As this month’s update hits your inboxes, the Advanced Photon Source team is undergoing our final review before turning the new storage ring on.

It's called an Accelerator Readiness Review (ARR). Over several days an expert team from across the U.S. Department of Energy laboratory complex is examining not just the new storage ring we've built, but also evaluating our preparations to operate it. Do we have the right safety equipment?  Are the right processes in place? Are our people properly trained? How robust are our safety procedures? It’s important to know we can answer those questions before we throw the big switch and begin circulating electrons. I'm grateful for our colleagues who have given their time to conduct this review.

This is the second review of the upgrade this month, following one last week of the entire project by the DOE Office of Project Assessment. The OPA review team was thoroughly impressed with the progress we have made in the past 16 months. It’s a good reminder how close to the finish line we are when it comes to the storage ring. Once the ARR is complete, we’ll work to answer any outstanding questions and, after receiving approval from the DOE Argonne Site Office, begin to safely commission the accelerator. Essentially, we are on third base, waiting for the signal to run toward home.

If you'd like to learn more about the new storage ring, and see what it actually looks like, check out this new page we've developed for the APS Upgrade website. This page will show you a full sector of the new accelerator and give you insight into what each of the magnets in each sector do. Or, next time you are on site, walk by the control room if you want a quick look — a real-size poster of the new storage ring is displayed on the wall.

With the storage ring part of the project nearly complete, work on the experiment floor is now the focal point. Work on the beamlines has been ongoing for years, even before the shutdown began last April. Now progress across multiple beamlines is really ramping up.

Below you'll see photos of recent work happening at 4-ID (POLAR), the shielded transport leading to 19-ID (ISN) and a newly installed instrument at 8-ID (XPCS). These beamlines and others will move into commissioning over the next several months, and all beamlines will come online over the course of the next year. (If you're interested in the process of bringing beamlines online, you can dig into that on the website.) 

As mentioned last month, the first calls for proposals on the new machine have gone out to our user community. The first is a call for early experiments on several of the feature beamlines, the second a general user call for beam time on the upgraded APS. This is a moment we've been working toward, getting users back to this facility to conduct fascinating science and make important discoveries. It's what this is all about, at the end of the day.

Next month I'll talk about the results of the ARR and the start of commissioning on the new accelerator. As always, stay tuned to the APS Upgrade website for the latest information. We're close. But foremost, we will ensure that this continues to be a safe facility for all. Until next time, continue to be that way in your own lives — be safe.

Jim Kerby
Director, APS Upgrade Project