ALS UEC 2026-2028 term election

Candidates for the ALS Users’ Executive Committee for the 2026-2028 term (listed alphabetically)

Zezhen (Jay) Cheng

I am an early-career scientist at the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. EMSL is another DOE user facility. My research focuses on the physicochemical and optical properties of aerosols to understand their roles in the Earth's system. My research involves chemical imaging of individual aerosol particles, which relies heavily on Scanning Transmission X-ray Microscopy (STXM) at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) 5.3.2 beamline to probe the phase state, morphology, mixing state, chemical composition, and elemental composition of these particles. My first STXM experience was during the pandemic, and I had the opportunity to visit ALS after a three-year hiatus. At EMSL, I also bring valuable experience in supporting user programs and helping diverse projects achieve scientific success.  I support EMSL user programs by promoting the EMSL user program, recruiting potential users, developing strategic plans for helping with user proposal writing, participating in experimental design, analyzing samples, conducting laboratory experiments, and providing scientific results and discussions.

My goal as a member of the UEC will be to promote the user program at ALS and maintain ALS’s leadership in the field. I plan to use my experience at EMSL to enhance the ALS user program by recruiting users from diverse disciplines and career levels, develop a summer school program to support future scientists, and facilitate the transition during the dark period. I also aim to serve as a channel for communication with users and other institutions.

Alex Ditter

I am a Beamline Scientist at the Advanced Light Source, operating Beamline 7.0.1.2, COSMIC Imaging. The ALS has been a part of my scientific career from testing a new X-ray emission spectrometer at beamline 10.3.2 in graduate school, to a postdoc in the heavy element chemistry group at LBNL focused on scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) of actinide materials, to my current position of the last two years as beamline scientist. My current interests are improving scanning methods for STXM to deliver faster scanning and utilizing phase spectroscopy to measure chemical contrast in thick or heavy samples like actinide particles and reactor steels. 

I’d like to join the UEC to help guide the ALS through the upcoming dark time. This is a critical time period to ensure that our users’ needs continue to be met and continue to offer what support we can during the dark time. Feedback from the UEC is critical to ensuring the voices of the users are heard during this time where many of us will have less regular contact with our user groups. It’s also a time to shape the future of the ALS to align with user priorities as the next wave of beamlines are planned and executed. As a beamline scientist for the ptychography beamline, I have a unique perspective to offer as ALS UEC representative as we will be going through this process earlier than other beamlines.

Baran Eren

I am currently a Senior Scientist at the Weizmann Institute of Science and a Visiting Scientist at the Fritz Haber Institute, two leading overseas research centers. With 12 years as an ALS user, I bring a perspective shaped by postdoc work, hands-on user support, running both remote and in-person experiments, and leading a group whose members I’ve sent to ALS. I’ve worked closely with beamline scientists, engineers, technicians, the User Office, facility management, and other stakeholders, giving me a clear view of what helps users succeed and where processes can be improved.

On the UEC, my priority will be to represent users based outside California, making ALS more accessible to them and their research by strengthening remote capabilities, simplifying logistics, and advocating for equitable scheduling and support. I will also help lead constructive, solutions-oriented discussions among users, ALS scientists, and management about what can be done during the ALS-U upgrade to keep projects moving (through enhanced communication, training, and analysis support) so we restart stronger together. I aim to foster a two-way, collaborative environment between ALS and its user community so that facility priorities and services are guided by the diverse user needs and experiences.

Paula-Marie Ivey

As a postdoctoral researcher at the ALS, I am eager to engage with the user community and contribute to their continued success. With an interdisciplinary background in optical instrumentation and cell biology/neuroscience, I bring a dual perspective as both an instrument developer and a user. I am currently developing a prototype tender X-ray nanoprobe at beamline 7.0.1.2. This is a multimodal imaging system that integrates X-ray fluorescence for elemental mapping with scanning transmission X-ray microscopy and ptychography for high-resolution structural imaging. After the ALS-U, this instrument will transition to a new beamline, expanding capabilities across the Life, Environmental, and Materials sciences. The instrument’s first application is to investigate biomineralization pathways in yeast to inform biomedical material production. This dual role has shown me how essential collaboration is between users, developers, and facility staff in driving innovation and discovery.

I am motivated to connect with the user community to understand their scientific goals, identify how the upgrade can best support their work, and share new opportunities with future users. If elected to the UEC, I will work to strengthen collaborations between users and developers to inform the development of the next generation instruments/beamlines as we move into the ALS-U era and foster an inclusive, accessible environment for all users. As someone relatively new to the facility, I appreciate both the challenges and opportunities that come with joining a large, multidisciplinary community and I am committed to representing and supporting the diverse and dynamic user base that drives the ALS forward.

Harry Lisabeth

I am a Research Scientist in the Energy Geosciences Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where my work focuses on coupled thermal-hydraulic-mechanical-chemical (THMC) processes in geomaterials. My research integrates in situ X-ray micro- and nano-tomography, synchrotron diffraction, and image-based modeling to understand deformation, fluid transport, and chemical reactions relevant to geothermal energy, geological storage, and planetary science. I have been an ALS user since 2017, primarily at beamlines 8.3.2 and 11.3.1, and collaborate widely across interdisciplinary programs.

As the ALS transitions toward the ALS-U upgrade, I am committed to representing the diverse needs of the geoscience, energy, and planetary materials communities. I aim to strengthen interdisciplinary engagement across spectroscopy, diffraction, and imaging users; improve data accessibility and integration with modeling workflows; and help new users leverage the advanced capabilities of the upgraded source. My goal is to ensure the ALS remains a premier, inclusive hub for high-impact, cross-disciplinary science.

Dinesh Kumar Shukla

I am Dr. Dinesh Kumar Shukla, faculty member at the UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientific Research, bringing nearly two decades of global synchrotron user and facility experience to this nomination. My synchrotron research background started with my Ph.D followed by four-year postdoctoral tenure at DESY, where I was instrumental in developing and operating the P09 resonant X-ray diffraction beamline at PETRA III. This facility-side experience coupled with my long-term involvement as an active user at multiple international synchrotrons including APS, ESRF, and SPring-8 provides me with a deep, holistic perspective on the challenges and opportunities at major light sources. Parallel to these studies, in last more than one decade I have actively developed advanced instrumentation for materials science experiments, including setups for Dielectric spectroscopy, Seebeck, Hall, polarization vs electric field, and magneto-electric measurements etc, which has motivated me to perform cutting-edge in-situ experiments at synchrotron sources.

My primary goal as a member of the ALS User Executive Committee is to significantly enhance the overall user experience and accessibility. Having operated on all sides of the user spectrum as a beamline scientist, a long-term user, and a faculty mentor overseeing user projects I have a clear, first-hand understanding of the community's needs. I will advocate for streamlined proposal and scheduling processes, champion effective communication channels, and work to ensure the ALS has the necessary infrastructure to support cutting-edge, high-impact research, particularly by promoting and facilitating advanced in-situ experimental approaches. I am committed to leveraging my broad international experience and instrumentation background to ensure the ALS remains a world-class, supportive facility for all users.

Brandy Stewart

As an Environmental Engineer and Scientist I am passionate about the interaction of contaminants and environmental systems and designing solutions to minimize our impact on natural settings.  I studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Colorado and Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University where I found a niche studying soil and water contamination that satisfied a lifelong desire to work on improving the state of the environment.  Through international professional ski racing I have seen many of the planet’s most beautiful and pristine sites, providing continued motivation to seek solutions to pressing environmental problems.  I have worked as an environmental consultant on mining projects and as a research scientist at Montana State University and the University of Minnesota. 

I am currently based at SSRL as a part of the Synchrotron Earth and Environmental Science program (SEES) where I work to recruit and educate new members in the Earth and Environmental Science synchrotron community.  As a laboratory and field-based experimentalist, synchrotron-based spectroscopy tools are an integral part of my research.  A regular user at the ALS, I am familiar with the user experience and intend to draw on that insight and perspective as a member of the UEC to ensure the best possible experimental experience for users in the future.

Simruthi Subramanian

I am a Senior Research Associate at the Molecular Foundry and an active ALS user on Beamlines 3.2.1, 3.3.1, 2.0.1, and 5.0.2. My research includes irradiating 3D normal and tumorigenic mammary epithelial cell models as well as applying X‑ray footprinting mass spectrometry and crystallography to irradiated proteins. The overarching goals of my research are to uncover the residue‑level chemistry and biological mechanisms that underlies the FLASH effect, a new emerging field in radiotherapy oncology. My radiobiology work includes preforming colony and live-cell assays using fluorescent stains to monitor colony formation, cellular stress, cell cycle arrest, and DNA damage, by employing the CellInsight CX7 for high content screening and high throughput analyses.  From this work, normal tissue sparing and tumor death were observed for breast cancer spheroids exposed to high dose rate radiation compared to conventional radiation. LCMS/MS analysis on proteins allows for oxidation mapping, conformational changes, and activity analyses. Through collaborative ALS projects in both structural biology and radiobiology, attending conference presentations, mentoring interns and visiting scholars, I have seen first-hand how powerful targeted support can be to ALS users with their investigations.

As an ALS UEC Member nominee, I will advocate for practical, user‑driven improvements, transparent scheduling and proposal mentoring. A large focus of my time will be towards promoting a more collaborative space between the ALS and the rest of Berkeley Lab’s campus. Tighter integration between ALS beamlines and Molecular Foundry capabilities for sample preparation, imaging, and high throughput analyses will be my primary goal. I care deeply about inclusive mentorship and a welcoming community, with structured onboarding that lowers barriers for early‑career and underrepresented users. I will bring a listening‑first approach, regular communication, and clear accountability to the UEC—aiming to reduce friction, raise data quality, and accelerate impactful interdisciplinary science at the ALS.

John C. Thomas

I am a Senior Scientific Engineering Associate at the Advanced Light Source (ALS), where I work in the instrumentation and projects group within Photon Science Development to enable cutting-edge user science. Our group’s efforts span multiple beamlines and collaborative projects to integrate precision engineering, cryogenic and ultrahigh vacuum systems, optics, and related instrumentation. I have also gained experience as group lead within the Imaging Facility at the Molecular Foundry, where I supported interdisciplinary external communities and facility staff to support user-driven science. These experiences have given me a deep appreciation for the unique synergy between staff and users that drives innovation across Department of Energy user facilities.

As a candidate for the 2026–2028 ALS User Executive Committee (UEC), I aim to strengthen communication and collaboration between users, scientific staff, and technical staff, helping ensure that developments at the ALS align with emerging scientific needs during and beyond the ALS-U transition. I hope to contribute a technical perspective to discussions on user support, facility upgrades, and experimental readiness, while also learning from the diverse scientific community that defines the ALS. Serving on the UEC would be an honor, where I would aim to give back to the community that has shaped much of my career.

Turgut Yilmaz

 I am an experimental condensed matter physicist specializing in synchrotron-based electronic structure studies of quantum materials. Currently, I serve as an Associate Professor of Physics at Xiamen University Malaysia and hold a gratis appointment at the University of Connecticut. My research focuses on using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) to map and manipulate the band structures of topological materials, transition-metal dichalcogenides, and correlated electron systems. During my postdoctoral work at the 21ID-1 ARPES beamline at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), I contributed to beamline commissioning and user support, gaining valuable experience in collaborative synchrotron research environments.

I have been a long-term synchrotron user, beginning with NSLS-I and continuing through NSLS-II, as well as conducting experiments at the ALS, HISOR (Japan), and SLRI (Thailand). These experiences have shaped my perspective on the importance of accessible, collaborative, and innovative user facilities. As a member of the ALS User Executive Committee, I aim to strengthen connections between users and beamline scientists, advocate for training and mentorship opportunities for early-career researchers, and support a vibrant, inclusive user community. With the ALS-U upgrade on the horizon, I hope to contribute to ensuring a smooth transition that enhances experimental capabilities while maintaining the supportive and collaborative spirit that defines the ALS.