The National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) is marking its 10th anniversary of operations on October 23, 2024. Since the facility's inception in 2014, it has expanded significantly, growing from six to 29 operational beamlines. Over the past decade, NSLS-II has received over 15,000 requests for beam time and hosted nearly 6,000 users.
The accelerator at NSLS-II has also seen advancements. Initially operating at a current of 50 mA in 2015, it now runs at 400 mA and plans to increase to 500 mA by the mid-2020s. Timur Shaftan, NSLS-II’s accelerator division director stated: “It’s time to talk about the future... New solutions, like the complex bend, will come in handy not only for us but the larger light source community.”
In recent developments, the High Energy Engineering X-ray Scattering (HEX) beamline became operational in November 2022. Michael Drakopoulos explained that HEX aims "to help advance clean energy technologies and creative energy storage solutions."
Looking ahead, the NEXT-II project is underway with three new beamlines expected between 2025 and 2027. Yong Chu remarked that these additions will bring "exciting new capabilities to NSLS-II." Furthermore, planning for NEXT-III is in progress following approval from the U.S. Department of Energy Basic Energy Sciences.
Wah-Keat Lee emphasized: “Our goal is to build next-generation beamlines that provide a rich end-to-end user experience and maximize scientific impact.” As part of this expansion effort, NSLS-II aims to develop software platforms addressing technological innovations.
Over the next decade, NSLS-II will continue its focus on enhancing beamline operations and construction while reorganizing its science directorates into two divisions: Physical Sciences and Research Operations Division and Biological, Environmental, and Planetary Science Division.