Advanced Photon Source

10/20/2026

ICYMI: Argonne scientists have developed a new X-ray imaging technique that captures, in three dimensions and in real time, how silicon carbide responds after an ultrafast laser pulse. These insights could help researchers place quantum defects more precisely, supporting the development of reliable quantum devices and manufacturing methods.

https://www.anl.gov/article/scientists-develop-new-xray-technique-to-watch-quantum-materials-respond-to-laser-pulses

10/19/2026

Good morning, APS users! The deadline to apply for beam time for the next user run is Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 2 p.m. Central time. This includes the new Block Allocation Group beamtime applications for AI-driven discovery and macromolecular crystallography. More information at the link!

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDOEANL/bulletins/42f22c1

10/16/2026

Our little documentary on the APS Upgrade has just passed 20,000 views. 20,000 people can't be wrong, so if you haven't seen it yet, pop some popcorn and watch over the weekend!

Argonne is a multidisciplinary science and engineering research cen...

10/15/2026

Two 2018 studies show how one of this year’s Nobel winners further explored optogenetics with the help of Argonne’s APS. Read more below!

https://www.aps.anl.gov/APS-News/2026-10-15/advanced-photon-source-x-rays-help-illuminate-nobel-winning-science/2026-10-15

10/14/2026

ICYMI: A newly discovered behavior in thin films could provide new pathways to brain-inspired electronics.

https://www.aps.anl.gov/APS-News/2026-10-02/sapphire-discovery-could-reshape-future-brain-inspired-electronics/2026-10-02

10/12/2026

Calling all APS users! The APS is now accepting proposals for a new type of beam time allocation - a multi-PI Block Allocation Group (BAG) built around a shared scientific objective and designed, from the outset, to generate AI/ML-ready datasets. Learn more at the link below (scroll down to BAGs):

https://www.aps.anl.gov/Users-Information/About-Proposals/Proposal-Types

10/09/2026

Science Friday! Check out this new video on the SYNAPS-I project and Argonne's role in it. SYNAPS-I is part of the @.S. Department of U.S. Department of Energy's Genesis Mission.

The SYNAPS-I team is led by Berkeley Lab and includes Argonne National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Partner facilities include the Advanced Light Source, Argonne Leadership Computing Facility, High Flux Isotope Reactor, Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), Spallation Neutron Source and Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource. Tests were performed at the Center for Nanoscale Materials beamline at the APS.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be89VHHNJLM

10/08/2026

Congratulations to all the recipients of U.S. Department of Energy Genesis Mission funding for their Phase II projects today. The Advanced Photon Source is involved in three of these projects:

Overcoming Barriers in Computational Enzyme Design (led by University of Washington): Using SI and advanced X-ray tools to design new enzymes that could help create cleaner chemicals and materials.

AI-Empowered Design of Functional Quantum Magnets (led by DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory): Applying SI to discover and design new magnetic materials for future electronics and quantum devices.

The Multi-Office Accelerator Team Core Project (led by DOE’s Berkeley Lab): Building smarter SI tools to improve the performance and reliability of particle accelerators used for scientific research and industry.

Read more below and stay tuned for more information as these projects move forward.

https://www.anl.gov/article/argonne-to-advance-scientific-discovery-with-new-genesis-mission-awards

10/07/2026

Argonne scientists have developed a new X-ray imaging technique that captures, in three dimensions and in real time, how silicon carbide responds after an ultrafast laser pulse. These insights could help researchers place quantum defects more precisely, supporting the development of reliable quantum devices and manufacturing methods.

https://www.anl.gov/article/scientists-develop-new-xray-technique-to-watch-quantum-materials-respond-to-laser-pulses

10/06/2026

AI is moving beyond analyzing scientific data to helping scientists decide what to do next. At a recent demonstration at Argonne, the SYNAPS-I project (part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Genesis Mission) unveiled agentic AI that can understand natural-language instructions, analyze X-ray images in real time, find important features and autonomously guide experiments.

The work points toward a future of “self-driving” scientific instruments, where AI can adapt experiments as they happen and help researchers explore materials faster and more efficiently.

The SYNAPS-I team is led by Berkeley Lab and includes Argonne National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Partner facilities include the Advanced Light Source, Argonne Leadership Computing Facility, High Flux Isotope Reactor, Linac Coherent Light Source, National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, National Synchrotron Light Source II, Spallation Neutron Source and Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Light Source. Tests were performed at the Center for Nanoscale Materials beamline at the APS.

https://www.anl.gov/article/a-new-kind-of-microscope-agentic-ai-turns-simple-language-into-selfguided-experimentation