From the Directors
Dear Colleagues,

Winter, thankfully, is going by quickly – we’ve even had a little warm, sunny weather in Ithaca! The 2021-1 run will conclude next week. Then, CHESS will be down for a few weeks of maintenance and machine studies. CHESS user operations will resume on April 21st.

Covid travel restrictions are still in place; however, remote access has been very successful and has proven to be rewarding for both users and staff scientists. CHESS will be in remote operations mode for the 2021-2 (April-June) run. We will return to “normal” operations as soon as regulations allow.

We are busy preparing for the CHESS Users’ Meeting, to be held on June 8&9 and the CHESS 2030 workshop series. Please save the date and be on the lookout for an invitation to register for these events.

In this month’s newsletter we are highlighting engineering and materials research from our beamlines, particularly the Forming And Shaping Technology beamline and the Structural Materials Beamline.

This research is also featured with an article about CHESS User Michael Sangid, an Early Career Award winner from the NSF, who is employing the thermo-mechanical loading capabilities at CHESS to develop predictive material modeling for residual stresses.

The Functional Materials Beamline is highlighted in this month’s "Beamline in Focus", where we discuss the exciting work that staff scientist Louisa Smieska and her team are doing with additive manufacturing and beyond.

There is so much to be excited about at CHESS and we strive to keep our user community up-to-date with all that is happening. We encourage users to reach out to the Users Executive Committee with questions, comments and suggestions and, of course, feel free to contact us directly.

Thanks and Best Wishes,

Joel Brock, Director, CHESS (email Joel)
Beamlines in Focus: FMB
FMB (the Functional Materials Beamline) is a part of the Materials Solutions Network at CHESS (MSN-C). Louisa Smieska, Staff Scientist for FMB, sat down with us to discuss FMB and its capabilities in detail. Louisa started her research at CHESS in 2014 and joined the staff in 2017.
Grain-resolved temperature-dependent anisotropy in hexagonal Ti-7Al revealed by synchrotron X-ray diffraction
Synchrotron measurements of a titanium alloy reveal anisotropic coefficients of thermal expansion that would not be able to be seen with bulk measurements.
Quantifying Through-Thickness Residual Stresses from Forming of Wrought Steel Armor Plate
A recent effort has verified the capability of MSN-C to characterize Department of Defense-relevant parts with typical thicknesses, bend, and welded features. The results provide a baseline for further research by the DOD and industry partners to improve forming and welding processes.
CHESS user examines material under thermo-mechanical loading - with goal to develop predictive material modeling
Residual stress can have a tremendous effect on the performance and overall lifetime of materials. To understand the lattice strains that result in these stresses, researchers at CHESS are able to probe their samples with high-energy X-rays while simultaneously exposing them to heat, strain, and pressure. Michael Sangid, CHESS user and Elmer Bruhn Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University, employs the unique tools at CHESS to manipulate his samples under thermal and mechanical loading, particularly at the FAST beamline.
Asking Good Questions - Outreach workshop leads to Critical Thinking
Florianna Blanton, outreach coordinator at CHESS, presented to a group of Cornell Graduate students on Wednesday, March 10. The virtual discussion highlighted the unique ways in which graduate students can perform outreach with teachers and k-12 students in the area.
CHESS Users' Meeting
Save The Date!
The 2021 CHESS Users' Meeting will take place on June 8/9, 2021, as a virtual meeting with plenary sessions, poster sessions, and workshops held online and accessible for participants remotely.

Keep an eye out for registration, workshops, and more details to come.
Issue No. 81 2021.3.16