SERCCS 2025 Projects

CHESS ambiguous cable tool

Mentor: Keith Surrena

Abstract: Develop firmware for a Raspberry Pi Pico to be used as a tool for automatically verifying random cables around the lab. Other than using the appropriate cable mate, the Pico shall require no user input in discerning how it is wired. Utilizing digital inputs/outputs, the Pico shall indicate cable success in a pass/fail manner.  It shall store a temporary schematic of the cable in its memory, to be used to expedite testing multiple identical cables, or to identify any errant connections in the cable during a timed test period. The firmware can be written in C or MicroPython, at the developer’s discretion. Time permitting, an alternate mode of the Raspberry Pi Pico shall feed data to a computer so that a Python program using the schematics library can automatically generate a schematic of the tool, to be saved in a CHESS schematic repository.

An interactive web-based tool for experiment planning at FAST

Mentor: Kate Shanks

Abstract: The Forming and Shaping Technology (FAST) beamline at CHESS focuses on in-situ high-energy diffraction and imaging measurements of structural materials under various thermomechanical loading and processing conditions. Optimizing the experimental setup, in particular choice of energy, area detector, and sample-to-detector distance, involves a number of trade-offs regarding real- and/or reciprocal-space coverage, detector angular resolution, temporal resolution, and signal strength. These tradeoffs can be particularly challenging to visualize for diffraction measurements. This project will focus on the development of a web-based visualization tool, building off existing Python codes, for the planning of diffraction experiments to assist FAST users in evaluating the trade-offs involved in various choices of experimental setup parameters.

Characterization and integration of a novel area detector for high-rate diffraction experiments

Mentor: Kate Shanks

Abstract: The mechanical properties and response to loading in many materials are known to depend on the applied strain rate – a sudden impact can produce markedly different behavior than gradual loading. As such, there is a pressing need for experiments probing the micromechanical response of materials subjected to high strain rates. The Keck-PAD is a novel x-ray area detector developed at Cornell to enable diffraction experiments at kHz – MHz frame rates, allowing studies of high-rate phenomena such as dynamic compression, high-speed machining, and ballistic impact. A medium-format prototype for dedicated use at CHESS as been assembled, and now requires characterization and integration with existing beamline instrumentation. In this project, the student will conduct x-ray characterization measurements of the detector, and assist with integration at the FAST/ID3A beamline.

Omnimounter: a sample mounting robot for non-frozen protein crystals

Mentor: Steve Meisburger

Abstract: The 7B2 beamline at CHESS specializes in protein structure determination using X-ray crystallography. Structures are determined from diffraction data collected from protein crystals, either using the traditional method of cooling the sample to cryogenic temperatures, or from specialized sample environments to control thermodynamic variables (such as temperature or pressure). These special setups are important for cutting-edge experiments that seek to understand how biomolecules work under physiologically relevant conditions, and to better understand the molecular adaptations of lifeforms that thrive in extreme environments. For cryogenic samples, robotics are used at the beamline to automate sample mounting, allowing these experiments to be performed remotely. However, sample mounting for non-frozen crystals remains labor-intensive. This summer, a small team at CHESS will prototype a new robotic sample mounting system, the “Omnimounter”, with the goal of offering a high-throughput mail-in program for non-frozen samples. 

The SERCCS student will be responsible for aspects of assembly, programming, and testing the robotic system, as well as improving the design based on performance. Prior experience with prototyping is a plus (such as mechanical drawing, microcontroller programming, python scripting, and electronics), however the goals or emphasis of the summer project will be tailored to the interests of the applicant.