The Users' Executive Committee (UEC) represents the scientific user community at the NSLS-II. The UEC interacts with NSLS-II Administration, BNL, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the public in matters of user community issues, facility operation, policies, and improvements.

General members are elected for a term of two (2) years. The nominating committee has prepared the following slate of candidates who have agreed to run for election for the 2025-2027 term. Six (6) general member candidates will be elected by a majority vote. Election results will be announced at the afternoon session of the main meeting at the NSLS-II Annual Users' Meeting. You must be an active NSLS-II user in order to vote.

Voting Guidance: As you peruse the list of nominees for membership on the NSLS-II UEC, please consider the following. The committee members are your representatives and serve as two-way channels of communication between you and BNL management (mostly NSLS-II, Energy Sciences Directorate, the GUV Center, and Facilities and Operations). Issues the UEC deals with include not only your scientific community needs, but also quality of life concerns, BNL site access (foreign national visits, training, security), commonality between DOE user facilities, outreach, and, of course, organizing and running the annual users meeting, UEC meetings and Town Halls as well as serving on other BNL committees. So while you consider the scientific interests and technique expertise of the candidates, also consider how involved and effective they would be in the other aspects of the job. The UEC has found that having at least some of the members living locally to the Lab helps in these other duties of office.

Deadline: Votes must be cast by 5pm on 4/28/2025.

Please choose up to six (6) candidates.

	Alisha Clark , University of Colorado, Boulder I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder. My research focuses primarily on measuring the equation of state and transport properties of experimentally complex materials (amorphous and multiphase materials) relevant to planetary formation, evolution, and destruction at extreme conditions using both static and dynamic compression techniques. To this end, my research program has been involved in technique development for high pressure X-ray microtomography, GHz-frequency ultrasonic interferometry, falling sphere viscometry, shock-ramp, ramp compression, and shock viscosity measurements. Many of these developments have occurred in partnership with national laboratories (Brookhaven, APS, and Sandia). At NSLS-II, my research group are users of the XPD and FIS beamlines.
	Gary Harlow, University of Oregon Dr. Gary Harlow specializes in combining synchrotron grazing incidence techniques with electrochemical measurements. He earned his Ph.D. under Prof. Christopher Lucas at the University of Liverpool (UK), who is also a director of the UK XMaS beamline at the ESRF. After completing his Ph.D., Dr. Harlow worked as a postdoc at the Division of Synchrotron Radiation Research, Lund University, Sweden, and later at the University of Copenhagen. He then held a joint researcher position between Malmö University and the NanoMax beamline at the MAX IV synchrotron in Sweden. Dr Harlow has conducted beamtimes at many European and US facilities such as: PETRA-III, Diamond, SLS, ESRF, MAX IV, ALS, APS, and NSLS-II. Dr. Harlow is currently a Research Assistant Professor and Associate Director at the Oregon Center for Electrochemistry, where he teaches electrochemistry and leads an independent research group. His research focuses on both fundamental and applied electrochemistry, with topics including double layer structure, electrocatalysis, and corrosion. As a member of the User Executive Committee at NSLS-II, Dr. Harlow will be committed to advocating for user needs, including making it easier to do chemistry related research at NSLS-II and reducing the amount of red tape users face.
	Anthony Hessel, Accelerated Muscle Biotechnologies Dr. Anthony Hessel received his BSc in biology from Allegheny College (PA) and MSc and PhD in muscle physiology and biomechanics from Northern Arizona University. He conducted postdoc appointments at Ruhr University Bochum (Germany) and University of Muenster (Germany). He is currently a group leader at the University Hospital Muenster, operating under a grant from the German Research Foundation (NIH USA equivalent). He further owns a contract research organization (Boston, USA), where he runs a muscle X-ray diffraction research program, funded under NHLBI / NIAMS / NIGMS NIH mechanisms.  Dr. Anthony Hessel is a muscle physiologist with a diverse background in cardiac and skeletal muscle mechanics, assistive devices like prostheses and exoskeletons, and biophysics. His work has focuses on the use of the small-angle X-ray diffraction technique to track the movement of muscle motor proteins under near-physiological conditions. To improves muscle X-ray diffraction science and user access,  Dr. Hessel formed a contract research organization, Accelerated Muscle Biotechnologies (USA) with a focus to expand muscle X-ray diffraction to other beamlines (i.e. the LiX beamline, NSLS-II), as well as improve the hardware and software technology to make it useful for basic, translational, and clinical applications.
	Eta Isiorho, City University of New York Eta Isiorho is a Research Assistant Professor in the Graduate College of The City University of New York (CUNY) and the Macromolecular Crystallization Facility director for the Structural Biology Initiative at the Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC). She is an X-ray crystallographer, and is focused on experimental methods in macromolecular crystallography, in particular crystallization of proteins and enzymes. Her research group, which doubles as a core facility, provides protein molecule crystallization services and instrumentation as well as coordinating access to NSLS-II (beamlines AMX, FMX and NYX) for X-ray data collection via a recently renewed Block Allocation Group (BAG). She also runs tutorials and guest lectures on macromolecular X-ray crystallography at her institute, as well as doing scientific outreach to academic and industrial researchers and local area schools. Eta is passionate about removing barriers of both understanding and access for diffractive synchrotron radiation sources more reachable by providing materials in clear and understandable ways. Her goal is to show the importance of the work done at NSLS-II and how others can contribute and/or utilize the federally funded radiation source, as well as advocate for increased access for underserved communities at NSLS-II.
	Sangjae Lee, Yale University I am an associate research scientist at Yale University, working with Prof. Charles Ahn in the Department of Applied Physics. My expertise lies in thin film growth and x-ray scattering and spectroscopic characterizations. I have been an active synchrotron user for ten years at many different facilities around the world, performing SXRD, RIXS, XAS, XPS, coherent scattering, and ARPES measurements. Currently, we have installed Yale's oxide molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) thin film growth system on the NSLS-II floor, at the ESM beamline. Fully leveraging our MBE system, I have been performing experiments at multiple beamlines at NSLS-II to conduct multi-modal studies on oxide thin films to gain insights into their novel phenomena. As an active user of the NSLS-II, I am interested in fostering exciting research of quantum materials using advanced synchrotron techniques.
	Tongchao Liu, Argonne National Laboratory Tongchao Liu is an assistant chemist in the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division at Argonne National Laboratory. He received his Ph.D. from Peking University. His research focuses on energy storage materials and multiscale advanced characterization, with particular emphasis on lithium- and sodium-ion batteries. His areas of expertise include Ni-rich and Co-free cathodes, Li-rich cathodes, concentration gradient cathode design, and probing degradation mechanisms using in-situ synchrotron-based X-ray techniques. Dr. Liu plays an active role in the Low-cost Earth-abundant Na-ion Storage (LENS) consortium, a $50 million initiative led by Argonne to advance sustainable sodium-ion battery technologies. He previously served as an assistant editor for Nano Energy and is currently an editor for Materials Today Energy. Dr. Liu has an outstanding publication record, with over 140 peer-reviewed papers and more than 11,000 citations. His work has appeared in leading journals such as Nature (4), Science (2), Nature Energy (4), Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Sustainability, Nature Communications (8), and JACS (9), among others. His contributions have been widely recognized: he was named to the MIT Technology Review's “35 Innovators Under 35” Global List (2023), received the Impact Argonne Award, and has earned three Young Scientist Awards.
	Gugulethu Nkala, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory Gugu is currently a postdoctoral research associate at the SSRL in the Materials Science Division under the mentorship of Dr. Johanna Nelson Weker, working on transition metal oxide pseudocapacitor and Na Ion Battery alloying anode materials. PXRD, PDF and XAS are the primary characterization techniques in investigating structure-property correlations. Gugu completed her PhD in 2024 from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in South Africa under the supervision of Prof. David Billing. During her studies, she undertook a research visit in University of Washington in the Department of Physics with Prof. John Rehr and Dr. Fernando Vila in using FEFF to model XAS spectra in elucidating the electronic structure of Al, Dy co-doped NASICON solid-state electrolytes. She was also a Postgraduate Representative in the School of Chemistry, a leadership role in which she was the student’s liaison between post-graduate students and the School Committee with the objective of improving the postgraduate experience.
	Darren Pagan, Penn State University Darren Pagan earned a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Columbia University in 2010 and his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Cornell University in 2016. Prior to joining Penn State, Darren was an X-ray scientist overseeing the structural materials and mechanics program at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS). At CHESS, he oversaw the design and commissioning of the Forming and Shaping Technology Beamline (FAST). Darren joined the faculty of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Penn State in 2020.  His research focuses on understanding the microstructure and processing origins of complex deformation and failure processes across material classes, particularly metallic alloys and ceramics.
	Satyavolu Papa Rao, NY CREATES ‘Pops’ Papa Rao is the VP for Research at NY CREATES, based in Albany, NY. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and a Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA. He joined Texas Instruments’ Silicon Technology Development in 1996, starting at yield enhancement of 64 MB DRAM, and progressing to metallization of 32 nm node interconnects. He moved to IBM Research in 2007, where he was involved in research on 22 nm node CMP processes, crystalline Si solar cells, and devices for DNA nucleotide recognition. Since 2014, he has been at Albany – first with SEMATECH, and with NY CREATES when it was launched in 2018. He leads research at NY CREATES – quantum, neuromorphic and energy-efficient computing in addition to bio-interfaces. Research by Papa Rao and his team to develop superconducting optoelectronics for neuromorphic computing has been funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). In partnership with Seeqc and AFRL, they have worked on developing fluxonium qubits using Ta-based Josephson junctions. Papa Rao and his team are a part of the US Department of Energy funded “Co-Design Center for Quantum Advantage (C2QA)” (led by Brookhaven National Laboratory). In an effort led by the Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, and with imec as a partner, he and his team are working to develop highly energy efficient, ultra-fast superconducting digital logic circuits. With funding from the Microelectronics Commons established by the US Department of Defense, the NY CREATES team is working, with 8 other partners, on developing a superconducting quantum process design kit (PDK) for 300 mm fabrication to democratize access to advanced qubit fabrication. Additional research on Al-based qubits was sponsored by NY State’s Center for Advanced Technology (CATN2). Papa Rao also a Courtesy Affiliated Volunteer Faculty member of U. Albany (SUNY).
	Petra Reinke, University of Virginia Petra Reinke is a Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Virginia. Her research interests are in surface reactions and processes at the intersection of materials science, physics, and chemistry. Examples include the magnetic doping of Si and Ge quantum dots with Mn, defects in 2D materials, and corrosion and oxidation of alloys. Her research group uses scanning probe methods and electron spectroscopies, both laboratory and synchrotron based. She has conducted experiments at several synchrotron facilities over the years: defects in diamond surfaces with NEXAFS at BESSY I, electronic and magnetic structure measurements at the ALS, and NSLS I. Her interest in corrosion lead to recent work at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and MAX IV with ambient pressure and time resolved experiments using AP-XPS and XPEEM. This work was only possible with the experimental and intellectual support by the BNL staff and other users.  National Laboratories have been an rich resource for her work and offer unique inspiration for PIs and student researchers. The opportunity to present at a recent iOS beamline review motivated her to engage in the community. Petra is passionate about developing strategies to foster innovation, and support the community of users, beamline scientists, and staff. She is specifically interested in developing strategies for sharing, and innovating in data analytics. How can the community build transparent and accessible software, and share data analysis strategies to advance science and accelerate innovation? What are the best ways to communicate methods, algorithms, and data interpretation capabilities to make full use of novel and “data rich” methods? The UEC can play an important role as a facilitator to set up and monitor the best ways to support users in this endeavor.
	Melinda Rucks, Brookhaven National Laboratory I am a geoscientist working in the Nonproliferation and National Security Department. My background is planetary science with a concentration on mineral physics and the spectroscopy of geologic materials with application to remote sensing.
	Jack Simonson, SUNY Farmingdale I believe in the importance of authentic undergraduate research experiences.  I performed my first x-ray diffraction measurements on Mg-implanted GaAs wafers while I was an undergraduate student in 2003, and I have been solving structures from powder and single crystal data ever since. I was the first author on the resulting publication all those years ago, and I remain to this day a devoted believer in the importance of providing meaningful undergraduate research. Since coming to Farmingdale in 2013, I have mentored some 67 undergraduates in my laboratory, as well as some 27 local high school students. I have published 36 articles in peer-reviewed journals, which together have been cited over 1300 times. Over the last five years, I have published seven such articles, all with undergraduate student coauthors and five with undergraduate student primary authors. I serve as a mentor in the American Physical Society National Mentoring Community, a fellow in the American Physical Society Career Mentoring Program, and a mentor in my institution’s Scholarship Mentoring Community. My mentorship activities have been recognized by the 2023 FSC Faculty Center Award for Outstanding Mentorship, the 2022 FSC Research Aligned Mentoring Program Faculty Mentor Award, the 2016 Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program Research Mentor Award, and the 2015 Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program Leader Award.
	Andrei Sirenko, NJIT Andrei Sirenko is a Professor at NJIT, Physics Department. His PhD is from 1993, from Ioffe Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia The field of research is optics of magnetic materials, ellipsometry, transmission polarimetry, X-ray diffraction, and Raman scattering. His Research is supported by the Grants from NSF, DOE, and Keck Foundation. In early 2000 Andrei served as Head of the User's Committee at CHESS for 2 years. He served as a Chair of Physics Department at NJIT for 6 years. Andrei was an elected Chair of the Mid-Atlantic Section of APS in 2019-2021. He was a User at NSLS since 1998. At NSLS-II Andrei is doing Research at the MET, FIS, and CSX beamlines. He is a Partner User for the Magneto-Ellipsometer at the MET Beamline.
	Kate Szerlag, Texas A&M University Kathryn (Kate) Szerlag is assistant professor of soil and water chemistry at Texas A&M University. She completed her PhD in Soil and Plant Sciences with a focus on soil chemistry at the University of Delaware in 2021. For her research, she primarily aims to achieve a better understanding of fundamental soil phosphorus and sulfur chemistry. To accomplish this, she utilizes bulk wet chemical experiments paired with advanced synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) to investigate the different species of phosphorus and sulfur in the soil and how these different species affect solubility and mobility in soils and water. Kate has extensive experience with tender and hard energy µXRF mapping, tender energy µXANES, multi-modal techniques, and bulk XANES. She also has experience with microprobe and bulk XANES for arsenic speciation. Kate has been on countless beam trips to NSLS-II including beamlines 4-BM (X-ray Fluorescence Microprobe), 8-BM (Tender Energy X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy), and 7-ID-2 (Spectroscopy Soft and Tender 2). Additionally, she also has experience at beamline 14-3 at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource.