APS User News-at-a-Glance
Issue 12; February 1, 2002

Contents:

1.

1.

Message from Murray
(Contact: jmgibson@aps.anl.gov )

The APS is a partnership between the users and the facility, and it is my highest priority to strengthen this partnership - we succeed or fail together. Excellent communication is essential in a partnership. One place where I hope to improve that communication is through a retreat planned for May (see below), where the focus will be on strategic planning, and the users and facility will be equally represented.

For your information and input, below is a draft of a revised mission statement for APS. The original mission statement was focused on construction of the facility, and it is time to reassess priorities. We in APS management believe the mission-and-goal statement articulate the principles that should guide our activities. Following adoption of the mission-and-goals statement, we plan to examine all our activities in this context, and to develop specific objectives and priorities for our programs. Such things provide a solid foundation for long-range planning. At the retreat, we will have an opportunity to get invaluable user input into our long-range plans. If you have comments on the draft mission and goal statements, please send them to Rick Fenner (fenner@aps.anl.gov), who will act as the APS point-of-contact.

Advanced Photon Source Mission Statement - DRAFT

The mission of the Advanced Photon Source is to deliver world-class science and technology by operating an outstanding synchrotron radiation research facility accessible to a broad spectrum of researchers.

Goals

1. Operate a highly reliable synchrotron radiation source.
2. Foster a productive and open environment for conducting research.
3. Enhance the capabilities available to users of the APS facility.
4. Protect the safety of facility users, staff, and the environment.
5. Maintain an organization that provides a rewarding environment and fosters professional growth.
6. Optimize the scientific and technological contribution to society from research carried out at the APS.

Higher Current Operation at the APS: Workshop Report
(contact: dmm@aps.anl.gov)

The Workshop on Increased Current at the APS, held on January 10, 2002, was designed to open a dialog with APS users on various options to increase the brilliance of APS photons, with a specific focus on the option of increasing the storage ring current. Murray Gibson opened the session by welcoming participants, explaining the relevance of the workshop to the APS mission, and charging participants to address the following issues: (1) Is there a significant demand for higher current? (2) How does higher current as an enhancement compare in priority with other possible means of increasing brilliance or other source improvements? (3) If the APS proceeds with this option, how should disruptions be minimized?

Denny Mills then presented a series of transparencies detailing current accelerator enhancements to improve stability and brilliance; the rationale for exploring these, as well as additional options; the potential for moving to higher currents in the storage ring as one option for increasing brilliance; the path to higher currents; and alternative routes to higher brilliance.

Considerable discussion both during and after the presentation identified a number of issues that should be explored further before decisions are made. The APS agreed to provide each APS CAT with a list of options for increasing brilliance, together with a description of the trade-offs for each option. CATs will be asked to examine the impact of each option on their beamlines/science and prepare a written response to the APS in advance of the scheduled May 15-17, 2002, user retreat (see below). All of this information will then be discussed at the retreat. In addition, a test of higher current operation (up to 130 mA) will be conducted during machine studies time prior to the May retreat.

Copies of the transparencies presented at this workshop can be obtained from the APS User Office (e-mail: strasser@aps.anl.gov).

First Call: User Activity Reports for 2001
(Contact: fenner@aps.anl.gov)

The Call for Reports for the next APS Activity Report 2001 is located at http://www.aps.anl.gov/ald/test/webar/ar01call.html. At this site, you will find instructions in both HTML and PDF format for preparation and submission of reports on research carried out at the APS between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2001. The submission deadline is April 22, 2002. There are significant changes from last year in requirements for format, length, and FTP submission, so authors should read the instructions carefully.

4.

Current Publications from the APS
(Contact: fenner@aps.anl.gov)

"APS FOREFRONT 1": If you have not yet received a copy of "APS FOREFRONT 1," a compendium of outstanding research from the Advanced Photon Source, as selected by the directors of the APS collaborative access teams (see the APS home page at http://www.aps.anl.gov/aps.php for more information on this periodical), you can obtain a copy by sending a request to fenner@aps.anl.gov.

"Advanced Photon Source Activity Report 2000" (ANL-01/03): All 328 activity reports for 2000 are posted on the Web. A searchable database can be found at http://beam.aps.anl.gov/apsact.html.

This year, all activity reports are also available on CD-ROM, which is included in a book of indices to the reports. If you would like to place an order for the CD-ROM and indices, please send your request to fenner@aps.anl.gov.

5.

APS/User Retreat Planned
(Contact: strasser@aps.anl.gov)

Plans are under way for the first APS/user retreat to be held on May 15-17, 2002, in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin (see the "Message from Murray," above). This retreat is part of an on-going APS strategic planning effort and is designed to foster and strengthen communications between the APS and its users. Retreat attendees will include both scientific and technical representatives from each APS CAT, members of the APS Users Organization Steering Committee, representatives from APS management and scientific/technical staff, and several independent investigators. A committee consisting of two representatives from the user community and two from the APS will develop the agenda. Suggested discussion topics can be sent to strasser@aps.anl.gov for consideration by the agenda-planning committee.

6.

APSUO Corner: Notes from Paul Zschack, APSUO Chair
(Contact: zschack@anl.gov )

The APS Users' Organization Steering Committee held its first meeting of 2002 on January 17. Dr. Hermann Grunder, Argonne National Laboratory Director, was in attendance and voiced his ongoing strong support for the APS and for the User Community. It is satisfying to know that the concerns of the user community are heard at the highest levels of Laboratory management.

During the next year, the APS/user partnership will face a number of important issues. Among these are operational support for the CATs, improvements to the Independent Investigator Program, and creation of a road map for future enhancements at the APS. Although these issues require considerable planning by the APS, it is incumbent upon all APS users to contribute thoughtful and constructive input to the APS regarding these important issues.

With this in mind, I'd like to acknowledge the effort that APS management has made toward expanding effective communications with the user community and for reaching out to continue a meaningful dialog. The Workshop on Increased Current at the APS was quite successful, due in large part to the free exchange of ideas and information between the APS and the users who were present. And with events such as the APS/user retreat coming soon, there is great promise that this dialog will continue to be important and productive.

In other business, the Steering Committee unanimously elected Steve Durbin, professor of physics at Purdue University, as the Vice-Chair. In this role, Steve will be responsible for planning the scientific program for the Twelfth Users Meeting for the APS (scheduled for the spring of 2003) and will succeed me as the Chair of the APS Users Organization at that meeting. A biography of Steve (and other Steering Committee members) can be found at the following Web site: http://www.aps.anl.gov/apsuo/members/apsuosc.html

7.

Operations Update
(Contact: avr@aps.anl.gov)

The first of the three user runs for fiscal year 2002 was completed just before the holiday break in December. More than 1,100 hours of user time were scheduled, and nearly 97% of that time was available. Several problems were encountered; although these problems did not contribute significantly to storage ring downtime, they did cause an increased number of stored-beam losses, which meant a high fault rate and a mean time between faults of less than 24 hours. These problems are being analyzed, and corrective action is being taken to eliminate these causes of beam loss.

One of the benefits of top-up operation is evident from the statistics for the last user run. The average current during the run was 93.7 mA, significantly higher than the averages (low 80s) from the runs prior to top-up operation. The average current is expected to increase further, since only 60% of this run was in top-up mode. However, 75% of user run time for the year is scheduled to be in top-up operation.

The operations schedule through the end of September 2002 has been finalized and is now available on the Web at the following address: http://www.aps.anl.gov/aod/calendar/longrange.pdf

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