Status of the Advanced Photon Source

Abstract In the fall of 2010, the Advanced Photon Source (APS) will enter its fifteenth year of user operations. During fiscal year 2009, the APS delivered X-ray beam to the scientific community 97.7% of scheduled hours (availability) and with a mean time between faults of 77.5 h. The APS remains the most prolific source worldwide of structure deposits in the Protein Data Bank (1433 in 2009) and a leader in the field of high-pressure research, among others. However, to maintain its position as a state-of-the-art facility for hard X-ray science, it will be necessary to refresh and improve the APS X-ray source and beamlines. We are presently on the path to do that through the APS Upgrade Project. The US Department of Energy Office of Science has formally approved the start of this project with the issuance of Critical Decision-0, Approve of Mission Need. The APS staff, in collaboration with our user community, is now in the process of developing a Conceptual Design Report that documents the proposed scope of the APS Upgrade Project. Components of the Upgrade plan will be presented as well as science highlights from the past year.