1. CHARGE STRIPES IN HIGH-TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTORS
By Art Robinson
(Contact: xjzhou@lbl.gov)

One of the great unsolved problems of contemporary condensed-matter physics is the origin of superconductivity in the "high-temperature" superconductors (HTSCs). With a puzzling array of properties unlike those of ordinary superconductors, these materials have defied understanding since the discovery of the first HTSC compound in 1986. Now, a collaboration comprising researchers from Stanford University, the University of Tokyo, and the ALS has published evidence from angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy at the ALS for perhaps the most surprising behavior yet, the self-assembling of charge carriers into spatially localized, one-dimensional stripes. While the stripes were already known from other work, the latest data raise new questions about the electronic structure associated with these entities and its relation to superconductivity.

Read the full story at http://www-als.lbl.gov/als/science/sci_archive/stripes.html.

Publication about this research: Zhou, X.J., P. Bogdanov, S.A. Kellar, T. Noda, H. Eisaki, S. Uchida, Z. Hussain, and Z.-X. Shen, "One-Dimensional Electronic Structure and Suppression of d-Wave Node State in (La1.28Nd0.6Sr0.12)CuO4," Science 286(5438), 268-272 (1999).

2. SECOND BESAC PANEL TO REVIEW ALS PROGRESS

A review panel appointed by the U.S. Department of Energy's Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (BESAC) will convene at the ALS next month to follow up on issues raised by the last BESAC review, held in 1997. As a result of that first panel's conclusions (known as the "Birgeneau Report"), the ALS underwent significant reorganization and has actively sought the opportunity to demonstrate its revitalization in a second BESAC review. Chaired by Yves Petroff, Director General of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, the new panel is charged with exploring the ALS's vision for the future, the quality and diversity of its science programs, the user demand, and its interactions and relationship with the user community. ALS users are invited to attend the review sessions, which will take place February 3-4 in the ALS mezzanine conference room (Building 6, Room 2202). The agenda for the review includes overviews of major projects and new initiatives, science and technology highlights, meetings with user representatives, and a facility tour. To see a draft of the full agenda, go to http://www-als.lbl.gov/als/als_news/besac.html.

3. ALS INFRARED STUDIES PART OF AWARD-WINNING PROJECT
(Contact: upal@ce.stanford.edu)

A research project involving Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectromicroscopy studies performed in part at Beamline 1.4.3 was named Cleanup Project of the Year by the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP). The SERDP, a partnership between the U.S. Departments of Defense (DoD) and Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), sponsors environmental research in areas relevant to the DoD and DOE. The winning project, titled "Assessment and Prediction of Biostabilization of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Sediments," investigated how organic contaminants bind to sediments and the implications for cleanup and environmental exposure. The project is a large collaborative effort between Carnegie Mellon University, Stanford University, Waterways Experiment Station, and the Naval Research Laboratory. Dr. Martha Krebs, former Director of the DOE Office of Science, presented the award on November 30, 1999, at the SERDP Annual Symposium in Arlington, Virginia. ALS user Dr. Upal Ghosh, who recently transferred from Carnegie Mellon to Stanford, thanks the ALS on behalf of the research team for the excellent research facilities and technical guidance and looks forward to continued work at the ALS in the future.

4. NEW DEADLINE FOR COMPENDIUM ABSTRACTS: FEB. 7, 2000
(Contact: lstamura@lbl.gov)

The submission deadline for ALS Compendium abstracts has been extended to February 7, 2000. Compendium abstracts are an important indication of the quality and diversity of the research made possible by the ALS. Members of the ALS user community (including ALS staff members) can help ensure that the ALS's contributions to science are not overlooked or underestimated by submitting a one- to three-page abstract describing each project worked on at the ALS during 1999 (January 1 to December 31), whether published, unpublished, or in progress. By now, all users should have received a call for abstracts in the mail. Questions about the submission process can be directed to Lori Tamura by email (lstamura@lbl.gov), fax (510-495-2111), or phone (510-486-6172). Detailed information for submitting abstracts can be found on the Web at http://alspubs.lbl.gov/Compendium_old/.

5. UEC CORNER: NOTES FROM THE USERS' EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
by Nora Berrah
(contact: berrah@wmich.edu)

Happy New Year from the UEC!!

We would very much like to thank Thomas Earnest, Adam Hitchcock, Duane Jaecks, and Paul Alivisatos, who rotated off this year.

The remaining members are Steve Kevan (Univ. of Oregon), Roger Falcone (Univ. of California, Berkeley), David Hansen (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Chuck Fadley (Univ. of California, Davis), James Underwood (Berkeley Lab), Rupert Perera (Berkeley Lab), and Nora Berrah (Western Michigan Univ.).

Our newly elected members are Carolyn Larabell (Berkeley Lab), Harold Ade (North Carolina State Univ.), Cheuk-Yiu Ng (Iowa State Univ.), and Lewis Johnson (Florida A&M Univ.). Each member is elected to serve for three years. Harald Ade is the 2000 Vice Chair and will be Chair in 2001. Steve Kevan is the Past Chair and Nora Berrah is the present Chair.

We are in the midst of preparing for a BESAC (Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee) review scheduled for February 3-4, 2000. This review was recommended at the June 1999 review of the ALS as a division of Berkeley Lab. The committee's charge is to consider the issues raised by the BESAC Report on DOE Synchrotron Radiation Sources and Science, known as the Birgeneau Report. ALS management, with input from the UEC, has put together an excellent program that should illustrate its vision for the ALS's future, the quality and diversity of the science programs at the facility, and the tremendous demand for beamtime from the user community. This meeting is open to all (other than the executive sessions, of course)! It will be held in the ALS mezzanine conference room, 6-2202. If you have any issues, please contact us.

A current draft of the BESAC schedule can be found at http://www-als.lbl.gov/als/als_news/besac.html. Since not all research efforts could be accommodated in oral or poster presentations, all beamline spokespersons were requested to send a one-page summary of their beamline mission as well as an updated list of publications and a list of students graduating with a master's, Ph.D., or undergraduate thesis. These were due Friday, January 14th. If you have been mistakenly missed or have not submitted the materials, please attend to it! This is an important review for all of us!

Good news: we are fortunate that the ALS is building the rest of the mezzanine. If you have any suggestions on how it should best serve the users, let me or any UEC member know your views. Labs as well as office space are planned. Of course, it will not accommodate everyone, but we need to hear from the broad community about its needs if we are to help with this matter.

6. WHO'S IN TOWN: A SAMPLING OF ALS USERS

Following are some of the experimenters who will be collecting data during the next two weeks at the ALS.

Beamline 1.4.3:
Ted Raab (Univ. of Colorado at Boulder)
Dale Perry, Hoi-Ying Holman (Berkeley Lab)
Sherry Zhang, Phil Ross (Berkeley Lab)

Beamline 5.0.2:
Axel Brunger and group (Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Yale Univ.)
Michelle Browner and group (Roche Bioscience)
Kathryn Ely and group (The Burnham Institute)
Jennifer Doudna and group (Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Yale Univ.)

Beamline 7.3.1.1:
Rainer Fink (Univ. of Wuerzburg, Germany)

Beamline 7.3.3:
Ralph Spolenak (Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies)
Bryan Valek (Stanford Univ.)

Beamline 9.0.2.1:
J. C. Robinson, D. M. Neumark (Univ. of California, Berkeley)

Beamline 10.0.1:
Jonathan Denlinger (Berkeley Lab)
Han Woong Yeom (Univ. of Tokyo)
Joseph Nordgren (Uppsala Univ., Sweden)

Beamline 10.3.1:
John Kerner (ARACOR)
Tom Cahill (Univ. of California, Davis)
Christoph Flink (Univ. of California, Berkeley)

Beamline 12.0.1.1:
Harun Solak (Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison)

7. OPERATIONS UPDATE
(Contact: RMMiller@lbl.gov)

Beam reliability for the last four weeks (December 20 to January 16) was 94% for user shifts. There were no significant outages.

Long-term and weekly operations schedules are available on the Web (http://www- als.lbl.gov/als/accelinfo.html). Requests for special operations use of the "scrubbing" shift should be sent to Bob Miller (RMMiller@lbl.gov, x4738) by 1:00 p.m. Friday. The Accelerator Status Hotline at (510) 486-6766 (ext. 6766 from Lab phones) features a recorded message giving up-to- date information on the operational status of the accelerator.