Updates from CHESS:
CHESS leadership, along with program directors and staff, will provide updates on the latest developments within the lab and its surrounding ecosystem.
User Science Talks:
We are extending invitations to experts from diverse scientific domains to share insights into their research endeavors and explain CHESS's role in their respective fields.
CHESS Student Paper Award
Austenitic stainless steels combine high strength and toughness, making them useful for automotive applications. These steels can undergo a crystallographic phase transformation from austenite to martensite, triggered either through cooling below the martensitic start temperature or by mechanical deformation. This martensitic transformation (MT) impacts the material’s mechanical performance.
In most crystals, atoms line up in neat, repeating patterns where every bond and every magnetic moment fall into place. The structure is stable, the magnetism is ordered, and the system rests in balance. But researchers studying a new family of materials called LnCd₃P₃ found something very different. Inside this material, some bonds between atoms become slightly shorter or longer than others, and the triangular geometry of the lattice prevents them from forming an orderly pattern.
What happens when you squeeze DNA? Can pressure reveal something about how our genetic material is packed, protected, and accessed?
Dr. Kushol Gupta, a structural biologist at the University of Pennsylvania, is pursuing this question and found that turning up the pressure might be one of the best ways to peek into how life organizes itself at the atomic scale.
Through a combination of presentations, and a panel discussion, participants will learn how synchrotron-based X-ray tools at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS) can provide deep insight into the structure, chemistry, and performance of advanced battery systems—enabling breakthroughs in energy storage research and technology development.
The program supports scientists with “remarkable track records, promising futures and a desire to expand their research portfolios by exploring a substantive disciplinary or methodological shift soon after achieving tenure,” according to Schmidt Sciences.
On behalf of the CHESS User Office, we are incredibly excited to welcome Users back to Wilson Lab for our 2025_3 Fall Run Cycle, that will run from September 24 to November 25!
Every year, researchers perform thousands of materials science experiments at synchrotron facilities, seeking breakthroughs in alloy design, affordability, and mechanical performance. These advancements can accelerate growth in various fields from electronics and energy to aerospace and infrastructure.