Brookhaven National Laboratory's NSLS-II

Brookhaven National Laboratory's NSLS-II
Name	NSLS-II
Location	Upton, New York
Coordinates	40.8690°N 72.8896°W
Established	2015
Operator	Brookhaven National Laboratory
Type	Synchrotron light source
Energy	3 GeV
Status	Operational

Contents

Brookhaven National Laboratory's NSLS-II is a third-generation synchrotron National Synchrotron Light Source successor sited at Brookhaven National Laboratory. It provides high-brightness, high-coherence X-ray beams to researchers from Columbia University, Stony Brook University, Yale University, Princeton University, and international partners like CERN and DESY. The facility supports interdisciplinary studies spanning collaborations with U.S. Department of Energy, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Japanese Atomic Energy Agency, and industrial partners such as General Electric, Pfizer, and Corning Incorporated.

Overview

Planning originated amid strategic initiatives involving U.S. Department of Energy directives, input from panels including members from National Academy of Sciences, American Physical Society, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and advisory groups with representatives from IBM, DuPont, Chevron, and Shell. Construction phases engaged contractors such as Fluor Corporation and consultants from Bechtel. Groundbreaking followed environmental reviews coordinated with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and local stakeholders including Suffolk County officials. The commissioning period featured scientists formerly associated with Synchrotron Radiation Source (UK), Diamond Light Source, and Canadian Light Source.

The storage ring operates at 3 GeV with a circumference informed by lattice designs similar to MAX IV and ESRF-EBS. Magnet systems and insertion devices were developed with suppliers including Oxford Instruments, Bruker, and Siemens. Beamlines use optics from ZEISS, SCHOTT, and detectors from DECTRIS, PILATUS, and Eiger systems. Control systems integrate software frameworks like EPICS and visualization tools aligned with initiatives from National Center for Atmospheric Research and Los Alamos National Laboratory. The facility’s cryogenics, vacuum systems, and RF systems reflect engineering approaches from CERN and SLAC, while project management invoked standards from Project Management Institute.

NSLS-II supports programs in materials science, structural biology, catalysis, and energy storage, attracting investigators from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Cornell University, Harvard University, Brown University, and Rutgers University. Projects include battery research linked to Joint Center for Energy Storage Research, catalysis studies tied to Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences Division, and protein crystallography collaborations with Structural Genomics Consortium. Industrial research partnerships involve BASF, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, and Toyota Motor Corporation. Environmental and earth science studies connect to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and United States Geological Survey programs.

The user program follows peer-review processes grounded in practices from National Nuclear Security Administration and coordinated access models similar to Advanced Light Source and Diamond Light Source. Beam time allocation employs review panels with experts from American Chemical Society, Biophysical Society, Materials Research Society, and international committees including members from Max Planck Society and CNRS. Training and outreach engage students from SUNY Stony Brook, Brooklyn College, Queens College, and programs like DOE Office of Science Graduate Student Research and NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program. Data management aligns with policies from Office of Science and Technology Policy and repositories used by Protein Data Bank.

Research at NSLS-II has led to advances in battery electrode tomography informing Toyota and Ford Motor Company development, protein structure determinations supporting drug design at Merck and AstraZeneca, and discoveries in quantum materials that intersect work at Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research and Paul Scherrer Institute. Publications have appeared in journals where authors hail from Nature Publishing Group, Science (journal), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Physical Review Letters; collaborations include scientists from Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Mount Sinai Health System, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. NSLS-II outcomes inform federal initiatives such as Materials Genome Initiative and contribute to standards developed by American Society for Testing and Materials.

Safety systems and environmental monitoring were implemented in consultation with Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, New York State Department of Health, and regional emergency services including Suffolk County Police Department. Radiation protection, waste handling, and sustainability projects incorporate practices from International Atomic Energy Agency guidelines and collaborations with ICLEI and NYSDEC. Planned upgrades include enhanced insertion devices, detector enhancements inspired by developments at DESY and European XFEL, and expansion projects coordinated with partners like DOE Office of Science and international consortia involving ITER Organization and European Research Council.