November 2004 Archives

Dale E. Sayers, physics professor at North Carolina State University, died on November 25, 2004 at the age of 60 from complications following a heart attack while exercising at the gym. He was a world leader in X-ray absorption spectroscopy. He came to fame with the publication of the first EXAFS paper, in 1971. With it, he opened up a new field of research, which is now about to celebrate its twelfth bi-annual meeting in 2003 in Sweden. Professor Sayer's work using synchrotron radiation led him into a broad variety of research topics including investigations of amorphous materials, biophysical specimens, contaminated soils, nanoscale structures, and cancerous tissues. Professor Sayers was a recipient of the Bertram Eugene Warren Award (American Crystallographic Association); the Case Centennial Scholar Award (Case Western Reserve University); and the N.C. State Alumni Association Outstanding Research Award. His family would appreciate contributions to the Dale E. Sayers Scholarship Fund, PAMS Foundation NCSU, c/o Anita Stallings, College of PAMS, 116 Cox Hall Campus Box 8201, North Carolina State University, Raleigh NC 27695-8201.

A miniworkshop on Pixel Array Detector: Status and Applications was held at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Japan. The contributors were M.O.Lampert (Canberra-EURYSIS), H.Oyanagi (AIST), G.Foran (ASRP), S.Muto (NIFS), T.Satoh (JAERI), H.Takahashi (Univ of Tokyo), and M.Okubo (AIST). The requirements and solutions for pixel array detectors with high energy-resolution were discussed with particular emphasis on applications in X-ray spectrometry and plasma physics. The abstract booklet is available from Professor Hiroyuki Oyanagi, AIST, Phone: +81-29-8615072, Fax: +81-29-8615085, h.oyanagi@aist.go.jp

Zahi Hawass and his co-workers plan to conduct X-ray analysis of the mummy of King Tutankhamen who ruled Egypt about 3,300 years ago and died while still a teenager. They will move the mummy from the tomb in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, where it was discovered in 1922, to the Egyptian Museum in central Cairo by the end of November. Earlier X-ray tests in 1968 revealed bone fragments inside the skull, prompting speculation that the young king was murdered by a blow to the head. However, other evidence suggests death due to illness. This year's experiment is intended to put to rest this mystery by employing a much more powerful X-ray machine donated by Siemens and National Geographic. The main news source is Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/). For more information about the mummy, see for example, http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/mummy/

Martin J. Berger, former Chief of the Radiation Theory Section and Director of the Photon and Charged-Particle Data Center at NBS, died on November 6, 2004 at the age of 82, from the effects of a hematoma following a fall in which he struck his head. Dr. Berger was born in 1922 in Vienna, Austria. He earned a B.S. degree with a major in physics in 1943, received an M.S. and PhD, in physics in 1951, all at the University of Chicago. He started working at the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) in Washington in 1952. His main area of interest was mathematical physics in relation to the penetration, diffusion and slowing of high-energy radiations through matter, and he rose to fame because of his theoretical works and Monte Carlo codes in the fields of electron and proton transport. He published more than 149 scientific papers, including the seminal 1963 monograph, "Monte Carlo Calculation of the Penetration and Diffusion of Fast Charged Particles". During his career at NBS, Berger received several awards for distinguished service, including the Silver and Gold Medals of the U.S. Department of Commerce and the 1990 Radiation Science and Technology Award from the American Nuclear Society. In August of 2003, he was awarded the L. H. Gray Medal by the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements, becoming only the eleventh recipient of this prestigious award. In October of that same year, Mr Berger was added to the NIST Gallery of Distinguished Scientists, Engineers and Administrators. The Washington Post (November 28, 2004) carries an obituary written by Joe Holley.

A whitish cream in a small canister, which was recently discovered during archaeological surveys of the remains of a Roman temple in London, has been found to contain SnO₂. Archaeologists think the SnO₂ was added intentionally, presumably for use as cosmetic. They believe the unguent was prepared using sophisticated technology: animal fat was heated, possibly with the aim of bleaching it, and the starch was separated by treatment of roots or grains with boiling water, and then white SnO₂ , which is readily produced by heating refined tin metal in air, was added. The non-toxic properties of SnO₂ would also have been desirable, because by the second century AD, the dangers of lead were becoming recognized. XRF and XRD analysis played an important role in the identification of the ancient cosmetic cream. For more information, see the paper, "Archaeology: Formulation of a Roman cosmetic", R. P. Evershed et al., Nature, 432, 35-36 (2004).

The Photon Factory in Tsukuba, Japan commenced operation in 1982 as a typical 2^nd-generation synchrotron radiation facility. The 2.5 GeV storage ring is now being upgraded in order to maintain the competitiveness of its specifications in the field of X-ray sciences via the introduction of new mini-gap undulators. If such undulators are installed, it is possible to produce X-rays even at the 2.5 GeV ring (which does not have the same high energy as a 3^rd-generation source), since the spectra of undulator radiation depend on the periodic length of the magnet array, as well as the accumulation energy of the storage ring. The plan is to create new straight sections (BL-1, 3, 15, 17, 4, 18), as well as to lengthen the existing straight sections (BL-2, 5, 13, 14, 16, 19, 28). The facility will cease operation at the end of February 2005 and restart in the fall of the same year.