Education and Outreach
CARS is deeply committed to investing in the researchers of the future. We actively seek young scientists to mentor and strive to encourage students to consider careers in science.
We partner closely with Argonne’s Division of Educational Programs to mentor undergraduates employed through U.S. Department of Energy programs for student researchers. A typical summer finds us hosting three or four undergraduates in formal mentored research projects.
CARS is also committed to supporting the development of early-career researchers and typically hosts four or five postdoctoral scholars.
Our primary outreach is through tours and internships for college students. In a typical year, roughly 100 high-school and college visitors tour CARS each year, including girls participating in Argonne’s annual Science Careers in Search of Women event. Other types of outreach include teaching experiments, workshops, and staff presentations.
Tours
CARS will gladly arrange tours for high school and college students and for the general public. In a typical year, more than 100 visitors tour CARS.
Tours usually include a short presentation on how the Advanced Photon Source works and the kind of research we do at CARS, followed by visits to one or more of our sectors. If no experiment is in progress, visitors can enter an experimental station. Tours can also include a stop at the observation decks of the APS, which give a birds-eye view of the synchrotron ring.
Advance notice is required because of restrictions on site access (Tuesday is a good day to visit, because the machine is shut down and lots of impressive equipment can be opened to view). We can accommodate groups of 25 or fewer people.
For tours of Argonne, contact Argonne’s tour coordinator at tours@anl.gov.
Workshops
CARS regularly organizes technical workshops to introduce new capabilities to our user community and to seek user input for future development of the facility. We also participate in teaching experiments designed to train young researchers in the methods of synchrotron x-ray research.
Student Interns
CARS partners with Argonne’s Division of Educational Programs and Outreach in mentoring undergraduates employed though U.S. Department of Energy student research programs.
Educational Contacts
Nancy Lazarz
GSECARS
(630) 252-0423
lazarz@cars.uchicago.edu
Vukica Srajer
BioCARS
(630) 252-0455
v-srajer@uchicago.edu
Natalie Chen
NSF’s ChemMatCARS
(630) 252-0476
nchen@cars.uchicago.edu
Sector Specific Education and Outreach Pages
GSECARS
BioCARS
NSF’s ChemMatCARS
Below, you will find a summary of the very latest education and outreach events from across all three CARS sectors. This includes workshops, tours, tutorials, and more. Be sure to check back often to see what is new!
You can find full listings of of education and outreach events for each individual sector using the links on the right side of this page (above).
Force Seminar October 2023
The Slab in the Lab: Simulating deep-focus earthquakes through transformational faulting at high pressure and temperature in olivine analogues. Hosted by Tim Officer of GSECARS, University of Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory.
2023 Neutron X-ray School
Every year since 2014, NSF’s ChemMatCARS has participated in teaching for the APS Neutron and X-ray School. After 3 year virtual school due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we finally had the National School on Neutron and X-ray Scattering (NX School) held in person again...
2023 NXS School
GSECARS beamline scientist Stella Chariton presented, "High Pressure Measurement with X-rays" at the 2023 NXS School.
GSECARS welcomes Maksim Yakovlev
Maksim Yakovlev is our new Postdoctoral Scholar and will be working with Mark Rivers in the GSE Tomography Program.
Workshopping the Future of Science at NSF’s ChemMatCARS
In early May 2023, NSF’s ChemMatCARS organized the latest in a series of workshops bringing together users and staff. The purpose was a look ahead to the future of the Advanced Photon Source (APS) as it undergoes a major upgrade of the x-ray source, and the...