESS’s partner funding agencies. CHESS user operations are fully funded for the fiscal year beginning April 1st, and CHESS is looking forward to welcoming users at all beamlines for a fully-packed beamtime schedule.

Last year, the Center for High-Energy X-ray Sciences at CHESS (CHEXS) and the NSF entered the fourth and fifth year of a cooperative agreement that contained a roll-off in beam time on certain beamlines due to a reduction in funding.  

But now, says Brock, all CHEXS beamlines are fully funded, restoring all beamlines to full capacity. “We are excited about full operations this fiscal year and moving forward in the duration of our cooperative agreement with the NSF,” says Brock during the town hall.   “Many thanks to the different NSF directorates and all our funding agencies for helping make this happen.” 

The NSF directorates that fund CHEXS are Mathematical & Physical Sciences (MPS), Biological Sciences (BIO), and Engineering (ENG). Brock says that this “cost-sharing” within the NSF better represents the diverse user base of CHESS researchers and helps to relieve the burden on single directorates and divisions. 

Regarding the upcoming run, Brock says he is encouraged by the seemingly painless restart of the accelerator.  “Our accelerator and technical crews made it look easy,” says Brock, stating the machine was turned on Wednesday morning to a full 100mA, reaching the conditions for CHESS operations in a few short moments. “They have set a new standard, for sure,” says Brock.  

See the CESR/CHESS Status page for live updates. 

The director also mentioned that the construction of the New Experimental Hall is going extremely well and will reach building occupancy by the fall.  This schedule will allow crews to enter the next phase of the project, where the experimental equipment will be installed and commissioned over the next two years.

 

Other updates of interest:

CHESS User Meeting – June 6th

  • The 2023 CHESS User Meeting will be held on June 6th. Registration is open.  There will be scientific talks, updates from CHESS leadership, a poster session, networking, and workshops.  
  • More information can be found on the 2023 CHESS User Meeting webpage.

HMF Workshop – June 7th

  • This in-person workshop will offer an in-depth view of the current state and developments of the new HMF beamline. It will feature talks by experts in the x-ray and high-magnetic field areas. The afternoon will be dedicated to working in small groups, thinking about how this new facility will benefit various scientific fields, and to start planning future pilot experiments.
  • More information can be found on the CHESS Workshops webpage.

High-Pressure MX Workshop – June 7th-10th

  • Organisms have evolved to thrive under extreme pressure conditions in the deepest ocean trenches and deep in the earth’s crust. X-ray crystallography of macromolecules under pressure (HP-MX) offers atomic-scale insight into the molecular adaptations of extremophiles to their environment and fundamental insight into the biophysical properties of proteins. This workshop introduces high-pressure biology, crystallography for biophysical research, and the unique high-pressure techniques available at CHEXS, including HP-SAXS, HP-MX in a diamond anvil cell (DAC), and HP cryo-cooling and gas trapping. Hands-on participants will have the opportunity to collect MX data using the DAC and HP cryo-cooling techniques at CHESS beamline ID7B2.
  • More information can be found on the CHESS Workshops webpage.

Proposal submission is open on May 1st for the Fall run


Please excuse our dust - Construction continues at Wilson Lab

Wilson Lab has a lot of exciting activities, including new construction and fire-safety upgrades.  These activities will have no significant impact on CHESS users. However, please be mindful of a few notices/changes happening at CHESS:

  • For those driving/entering through the lower level, there is reserved parking for CHESS Users.  Please use the crosswalk and make sure to enter through the loading dock. 
  • For those coming from campus (5th floor entrance), please be mindful of the construction of the walkway/entrance.
  • Sector 7 users must go outside and use the covered walkway to get to their beamline. Personal vehicles cannot go directly to Sector 7 to unload equipment. Please get in touch with the CHESS User Office if you need assistance moving equipment. 

Sign up for our monthly newsletter to stay up-to-date with all things CHESS!