The upgrade to the Advanced Photon Source has taken more than a decade and involved the efforts of hundreds of people. Speaking as one of those people, I've noticed that we sometimes get so invested in completing the project on time that we forget to celebrate the achievements so far. It's nice to be reminded that this upgrade is an extraordinary thing, designed and built and commissioned by extraordinary people.
Wednesday, July 17 was an opportunity for just such a reminder. We were joined by elected officials and leaders from the Department of Energy for an outdoor ceremony to dedicate the upgraded APS. Speaker after speaker took to the stage to remind us of the scope and scale of this project, and how far we've come. If you were there, thank you. If you missed it, you can watch the entire event on YouTube. You can also see a selection of media coverage of the event.
While we're proud of where we are, none of this means the upgrade project is over. We're continuing to work on commissioning the storage ring and bringing beamlines back into operation. Despite some small setbacks this month, the storage ring has reached 119 milliamps on its way to full power at 200 mA. On the experiment floor, we now have 10 beamlines in the commissioning phase.
As we did last month, we have included the beamline progress graphic at the end of this update, so you can see which beamlines are in which stage of the process. We're on track to have a considerable number of beamlines in operation by the time we start the next user run this fall, and we're working through the hundreds of proposals for beam time.
In short, progress on the upgraded APS is steady, and we're closer than ever to welcoming users back and restarting the scientific program. While it's nice to reflect on the journey so far, the journey ahead is just as exciting. For the latest information on the upgrade, check the APS website. Thanks for reading.
Until next month,
Jonathan Lang
Director
X-ray Science Division
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