Tag: new director

Gabriella Carini named CHESS director as facility readies for the future

Gabriella Carini named CHESS director as facility readies for the future

Gabriella Carini has been appointed director of the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS). 

She will begin Oct. 1.

Carini, who has held leadership positions at the Brookhaven laboratory and at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory for more than two decades, currently oversees Brookhaven’s scientific programs in instrumentation, accelerator science, quantum technologies, microelectronics and advanced research infrastructure.  

Carini is appointed a professorship in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in the Cornell Duffield College of Engineering. 

The appointment comes at a pivotal moment for CHESS, the only synchrotron located at and operated by a university in the United States. As scientific challenges grow increasingly complex and interdisciplinary, CHESS is expanding its capabilities through major investments in advanced instrumentation, high magnetic field science, artificial intelligence-driven experimentation and new beamlines designed to serve emerging scientific communities.

”Gabriella brings a remarkable combination of scientific vision, technical expertise and leadership experience to this role,” Provost Kavita Bala said. “As an internationally recognized leader in her field, she understands both the cutting-edge technologies that advance modern discovery and the collaborative culture required to operate a world-class user facility. We are delighted to welcome Gabriella to Cornell.”

Carini succeeds Joel Brock, who will step down on Oct. 1 after serving as CHESS director since 2013. During his tenure, Brock oversaw significant modernization efforts, strengthened the facility’s national user program, guided the completion of the CHESS-U upgrade and navigated a new partner-funding model.

Read more on the CHESS website

Harry Westfahl Jr. appointed as next Director of the ALBA Synchrotron

Harry Westfahl Jr. appointed as next Director of the ALBA Synchrotron

He will succeed Caterina Biscari, who has led the facility since 2012, and will oversee the transition to ALBA II, the next-generation synchrotron.

The Rector Council of the ALBA Synchrotron has appointed Harry Westfahl Jr. as the next Director. He will take office in November this year, taking over on Caterina Biscari, who has led ALBA since 2012, consolidating a period of major scientific and institutional growth for the facility.

He joins ALBA at a pivotal moment. Following the approval of the ALBA II upgrade project, he will lead the transformation into a fourth-generation research infrastructure, expanding its scientific capabilities and strengthening its strategic role for the country.

Harry Westfahl Jr. is a physicist with broad experience in synchrotron science, instrumentation, and leading large-scale research infrastructures. He has developed most of his scientific career at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS), where he has held senior leadership positions, including Scientific Director and Director since 2020. He played a central role in the development of Sirius, the Brazilian fourth-generation synchrotron light source. He led the scientific strategy and beamline program and brought it through its final construction phase and operation.

Caterina Biscari heartily welcomes the appointment, saying “ALBA enters its most ambitious phase since its construction. Harry’s experience and proven scientific, technological and managerial excellence make him the ideal person to guide ALBA II and continue strengthening our national and international impact”.

Harry Westfahl Jr. says: “I am honoured by the trust placed in me by the Rector Council, and delighted to join ALBA as its next Director. ALBA is entering a decisive and very promising phase, and I take up this responsibility with respect and admiration for what Caterina Biscari and the ALBA team have built. The ALBA team can count on my full commitment, and I look forward to working closely with the Rector Council, the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades and the Departament de Recerca i Universitats, and with the scientific, technological, and industrial communities in Spain and beyond. Together, we will work to strengthen ALBA’s scientific impact today and bring ALBA II into operation as a transformative research infrastructure for Spain and Europe.”

Read more on the ALBA website

Olof Karis becomes Director for MAX IV

Olof Karis becomes Director for MAX IV

Olof Karis, former Interim Director of MAX IV, has been appointed as the Director of MAX IV following an open recruitment process and the recommendation of the MAX IV Board. The decision was made by the Vice-Chancellor of Lund University, the host university for MAX IV.

MAX IV, Sweden’s synchrotron, is fully operational with 16 beamlines and 1400 users yearly from academia and industry. Olof Karis has led MAX IV as Interim Director since March 2022, through finishing the Strategic Plan for 2023–2032 and a positive review by the Swedish Research Council in November. He has also navigated challenges related to increasing operating costs.

“I am enthusiastic about the possibility of continuing to work for MAX IV. It is a fantastic facility with great people. My focus for the near future is to make a case for longer-term funding of MAX IV. We need stability to continue facilitating research that keeps our society strong in facing future challenges,” says Karis.

In collaboration with the scientific community, MAX IV aims to continuously develop existing beamlines and construct several complementary ones in the next decade to make optimal use of already-made investments in the infrastructure.

“The research conducted by our users at MAX IV benefits the community in many areas, with an impact on circular economy and environment, sustainable energy, and health. Our technical advancements with the MAX IV synchrotron are transformative, enabling us to see details we’ve never been able to before. We can approach what has previously been unsolvable problems,” concludes Karis.

Read more on the MAX IV website

Dimitri Argyriou Named Next Director of Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source

Dimitri Argyriou Named Next Director of Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source

Dimitri Argyriou, an accomplished physicist and Associate Director for In-Kind Management at the European Spallation Source, has been selected to serve as the next director of the Advanced Light Source (ALS) at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). His appointment is expected to begin this June. The announcement follows an international search.

“I am very pleased that Dimitri is joining us to become the next director of the Advanced Light Source,” said Berkeley Lab Director Mike Witherell. “With his expertise and leadership experience at some of the world’s leading research laboratories, he is well suited to ensure the ALS and its community will continue to advance science for the benefit of society.”

The ALS is an X-ray synchrotron scientific user facility that produces extremely bright X-ray, infrared, and extreme ultraviolet light for more than 1,800 visiting scientists each year. Up to 40 experiments can be performed simultaneously using the synchrotron, resulting in nearly 900 peer-reviewed scientific articles each year across a range of fields, from chemistry and materials sciences to biology and environmental sciences.

In addition, the ALS is undergoing a major upgrade, called ALS-U, which will take advantage of state-of-the-art technologies to endow the ALS with light more than 100 times brighter than the facility offers today, opening the door to new realms of scientific study and keeping the ALS’s world-leading capabilities.

Read more on the ALS website

Image: Dimitri Argyriou

Credit: European Spallation Source