To implement Cornell policy regarding “COVID-19 Update: Conduct of Research”, CHESS suspended user operation Monday, March 16th, 2020 at noon. User experiments scheduled for March 2020 will not take place. Beamtime allocations for the May/June 2020 cycle have not been made yet and will be delayed until the resumption of user operations has been clarified.
Since Monday March 16th, the CHESS administrative, technical and scientific staff work from home and only enter the laboratory for emergency repair of facilities and equipment necessary to support the beamlines and storage ring in stand-by mode, e.g. the vacuum and cryogenic systems.
During the shut-down CHESS scientists collaborate closely with their user communities on the analysis and interpretation of x-ray data taken recently at CHESS beamlines. Moreover, CHESS scientists are developing novel data reduction, analysis and simulation tools, discussing and developing beamline upgrades engineering and technical staff as much as that is possible remotely.
The staff is also preparing to restart CHESS user operation anticipating that at least initially but potentially for an extend period of time, users cannot travel to CHESS and experiments will only be conducted remotely (user operating CHESS beamlines and stations remotely from their home institutions) or in a mail-in mode where sample are shipped to CHESS and CHESS staff conducts experiments in close collaboration with users. To enable safe and efficient remote and mail in operation of CHESS beamlines, scientists and technical staff have been tasked with identifying what is needed for the implementation of remote experiments, e.g.
- Additional hardware: Camera(s), motors, limit switches etc.
- Additional software and controls
- Testing needs without/with beam
- Documentation needs: Written operating procedures, manuals, videos etc.
- Availability of and access to data reduction, processing and analysis tools
Moreover, operations support needs are being identified:
- Special sample shipping and handling needs
- Sample mounting and alignment requirements
- Procedures to set up and optimize experiments
- Tools for data access, data transfer, data processing
- Procedures for switching between remote operation and on-site/in-person experiments.
Similarly, CHESS staff is planning and preparing for mail-in operation evaluating
- Demand on beamline scientist time to support mail in operation and experiments at the beamline
- User demand for mail in operation of different experimental capabilities at CHESS beamlines
- Opportunities for collaborators at Cornell to provide additional support for experiments at CHESS beamlines.
As soon as it is known when staff can return to the Cornell campus, a revised operations schedule will be established and beamtime will be allocated for proposals and users informed following established procedures. User operation will resume in remote mode, as mail in operation, and/or by users traveling to CHESS as soon as feasible.