January 25-27, 2005
Short Course Participants Learn the Value of Synchrotron Light for Powder Diffraction
Fifteen participants recently attended the High Resolution Powder Diffraction Data Collection and Analysis Short Course, which was held at the NSLS from January 25-27, 2005. The 3-day course consisted of lectures, guest talks, hands-on data collection, and data analysis, and was co-organized by Peter Stephens (Stony Brook), Christie Nelson (NSLS), and Chi-Chang Kao (NSLS), with administrative support provided by Corinne Messana (NSLS).
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The 15 participants included graduate students, post-docs, and scientists from national labs and universities. While most of the students were familiar with lab-based powder diffraction techniques, very few had synchrotron experience. The participants were all quite eager to learn about the impact that synchrotron-based powder diffraction could have on their own research.
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The lectures were presented by Peter Stephens, Pat Woodward (Ohio State), and John Parise (Stony Brook), and covered the basic physics of powder diffraction, experimental aspects of data collection, Rietveld refinement, and indexing. In addition, specialized talks on cutting edge research on high pressure, high temperature, and time resolved powder diffraction were given by guest speakers Yongjae Lee (CMP, BNL), Cam Hubbard (ORNL), and Jonathon Hanson (Chemistry, BNL), respectively.
The hands-on data collection component of the course was carried out on NSLS beamlines X3B1, X7A, and X14A, with beamline instructors Peter Stephens, Yongjae Lee, and Jianming Bai (ORNL), respectively. The participants first learned about beamline operation and sample preparation, and then collected data from a corundum standard. Next, the participants collected high-resolution data from samples of interest in their own research projects.
In addition to the lectures and data collection, the participants also spent time learning about data analysis techniques. "Homework" assignments included refining the corundum standard data as well as additional data sets, and then students tackled the data obtained from their own samples. The participants were greatly aided in the completion of these tasks by their three lecturers.
At the end of the intensive 3-day course, the participants left with a foundation of knowledge about applying high resolution powder diffraction to their own research projects. Many expressed interest in becoming NSLS General Users, and we look forward to seeing them back here soon.
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The organizers would like to thank the lecturers, guest speakers, beamline instructors, Elaine Dimasi (NSLS), Jae-Hyuk Her (Stony Brook), Corinne Messana, and the NSLS Users Office and Safety Staff for all of their help in making the short course such a success.
RELATED LINKS: Workshop Website
ARTICLE BY: Christie Nelson
PHOTO BY: Joe Rubino