April 24, 2009

NSLS Users Win Numerous Awards

Samuel Krinsky Wins Free Electron Laser Prize

Samuel Krinsky

Brookhaven physicist and former NSLS Deputy Chair Samuel Krinsky won the 2008 Free Electron Laser (FEL) Prize. Sponsored by the FEL Conference, which was held in Gyeungju, Korea, the prize consists of an award citation, a plaque, and about $3,000.

Krinsky is the fourth Brookhaven Lab scientist to receive the FEL Award “in recognition of his outstanding contributions to FEL science and technology.”

During the last 25 years, Krinsky and colleagues have contributed significantly to developing two types of FELs used in scientific research: the self-amplified spontaneous emission free electron laser (SASE FEL) and the high gain harmonic generation free electron laser (HGHG FEL).

Krinsky has worked on the theory of the SASE FEL, providing important information on how the process of making light from “noise,” or random signals, begins and characterizing the statistical properties of generated x-rays. He also provided crucial insights about the functioning of the electron beam and the focusing properties of the magnetic field in the device. In addition, Krinsky and colleagues from Brookhaven, in collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory, initiated proof-of-principle experiments for the HGHG FEL at Brookhaven Lab. In 1999, the Brookhaven-Argonne team verified the theoretical foundation of the HGHG FEL operating in the infrared region of the light spectrum. In 2002, the technique was further developed to enable the HGHG FEL at Brookhaven to produce shorter wavelength light, in the deep ultraviolet spectral region.

Krinsky earned his Ph.D. in high-energy theory from Yale University in 1971. He joined Stony Brook University’s Institute of Theoretical Physics in 1971, and then came to Brookhaven Lab in 1973 as in assistant physicist. He became a senior physicist in 1985, Head of the NSLS Accelerator R&D from 1985 to 2001, and Deputy Chair of the NSLS from 1986 to 2001. He was also Manager of the Laboratory’s FEL Program from 1999 to 2002. In January 2008, he became Accelerator Physics Group Leader in the NSLS-II Project.

A Fellow of the American Physical Society, Krinsky was responsible for the design and commissioning of the NSLS x-ray storage ring. In 1989, he was among nine Brookhaven Lab scientists and engineers who shared the R&D 100 Award for the invention of the NSLS real-time-harmonic closed-orbit feedback system. Krinsky is also a recipient of Brookhaven Lab’s 1994 Distinguished Research & Development Award.

Dean DeLongchamp, Dan Fischer Receive NIST Bronze Medal

Dean DeLongchamp and Dan Fischer, scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), received the 2008 Departmental Bronze Medal, the highest honor awarded by NIST. The award, initiated in 1966, recognizes unusual initiative or creative methods and procedures. It also is given for significant contributions affecting major programs, scientific accomplishment within NIST, and superior performance of assigned tasks for at least five consecutive years.

DeLongchamp and Fischer were honored in Gaithersburg, Maryland, on December 3, 2008 “for significantly advancing near edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy methods to quantify the interfacial molecular orientation of organic semiconductor materials for flexible, low-cost electronics.” The award-winning work was accomplished at NSLS beamline U7A, which has been developed by NIST into a unique soft x-ray spectroscopy facility.

Dan Fischer, second from left, and Dean DeLongchamp, third from left, receiving their Bronze Medal awards from NIST.

Flexible electronics is an emerging technology with a projected global market of $10-$30 billion by the year 2015, with applications that range from large solar-power arrays to electronic newspapers that can be bent and folded. The commercialization of these devices has been hindered by unexplained variability in their performance as a function of the processing method used or between different laboratories. The NEXAFS measurement advances established by DeLongchamp and Fischer enabled the identification of the molecular basis for observed variations in the electrical performance of organic electronic devices.

DeLongchamp received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2003 and joined NIST as a postdoctoral fellow soon after. In 2004, he became the leader of the NIST Polymers Division’s Organic Electronics project, which he helped establish. In 2008, he expanded the project to include organic solar panels – now called the Organic Electronics and Photovoltaics project, which he continues to lead. He is the recipient of the 2008 Sigma Xi Young Investigator Award.

Fischer earned his Ph.D. in physics from Stony Brook University in 1984, and since then, has studied the chemistry and structure of numerous materials using novel synchrotron radiation detection methods at the NSLS. He first conducted research for Exxon Research and Engineering Company from 1984-1991. He then joined NIST, and has supervised a group of NIST scientists stationed at the NSLS since 2003. He is the recipient of the 2005 Arthur S. Fleeming Award (in the scientific category), of an individual 2004 Department of Commerce Gold Medal, and of Department of Commerce Bronze Medals in 1998 and 1994, for group and individual work, respectively.

Matthew Ginder-Vogel Awarded EPSCoR Seed Grant for NSLS Work

The Delaware National Science Foundation Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NSF EPSCoR) office recently awarded five seed grants to investigators whose projects aim to solve environmental problems in Delaware, including NSLS user Matthew Ginder-Vogel, a post-doctoral researcher in the University of Delaware’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences.

Matthew Ginder-Vogel

Awardees were chosen based on the quality of the science being proposed, the applicability of the research to state environmental issues and EPSCoR themes, the strength of the collaborations, and whether the grantee was a first-time recipient of EPSCoR funding.

The $50,000, one-year grant will help Ginder-Vogel, along with Delaware colleagues Donald Sparks, Murray Johnston, William Ritter, and Eric Benson, study airborne emissions of particulates from confined animal feeding operations, such as poultry houses, which are a major environmental issue facing the animal industry and regulatory agencies in Delaware. Heavy metals that might be contained in particulate matter could pose an environmental risk. In order to accurately determine the particulates’ threat to human health, the researchers will look for the presence of heavy metals through the use of state-of-the-art spectroscopic techniques, including x-ray absorption spectroscopy at the NSLS.

Ginder-Vogel received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Carleton College, in Minnesota, in 2000. He earned his Ph.D. in soil and environmental biogeochemistry in 2006 from Stanford University, where he was a graduate research assistant in the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences. He is a member of the American Chemical Society, the American Geophysical Union, the Soil Science Society of America, and the Geochemical Society.