The crucial property of a BHJ is a self-organized interspersed network of donor and acceptor materials that transport the charge produced by the absorption of sunlight to the respective electrodes. In semiconducting molecules and polymers the charge splitting works via a bound electron-hole pair, a so-called exciton. The exciton has a finite lifetime corresponding to a diffusion length of only 10 nm, before it recombines, and thus the exciton has to reach a donor-acceptor interface within this range; otherwise it will not contribute to the photo current.

During these three days, a group of 11 middle school teachers from the New York State areas of Syracuse, Tully, Ithaca and New York City met in Clark Hall (the new home to CLASSE Outreach) and went through a series of science and engineering activities put together by the outreach team.

These materials have mechanical and electrical properties that are useful in applications such as sonar and ultrasound. The more scientists understand about the nanoscale short-ranged “local structures” that exist inside relaxor ferroelectrics, the better materials we can develop for these and other applications.¹

The large number of individual sensors enables much higher count-rates than prior generations of detectors with the same functionality. One use of this combination of energy resolution and high count rate is to map the elemental composition of objects with breathtaking resolution in a much shorter time than was previously possible. Figure 1 represents what the combination of a synchrotron source and this new detector can do. The image is a false-color representation of potassium, calcium, and zinc concentrations in a dried, pressed iris flower.

The tour highlighted Cornell’s innovative accelerator and insertion device technology, the unique x-ray capabilities of CHESS’s experimental stations, and brief presentations of the diverse science coming out of CHESS. Congressman Maffei has a deep interest in science, sits on the House Science Committee, and is the ranking member of its Subcommittee on Oversight.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, will be at the Wilson Lab in the CHESS facility from 2:30 to 3:15 p.m. today as part of his visit, Schumer plans to offer remarks and take questions from the media, according to a Cornell University advisory.

Rep. Tom Reed, R-Corning, will be touring the CHESS lab from as well as the Cornell Electron Storage Ring as part of his visit with leaders of the Cornell Lab for Accelerator-based Science and Education from 10-11:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The money will ensure the lab operations continue for the next five years.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, announced that the NSF grant had been renewed Monday while visiting the Wilson Lab in the CHESS facility, which is one of five high-energy synchrotron x-ray sources in the world and one of only two in the United States. It provides synchrotron x-ray capabilities to investigators in all fields of science and engineering.

The funds will allow CHESS to continue the development of experimental techniques using high-energy Xray beams, which have applications in fields such as medicine and aerospace engineering, according to a University press release.

Currently, CHESS receives 20 percent of its funding from the NSF, according to Schumer.

President David Skorton, who introduced the senator, emphasized Schumer’s efforts to maintain and increase funding for several agencies — including the Department of Energy and the NSF.

CHESS has received its requested grant renewal of up to $100 million over five years, securing the national X-ray facility’s near-term future.

“To be funded in the current economic climate is the best you could possibly hope for,” said Joel Brock, CHESS director and professor of applied and engineering physics. “We’re absolutely thrilled, and it’s a real testament to the quality of the staff here – their hard work, creativity and unique capabilities.”

Tom Reed was in Ithaca Tuesday at Cornell University to meet with professors for a tour of the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Light Source (CHESS) lab and the Cornell Electron Storage Ring, both supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) funding Reed secured for the lab. Most recently, Reed worked to secure $100 million to fund the CHESS Lab on a long-term basis.