Chi-Chang's Corner

CD-3 Signifies Major Step for Light Sources Directorate

January 29, 2009

Chi-Chang Kao
NSLS Department Chair
kao@bnl.gov

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As many of you have already heard, the Department of Energy recently granted "Critical Decision 3" (CD-3) status to NSLS-II, which gives the official go-ahead for construction on the massive facility. CD-3 is the fourth of five critical decisions that the project needs to achieve, and one of the most crucial, signifying that a final design review has been performed, that all environmental and safety criteria have been met, and all security concerns addressed. Construction activities can now continue forward, including the awarding of the ring building construction contract. Congratulations to everyone who helped reach this very important milestone.

As progress on the NSLS-II continues, we're working with Stony Brook University to identify ways to capitalize on its unique capabilities through the Joint Photon Sciences Institute (JPSI). As part of this effort, a series of workshops will be held in the coming months to encourage the development and application of the photon sciences with collaborative research between industries, universities, and national laboratories. Related to this, we recently hosted a visit by a group of managers from the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST), including a manager responsible for the Manufacturing Extension Program (MEP) of the northeast region. The mission of MEP is to help small- and mid-sized companies enhance growth, productivity, and capacity through the use of advanced technologies. We hope to work with them and the New York State Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR) to reach out to small businesses within the state.

To continue to improve upon our aggressive preventive maintenance program, we've created a committee to re-look at the concerns raised during the Machine Operations Reliability Evaluation (MORE) conducted in October 2006. Many of these concerns have been or are being addressed through the purchasing of spare parts and by upgrades or replacements of aging equipment. The purpose of the committee is to identify and prioritize the most vulnerable accelerator components that exist in the machines today, given the work completed so far. Mitigating measures, such as maintaining an adequate stock of spares, the development of additional interlock mechanisms to prevent catastrophic failure, and preparation for emergency repairs, will also be addressed. A final report will be presented to NSLS management in June.

Congratulations to NSLS physicist Elaine DiMasi who received tenure, effective December 1, 2008. In 1996, Elaine started working in Brookhaven's Physics Department, where she made significant contributions to the study of surface ordering in liquid metals using x-ray scattering. She joined the NSLS as a physicist in 2003 and focused her research on biomineralization, a new direction in synchrotron research. Elaine is credited for making key contributions to these two research areas.

We also received extremely sad news at the beginning of this month. Arie van Steenbergen, a longtime Brookhaven physicist who helped make the NSLS a reality, died on January 2, 2009, at the age of 81. Arie worked at Brookhaven's Alternating Gradient Synchrotron and the ISABELLE project before becoming NSLS Project Director in 1976. In this role, he was intimately involved in the planning, design, and construction of the new facility. At the time, the project faced incredible challenges, including limited manpower, a tight deadline, and an even tighter budget. We owe him immense gratitude for helping to bring the NSLS to fruition. You can read more about his contributions in this issue of eNews. He'll be greatly missed.

Finally, to learn about the strange metallic properties of compressed hydrogen, a team of researchers used high-pressure facilities at the NSLS to study the hydrogen-rich compound, silane. The scientists found far less demanding pressure requirements for metallization in silane than expected, most likely because the hydrogen within the compound is already naturally compressed. Further studies on hydrogen compression could be useful in developing new methods of energy production using nuclear fusion and alternative fuels. More details can be found here.