Symposium & Workshops

Special Symposium: Advances in Lightsource Science - Past, Present and Future.
(A Tribute to Seb Doniach, SSRL's First Director on the Occasion of his 75th Birthday)
- Date: Sunday, October 18, 2009
- Time: TBA
- Location: Kavli Auditorium
- Organizers: Aharon Kapitulnik, Steven Kivelson, Keith Hodgson

This special symposium will review and celebrate the past and present achievements of Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, including honoring its founding Director Sebastian Doniach on the occasion of his 75th birthday. Thirty-five years ago, the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Project - the precursor to today's SPEAR3 ring and the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (SSRL), recently renamed Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource - began operations. SSRL science launched with five experimental stations sharing SLAC's first x-ray beam line. The SSRP was the world's first synchrotron radiation hard x-ray lightsource based on an electron storage ring. In addition to reviewing technical accomplishments and research highlights, future scientific and technical opportunities for SSRL will be discussed at this special symposium. See the SSRL historical timeline at http://www.slac.stanford.edu/history/ssrp.shtml and photo gallery http://www.slac.stanford.edu/history/ssrpphotos.shtml. (see program)

Workshop 1: SSRL Imaging Group Workshop
- Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2009
- Time: 8:30 (coffee), talks begin at 9 am
- Location: ROB A&B
- Organizers: Joy Hayter, Hendrik Ohldag, Sam Webb, SSRL

State of the art synchrotron x-ray sources present excellent and unique opportunities for x-ray based imaging techniques. The scope of this workshop is to identify scientific programs that will most directly benefit from some of the techniques available within the SSRL Imaging Group, which include a new soft x-ray scanning transmission x-ray microscope (STXM) at SSRL BL13-1, the hard x-ray scanning x-ray fluorescence microprobe (SXRF) at SSRL BL 2-3, and the hard x-ray full-field transmission X-ray microscope (TXM) at BL 6-2c. The morning session will be joint, and the two afternoon sessions will emphasize hard x-ray and soft x-ray techniques. The TXM on BL 6-2 has resolution as high as 33 nm with energy range of 4-15 keV. It has been used to image biological, environmental and materials samples. 2D images and 3D tomography including mineral density quantification and high pressure work will be shown. The SXRF microprobe on BL2-3 with 2 micron spot size can be used for scanning fluorescence, micro X-ray absorption spectroscopy (µ-XAS), diffraction and tomography. Results will be shown from various fields. SXRF with an initial 35 nm spatial resolution is obtained by using zone plate lenses which focus the x-ray beam down to a spot size of 10s of nm. The sample is then scanned perpendicular to the optical axis, while the intensity of the transmitted x-rays is detected at the same time. It operates in UHV at temperatures between 25K and 450K, as well as in applied magnetic fields. Because the microscope enables us to study systems in magnetic fields as well as in a wide temperature range, we anticipate that groups interested in research on magnetism and correlated materials will be particularly interested in this type of microscopy. (see program)

Workshop 2: Macromolecular Crystallization, Sample Preparation and Synchrotron Data Collection
- Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2009
- Time: 9 am - 5 pm
- Location: SSRL Bldg. 137 Room 336
- Organizers: Clyde Smith

This workshop is intended for a biological audience who would like to make use of X-ray crystallographic techniques to obtain structural information on targets of interest to them. It covers practical crystallization screening and optimization followed by how to get X-ray data that can be used to determine the structure. Talks will cover a high-throughput screening service available to the general community at the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute and its application to both soluble and very recently membrane proteins. Optimization of initial crystallization conditions in the laboratory will be covered, along with getting those crystals ready for the synchrotron. The use of remote data collection facilities at SSRL and making use of the tools available to collect the best X-ray data possible will be covered. Finally, what to do after you have your X-ray data will be discussed. The workshop is focused at a practical level for those with projects that would benefit from structural information in the near to intermediate term. All levels are encouraged to attend and there will be ample opportunities for questions and answers. (see program)

Workshop 3: LCLS Beam Line for Soft X-Ray Science Workshop
- Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2009-Thursday, October 22, 2009
- Day 1: Experimental Opportunities and Outlook
- Day 2: Technical Experiment Preparation (SXR Experiment Training)
- Time: 9 am - 5 pm
- Location: Panofsky Auditorium
- Organizers: Bill Schlotter, Anders Nilsson and Wilfried Wurth

The SXR beam line will provide intense ultra short soft x-ray pulses generated by the free electron laser (FEL) with a highly diverse set of experimental configurations using established and powerful tools such as x-ray emission, coherent imaging, resonant scattering, photoelectron spectroscopy and x-ray absorption spectroscopy. The science that can be performed at the SXR beam line covers wide-spread fields such as catalysis, magnetism, correlated materials, clusters and biological structure. The first day of this two-day workshop will focus on the scientific outlook for experiments at SXR in the morning. In the afternoon, the focus will shift toward collaborative opportunities on each of the core SXR end stations. The second day will introduce users to the practical knowledge necessary to take full advantage of their experimental opportunity at SXR. Scientist engaged at the operational level of planning and execution of experiments are encouraged to attend this session, especially those who have been awarded beamtime. (see program)

Workshop 4: X-ray Pump Probe Instrument at LCLS - Experiment Preparation Workshop
- Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2009
- Time: 9 am - 12 pm
- Location: Bldg. 40, Orange Conference Room
- Organizers: David Fritz

The X-ray Pump-Probe instrument (XPP) will be the first hard X-ray experimental station to operate at the LCLS in the fall of 2010. Proposals to use the XPP instrument are due this October. This workshop is being held to inform the user community of the capabilities, the current status of the XPP instrument, and what to expect from the Controls and Data Acquisition System. An extensive question and answer session will be held to aid in planning and preparing for XPP experiments. (see program)