Argonne Distinguished Fellow and Argonne National Laboratory X-ray Science Division (XSD) Director Linda Young has been elected vice chair of the Division of Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics of the American Physical Society (DAMOP). The position became official at the 2011 DAMOP Meeting held at Atlanta, Georgia, on June 13-17. The four-year-term position starts with vice chair and progresses to chair elect, chair, and then past chair.
Among Young’s recent scientific accomplishments, the atomic, molecular, and optical research carried out by her research group at Argonne has been featured in the Presidential Budget request as a "Selected Accomplishment" two years in a row. The most recent work explored the femtosecond electronic response of simple atoms to ultrashort, high-intensity x-ray pulses from the world’s first x-ray free-electron laser, the Linac Coherent Light Source at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory [Nature 466, 56 (2010)]. The previous year’s work demonstrated how light, through the phenomenon of electromagnetically induced transparency, can control x-ray absorption [Nat. Phys. 6, 69 (2010)].
DAMOP has more than 3,000 members and is the third largest division of the American Physical Society, behind Condensed Matter Physics and Particles and Fields. DAMOP's annual meeting is attended by more than 1,000 members.
DAMOP was founded in 1943, and was the first division of the American Physical Society. Its central focus is fundamental research on atoms, simple molecules, electrons and light, and their interactions. It plays an enabling role underlying many areas of science through the development of methods for the control and manipulation of atoms, molecules, charged particles and light, through precision measurements and calculations of their properties, and through the invention of new ways to generate light with specific properties.
The American Physical Society has approximately 50,000 members and publishes all the Physical Review journals: Physical Review Letters, Reviews of Modern Physics, as well as Physics Today.
The Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory is one of five national synchrotron radiation light sources supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science to carry out applied and basic research to understand, predict, and ultimately control matter and energy at the electronic, atomic, and molecular levels, provide the foundations for new energy technologies, and support DOE missions in energy, environment, and national security.
Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.