Stebner’s group runs the Multiscale Mechanics of Materials Lab in the department of Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science at the Colorado School of Mines, where they study the mechanics of advanced solid materials such as lightweight alloys, shape memory alloys, low symmetry alloys, and functional ceramics. They use and develop tools for in-situ diffraction experiments and are regular users of national facilities such as CHESS, the Advanced Photon Source (Argonne) and the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center.

Object of the study were inorganic-organic halide perovskites, currently one of the hottest materials in non-silicon solar cells with efficiencies over 20%, rivaling amorphous silicon. Halide perovskites also outperform other types of solar cells such as dye-sensitized or bulk heterojunction organic solar cells that have been studied intensely over the past decade, while the inorganic-organic perovskites are the new kids on the block.

Working with pK-12 educators in the local Ithaca City School District and beyond, Xraise is serves as a resource for classroom teachers. Teachers interested in building upon existing learning materials have teamed up with Xraise staff and volunteers to enhance students’ conceptual understanding of science while exploring engineering design practices. Design-based learning opportunities build on students’ existing science knowledge; giving them opportunities for hands-on learning, and the development of higher-order thinking and skills.

In February 2015, G1 achieved 40% more flux at 50 mA than its previous high number obtained with the wiggler source operating at 200 mA, under otherwise identical conditions. At G3 in December 2014, the improvement was even more pronounced. A flux of over 10¹⁴ photons/sec was measured in a 1 mm² at 11.2 keV with 120 mA positron current, approximately 2.5 times the prior G3 record. The larger gain at G3 results from the larger current for the G3 measurement, and from different focusing conditions employed for these two measurements.

The show is the brainchild of KTC artistic director Rachel Lampert, KTC associate producer Lesley Greene ’91, M.S. ’95, M.S. ’98, and Lora Hine and Erik Herman of Xraise, the outreach arm of the Cornell Laboratory for Accelerator-based Sciences and Education (CLASSE). Peter Wittich, professor of physics in the College of Arts and Sciences and longtime collaborator with Xraise, served as science content adviser for the script.

As part of the Masters of Engineering (MEng) program students are expected to do a 3-6 credit design project and a 3-4 credit special project. The first bunch of D-line alumni shall be highlighted here.

Armand Beaudoin, University of Illinois Emeritus Professor of Mechanical Engineering, has accepted the position of InSitμ Industrial Program Director. Armand will spend several months per year at CHESS with industrial users developing and implementing experimental and computational solutions to their most demanding structural materials challenges. Together with InSitμ Director, Matt Miller, Armand visited current InSitμ partners, Caterpillar and Boeing this fall to discuss the first project each company will bring to the beamline.

Electrostatic interactions are important for both phases, and conformational changes occurring in an enzyme during its catalytic cycle modify these interactions. For complete understanding of the catalytic process, we require knowledge of the contribution of electrostatic effects to each step in the process, as well as an understanding of how conformational changes affect the electrostatic environment in the active site.

“The ultimate goal is to control electronic and magnetic properties of new materials using various knobs,” said Kyle Shen, associate professor of physics, who led the study published in Physical Review Letters in January. “What you want is to turn one knob, change some parameter, and turn a material from this to that.”

Professor Arnold, a long-time user of CHESS and MacCHESS facilities, was honored for his research in macromolecular crystallography and drug design targeting infectious disease agents. Also cited were his contributions to the field through scholarly and organizational activities, including serving on advisory boards for macromolecular crystallography and synchrotron radiation. Arnold was among eight ACA Fellows named this year, bringing the total to 35.