NSLS Activity Report 2006 - Brookhaven National Laboratory

While Dehmer was optimistic about the construction
of the NSLS-II, she cautioned that the project
would have a long construction life, which will be
filled with unanticipated challenges.
“You are embarking on a wonderful journey,” she
said. “You should be euphoric…and frightened.
And you will vacillate between the two.”
She concluded her remarks by urging employees
and users to contact their congressional representatives
to thank them for the support that resulted
in this “completely unexpected” funding picture.
“You must realize how difficult it was to make that
happen,” she said, citing the war, last fall’s hurricanes
and other budgetary pressures. “Politicians
are people, too. They deserve your thanks, and
they need to hear from you.”
Speaking after Dehmer,
Congressman Tim Bishop
said that he is “so proud of
this Lab, the people who
work here, and the work
that’s moving America
forward in so many different
ways.” To see the
administration’s proposed
investments in science is
“encouraging indeed,” he
Tim Bishop
said. Citing the FY06 budget
language stating that
it is the “sense of the Congress” that NSLS-II be
built at Brookhaven, Bishop pledged to continue
pushing for that result.
Bishop said the full funding of the CFN is also a
testament to the faith that the Office of Science
has in Brookhaven, as well as to the “strenuous
advocacy” of the New York congressional delegation.
“We speak with one voice on the importance of
this Lab,” he said, and urged attendees to stay in
touch with their representatives.
“Be forceful in your advocacy,” he said. “We value
your professional expertise, and these are important
issues.”
NSLS-II Update
The morning’s next speaker, Steve Dierker, BNL
Associate Director for Light Sources, is leading
the effort to bring the NSLS-II to BNL. Noting that
“the CFN will be producing materials that will be
crying out to be characterized,” he said that development
of nanoscale materials will be critical for
the development of future energy technologies.
“NSLS-II will be brighter than any existing light
source. None of today’s light sources were de-
3-15
signed to probe materials
with one-nanometer
spatial resolution and 0.1
meV energy resolution,”
he said. “The changes
that NSLS-II brings will be
transformative.”
Dierker briefly described
plans for the Joint Photon
Sciences Institute (JPSI),
Steve Dierker
intended to foster development
of new techniques
and capabilities. He thanked Stony Brook’s Bob
McGrath for helping to secure a $30 million commitment
from New York State for a building to
house the proposed institute.
“JPSI will serve as an intellectual center for development
and application of the photon sciences
and as a gateway for NSLS-II users,” he said.
Dierker showed new drawings depicting the proposed
facilities, and noted that there have been
some changes in the design, in particular, the substitution
of a full-energy booster for a full-energy
linac injector. He said that 99 people are currently
working on NSLS-II, and predicted that the programs
would overlap for less than one year before
both will be fully and independently staffed.
“The NSLS-II will be essential for energy security,
and important for U.S. industry, “he concluded.
“It will enable ‘grand challenge’ science in many
diverse fields.”
The Center for Functional Nanomaterials
Doon Gibbs, Associate Laboratory Director for
Basic Energy Sciences and Interim Director of the
CFN, said that an active search is underway for a
permanent CFN director, and he urged attendees
to bring promising candidates to the attention of
the search committee.
He said a broader search
effort will begin this fall,
with an eye to have a permanent
director on board
by October 2007. Gibbs
observed that the CFN
building’s structural shell
is complete, and that more
than half of the Center’s
equipment will be ordered
Doon Gibbs
by the end of May.
The CFN, whose focus will
be energy security, has added nine new scientific
and technical staff members, bringing the total
fulltime staff total to over 20. He added that the
staff is becoming more collaborative and using
bigger teams.
YEAR IN REVIEW