Scenes from the first user run of 2025

As the Advanced Photon Source prepares to enter its second user science run of 2025, it’s a good time to look back on the first run of the year. 

From January to May, the APS hosted users at 41 of the 72 beamlines, and many other beamlines began moving through the commissioning process to return to scientific experiments after their upgrades. We welcomed users to two more of the new feature beamlines: POLAR at 4-ID and the Coherent Surface Scattering Imaging (CSSI) beamline at 9-ID. Users and beamline staff explored the new capabilities powered by the extraordinary new X-ray beams of the upgraded APS and saw some striking results. 

Below is a series of images from the first user run of 2025. It’s an exciting time and will only get more exciting as additional beamlines return to operation over the coming months. 

A pair of young scientists working on a machine.
Researchers from the University of Wisconsin were the first to use the new POLAR beamline at 4-ID. The group studied flexomagnetism in thin materials with potential applications in microelectronics. (Photo by Jason Creps, Argonne National Laboratory.)
A pair of young scientists working on a machine.
University of Wisconsin researchers working on the new POLAR beamline at 4-ID. (Photo by Jason Creps, Argonne National Laboratory.)
Three young women looking at a computer.
Northwestern University scientists were the first users at the Coherent Surface Scattering Imaging (CSSI) beamline at 9-ID. They used the new beamline’s capabilities for Grazing Incidence X-ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (GI-XPCS) to study materials that may be useful for neuromorphic computing applications. (Photo by Mark Lopez, Argonne National Laboratory.)
Woman wearing safety glasses checking a machine.
A researcher from Northwestern University operates the Grand Tube, the large new instrument at the CSSI beamline at 9-ID. (Photo by Mark Lopez, Argonne National Laboratory.)
A user group from the University of Illinois Chicago examines data at the High-Pressure Collaborative Access Team (HP-CAT) beamline at 16-ID. (Photo by Seth Hammond, Argonne National Laboratory.)
Matt Newville of the University of Chicago shows a group of students from North East Illinois University around the GeoSoilEnviroCARS (GSECARS) beamline at 13-ID. (Photo by Seth Hammond, Argonne National Laboratory.)
Three men in safety glass looking at a computer.
Beamline Scientist John Freeland, standing, with researchers from Iowa State University and DOE’s Ames National Laboratory at the 29-ID beamline. The team was studying element-resolved magnetic properties using X-ray magnetic circular dichroism. (Photo by Mark Lopez, Argonne National Laboratory.)
Three scientists looking at a computer.
Postdocs from Argonne’s Chemical Sciences and Engineering (CSE) and X-ray Science Division (XSD) studying lithium-rich cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries at the 12-BM beamline with Beamline Scientist Sungsik Lee. (Photo by Mark Lopez, Argonne National Laboratory.)
Three men wearing safety glasses holding wires.
Researchers from the University of Utah using the 12-ID beamline to monitor phase transitions in hydrocarbon mixtures with ultra-small angle X-ray scattering. (Photo by Mark Lopez, Argonne National Laboratory.)
Man wearing safety glasses smiling while working on a machine.
A collective team from the X-ray Science Division Optics Group and Imaging Group conducted the first AI-driven optics alignment based on real-time sensing and reconstruction at the 3-ID beamline. Beamline scientist Thomas Toellner, center, and Group Leader Jiyong Zhao, right, were part of this team. (Photo by Mark Lopez, Argonne National Laboratory.)
A group of people smiling, earing safety glasses.
Beamline Scientists Jungho Kim and Mary Upton with scientists from Pohang University of Science and Technology conducting Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering (RIXS) experiments at the 27-ID beamline. (Photo by Jason Creps, Argonne National Laboratory.)
 
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