The
SSRL Structural Molecular Biology (SMB)
Summer School 2001 - Making the Most of Your Synchrotron Trip
Stanford-Berkeley
2001 SR Summer School: A Successful Start to the First in a Series
The first
Stanford-Berkeley summer school on synchrotron radiation and its applications
was held July 8-14. The program was designed to introduce prospective
users to the fundamental properties of synchrotron radiation and the
understanding and use of several SR techniques including spectroscopy,
scattering and microscopy in various scientific applications. Selected
on the basis of their academic record and written description of how
the use of SR could impact their planned research projects, the 36
students (representing 14 different nationalities) came from a diverse
range of scientific fields including atomic and molecular physics,
condensed matter physics, surface science, polymer chemistry, environmental
science and biophysics.
The school
was held at UC Berkeley and was sponsored by SSRL, ALS, LBNL and the
UCB Division of Continuing Education in Engineering. The program was
coordinated by Anders Nilsson at SSRL and David Attwood at LBNL. Lectures
were given by David Attwood (LBNL), Anders Nilsson, Jo Stöhr
and Sean Brennan (SSRL), Eli Rotenberg (ALS), Steve Kevan (Univ. of
Oregon), Gordon Brown (Stanford Univ.) and Harald Ade (North Carolina
State Univ.). The program also included afternoon visits to both SSRL
and ALS, giving the students opportunities to interact with the professional
staff and graduate students at both facilities. These visits included
lectures on storage rings, beam line design and the free electron
laser project, capped off by tours of the experimental facilities.
The closing session featured a stimulating discussion between the
students and lecturers. Students were encouraged to ask questions
rarely addressed in such a forum, e.g. - "What is important for
my future career?" and "How do I design a good experiment?"
It was
rewarding to see all the positive interactions between the lecturers
and the students - and among the students themselves. They learned
a lot from each other and generated friendships that may last for
a long time. Next year the joint school is planned to take place at
Stanford. We hope that this will become an annual event in the future.
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