Argonne National Laboratory

Today was a full-circle moment! Almost 30 years after the original Advanced Photon Source (APS) came online, the Argonne community and hundreds of guests celebrated the dedication of the upgraded APS – https://bit.ly/3Yr1dFF “The upgraded Advanced Photon Source will transform scientific research at Argonne,” said Argonne Director Paul Kearns. “Together with Argonne’s new exascale supercomputer, Aurora, the Advanced Photon Source will empower scientists to make discoveries at unprecedented speeds. No other research institution hosts a comparable dynamic duo of technology, each boosting the power of the other.” After remarks from U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Undersecretary for Science and Innovation, Geri Richmond, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, and a bevy of elected officials, CEOs, and laboratory leaders, we hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the momentous occasion. Guests then convened for a reception and had the opportunity to tour the APS and see our facilities firsthand. We look forward to welcoming users back to the APS later this year as the rest of the beamlines come back to full functionality. The upgraded facility will open the doors to discoveries we cannot even imagine and keep America at the forefront of global X-ray science.

The Argonne Leadership Computing Facility is now accepting applications for the Margaret Butler Fellowship in Computational Science - https://bit.ly/4cK5CHv Open to outstanding postdoctoral candidates, the fellowship provides a unique opportunity to lead and contribute to the development of new high-performance computing (HPC) applications. The fellow will work closely with researchers at Argonne and across the #HPC community to help us shape future directions in scientific computing. The deadline to apply is August 1, 2024.

#ICYMI: On June 17, Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source (APS) delivered its first X-ray light beams to a scientific beamline as part of a complex upgrade project that will enable scientists to study materials at the atomic level with higher speed and precision – https://bit.ly/3VWD0UG So, what’s next? This upgrade will spark innovations and discoveries that will keep our nation’s roads and bridges strong, set the pace for microelectronics, help us discover more about space, aid the design of nanotechnologies, and help us face the energy challenges ahead. Read more about the impact of the upgraded APS - https://bit.ly/3zjkA8M

We're thrilled to introduce Chain Reaction Innovations' (CRI) Cohort 8! Five innovators will join CRI, Argonne’s Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program, as part of the award-winning program’s eighth cohort – https://bit.ly/4f6OXjw They will join the two-year program starting this July and each innovator will collaborate with a host scientist at Argonne while embedded full-time. Innovators plan to launch startups that increase U.S. competitiveness in emerging technologies. The five new innovators in CRI’s Cohort 8 are: • Angela Feldhaus, near-space platforms for atmospheric sensing and telecommunications • Haining Gao, hybrid solid-liquid cathode to boost lithium primary battery energy • Berk Kovos, SynthBits: Illuminating designer qubits for all • Jhana Porter, conversion of biobased overage streams into high-value polymer bioproducts • Scott Svadlenak, validation of economic viability of a novel process to upcycle PVC

The Advanced Photon Source (APS) has long been one of the world’s best X-ray light sources. Now, with a comprehensive upgrade nearly completed, the renewed APS is emerging brighter than ever. Its new X-ray beams will be up to 500 times brighter than before. As we celebrate the transformation and the exciting science to come, let’s take a moment to look back at how it all started – https://bit.ly/3LkweTU The APS broke ground in June 1990 and achieved its original “first light” in March 1995. Since then, it has been used by thousands of scientists over the years to conduct experiments for the betterment of humankind. Nearly 30 years later, the upgraded APS’s “first light” signals the start of a new era of X-ray science and discovery as scientific beamlines return to operation throughout the rest of the year.

In episode 1 of "Sharing the Atom," a new podcast co-produced by Argonne and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), we learn about the conditions that led to the negotiation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the limits of peaceful nuclear cooperation before the treaty, and how the desire for additional cooperation molded the agreement - https://bit.ly/3zBhv48

July Spotlight on Entrepreneurial Partnerships: Chain Reaction Innovations, the entrepreneurship program at Argonne, admits a cohort of early-stage clean energy startups each year to support workforce development and bring innovative technologies more quickly to market - https://bit.ly/3ujOoAh

Calcite is a mineral that holds great importance in many ways, from helping to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to impacting the development of more durable materials. However, defects in calcite can affect its ability to soak up harmful substances in the environment like heavy metals – https://bit.ly/45HPh3P With the help of high-resolution X-rays from the Advanced Photon Source, scientists were able to see internal nanoscale fragments, or defects, in calcite. This helped them to better understand how calcite is synthesized can dramatically alter the internal structure of mineral particles, which in turn affects the calcite’s reactivity. “Most people don’t have the tools to distinguish whether it’s perfect calcite or not. So, this result shows very clearly that just because it looks like calcite, it doesn’t mean it’s perfect calcite,” said Argonne Distinguished Fellow Paul Fenter, who was involved in this research.

Meet five rising engineers and scientists who are using modern technology to study the next generation of nuclear reactors and improve the existing 93 reactors that generate half of the nation’s carbon-free electricity. Learn how their work can transform the American nuclear industry - https://bit.ly/3L4FKdr

Strong winds, high temperatures, and dry conditions led to the wildfire that devastated Lahaina, Hawaii last year. Researchers from Northwestern University, the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and Argonne are using a specialized AI-enabled sensor called a Sage node to process camera images to identify wildfire smoke within seconds – https://bit.ly/3L083tL This collaborative project, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), will gather climate and pollutant data to aid clean-up activities in Lahaina and provide data to guide recovery planning.