The Advanced Photon Source
a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility

Kerby Named APS-U Project Director

Jim Kerby has been named project director of the APS Upgrade (APS-U) Project, effective Monday, April 25, 2022, making permanent a role he has held on an interim basis since December 2021.

Jim has been working on the APS-U project for a decade. He joined Argonne in 2012 as the principal project manager of the APS-U project, later transitioning to chief project officer, and has more than 30 years of engineering and technical management experience. He has been a visible and well-respected member of the APS-U leadership team.

With Jim at the helm, the APS-U is poised to enter its installation phase and deliver a world-leading facility for the scientific community.

“I’ve been proud to advance the APS Upgrade for 10 years, and I’m excited to see it through to completion,” Kerby said. “It’s been an honor to work with the APS Upgrade team, and together we will deliver a facility that will help shape basic scientific research for years to come.”

The APS-U project will see the current electron storage ring at the heart of the APS replaced with a new multi-bend achromat lattice that will increase the brightness of the facility’s X-ray beams by up to 500 times. Nine new feature beamlines will be constructed and several more beamlines will see significant enhancements. This project requires a year-long installation period, during which the APS will not be operational. That period is scheduled to begin in April 2023.

“The upgraded APS will be one of the cornerstone facilities transforming Argonne science,” said Argonne Director Paul Kearns. “Jim’s extensive experience and familiarity with the APS-U project make him the perfect choice to continue in his leadership role and guide the new facility to completion.”

For more information on the APS Upgrade, please visit the project web page.

The Advanced Photon Source is a DOE Office of Science User Facility operated for the DOE Office of Science by Argonne National Laboratory under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357

The U.S. Department of Energy's APS at Argonne National Laboratory is one of the world’s most productive x-ray light source facilities. Each year, the APS provides high-brightness x-ray beams to a diverse community of more than 5,000 researchers in materials science, chemistry, condensed matter physics, the life and environmental sciences, and applied research. Researchers using the APS produce over 2,000 publications each year detailing impactful discoveries, and solve more vital biological protein structures than users of any other x-ray light source research facility. APS x-rays are ideally suited for explorations of materials and biological structures; elemental distribution; chemical, magnetic, electronic states; and a wide range of technologically important engineering systems from batteries to fuel injector sprays, all of which are the foundations of our nation’s economic, technological, and physical well-being.

Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC, for the U.S. DOE Office of Science.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit the Office of Science website.

 

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