Advanced Photon Source Capabilities for Biological and Environmental Science

The use of synchrotron-based x-ray techniques over the past 25 years has revolutionized many scientific disciplines, including biology, medicine, material engineering, and environmental research, among others. In parallel with scientific advances, progress has been made in accelerator technology and x-ray methods, paving the way for an undergoing generational upgrade of the Advanced Photon Source (APS) facility, a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility at Argonne National Laboratory. After completion in 2024, the APS-U will become the nation’s brightest high-energy, storage-ring based x-ray source, delivering x-rays that will be between 100 and 1,000 times brighter than they are today. The new design of the storage ring, the beamline improvement program and new feature beamlines will offer transformative opportunities, allowing researchers to study samples unprecedented spatial and temporal scales to address existing and new scientific challenges in biological and environmental science, including cell structure and chemistry, environmental microbiology, atmospheric and aerosol research, biogeochemistry and soil structure, and recyclable plastics. To facilitate and support access and utlization to these resources to the Biological and Environmental Research community, a new program, eBERlight, is being developed. eBERlight is a multifaceted Collaborative Access Team (CAT) that will partner with several beamlines and facilities and offer an integrated multi-techniques platform for a comprehensive user experience at the APS.