The 2015 Award for Excellence in Beamline Science at the Advanced Photon Source was awarded on May 11, 2015, to Daniel Haskel, group leader of the Magnetic Materials Group.

The award recognizes Haskel's pioneering work in x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) and x-ray resonant magnetic scattering using hard X-rays at beamline 4-ID-D of APS. He has developed many new capabilities around these techniques, including simultaneous high-pressure, low-temperature, high-magnetic-field environments. The combination of these environments is challenging to implement, yet crucially important for understanding the resultant magnetic phase transitions. As a direct result of his efforts, the APS user base in the areas of magnetism and strongly correlated materials has expanded significantly.

Daniel’s science program has resulted in more than 100 publications in high-impact journals. He has directly mentored three Ph.D. students and five post-docs, organized a number of scientific workshops, and presented more than 50 invited talks to educate and build the user community. Daniel is also an adjunct professor of physics at Washington University in St. Louis, and editorial board member of Nature Scientific Reports, and secretary/treasurer of the International X-ray Absorption Society.