APS-U

Installation of the Multi-Bend Acromat is scheduled to begin April 17, 2023. NE-CAT and the APS will be 'dark' one year from this date. The upgraded APS is scheduled to return to operation in April 2024.

NE-CAT and the APS-U

To help you continue collecting data during the APS-U down time (est. April 2023-April 2024), we are putting together a data collection program. We plan to combine proposals into Block Allocation Group (BAG) proposals at the US sources: NSLSII, MacCHESS, ALS, and SSRL. (If sufficient time is not obtainable in the US, foreign synchrotrons will be explored.) This is an alternative to submitting your own individual or BAG proposals.

Some benefits of the NE-CAT BAG Program:

Sector 24 Update

Kay Perry standing in front of the Sector 24 module

Last Fall, the APS offered staff and resident users the ability to tour the synchrotron storage ring while it was being assembled.  In October, the magnets for Sector 24 were in place and proof is in the picture of Kay Perry standing in front of them during the tour.  Behind her, the yellow curtain marks Sector 23 components which were undergoing bake out to remove everything which could interfere with vaccuum.  Prior to Laboratory closure for the holidays, the front ends were slotted into the place and the last (of the 200) modules were been installed.

Tags: 

What's missing?

The APS-U involves replacement of the existing ring with new superconducting magnets that will create a multi-bend achromat.  During the month of May, workers at the APS are removing both the old ring and the components which will need to be upgraded for the new lattice.  Today, as part of the deconstruction process, the front end table for 24-ID was removed.  

Installation of the new ring is scheduled to begin in June.

Crystallography Workshop

NE-CAT is pleased to offer our Practical Crystallography Course June 21-23, 2023 at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts.  The course will be a three day workshop hosted in conjuction with SBGrid.  We are currently planning for three full days with a break for lunch and potentially an afternoon before the start of the workshop to make sure that computers are properly setup.  Lunch and coffee breaks will be provided.

RAPD and Remote Unavailable 12/23/2022 - 1/12/2023

In order to repair one of the redundant 13.2 keV lines from Building 450, all conventional power to the entire APS will be shut off from January 4-12, 2023.  This includes NE-CAT and our computing infrastructure.  In preparation for the power shutdown, NE-CAT will be powering down RAPD and REMOTE on December 22.  To obtain your images and processed data, between December 22 and January 12, you may use Globus (see instructions).  

Poxvirus Research at NE-CAT

In 2019 and 2020, the Kranzusch Lab of Harvard Medical School’s Dana Farber Cancer Institute observed the behavior of poxviruses in studies of a molecule (cGAMP) commonly produced by mammalian cells when they evade viral infection. The researchers had isolated a gene from a poxvirus that seemed designed to degrade that protective molecule and thus help the virus avoid signaling an immune response.

Locking Pins Are Essential

WARNING

LOCKING ROD MUST BE IN PLACE FOR SHIPPING

...are the words at the top of every shipping cane.  How many of us have read the words or even noticed that they exist?  What happens if you don't put the locking pin in the hole before shipping your pucks?  

New Scheduling Email

Starting this run, we are sending scheduling emails from a central address: necat@anl.gov  Please feel free to send emails to that address if you need to request time as well.   We are letting everyone know of this change, because it seems to be going to SPAM for some people, or getting overlooked since it’s not expected.  

If you have any needs for this run, please feel free to reach out to necat@anl.gov

Office Hours

Questions?

....Answers Provided.

 

Zoom-based office hours to answer questions regarding using NE-CAT, data processing, structure solution or anything else x-ray crystallography-related available weekly.

Thursday, 1:00 - 3:00 PM Central Time

Request the Zoom link via email.