Consortium for Advanced Radiation Sources
Scientific Groupings
Geophysical and Geochemical Sciences (GeoCARS)
Soil and Environmental Sciences (SoilEnviroCARS)
GeoSoilEnviroCARS (or GSECARS, Sector 13) research furthers knowledge of the composition, structure, and properties of earth and planetary materials and the processes they control. Experiments involve high pressure research using both the diamond anvil cell and the large volume press; X-ray diffraction and scattering and X-ray absorption spectroscopy from earth and planetary materials; and X-ray fluorescence microprobe analysis and microtomography. GSECARS is funded by the U.S Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation as a national resource for the entire community in these scientific areas in the United States. GSECARS is affiliated with the American Geophysical Union through its Committee on Mineral and Rock Physics and the Soil and Environmental Sciences.
Structural Biology
BioCARS (Sector 14) serves structural biology community with special interest in macromolecular dynamics. BioCARS provides state-of-the-art X-ray facility as well as scientific and technical expertise for studies of dynamic properties of biological macromolecules by time-resolved crystallography and solution scattering (SAXS/WAXS). The overall goal of time-resolved studies at BioCARS is to understand basic biological processes in structural and dynamics terms, on time scales from 100 picoseconds to seconds. This goal is fundamental to both basic biomedical science and to pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. BioCARS is funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health to serve as a national resource for the structural biology community.
Chemistry and Material Science
ChemMatCARS (Sector 15) represents chemists and material scientists with interests in surface science, advanced crystallography, nanoscience, and the science of soft materials and polymers. Research at ChemMatCARS focuses on several aspects of dynamic and structural condensed matter and materials chemistry research. Areas include surface and interfacial properties in soft condensed matter and molecular liquids; chemical crystallography; structure and properties of molecular aggregates and semiconductors in microporous, layered and glassy materials; interfacial and bulk properties of novel polymers and composites, including supramolecular and mesoscopic structures; and local structure in metalloproteins and enzymes. ChemMatCARS is funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy as a national chemistry and materials research facility.