SCCM Meeting 2025 Masterclasses offered by GSECARS and DAC Tools
Presentations, Posters, and Photos
Stas Sinogeikin from DAC Tools (https://dactools.com/) has developed a gigantic “diamond” anvil cell for educational purposes. It features a pair of transparent “diamond” anvils (made of glass) and a rubber gasket and is used to demonstrate the effect of pressure. You can see this apparatus in the coming SCCM Meeting 2025 Masterclasses, “Introduction to Diamond Anvil Cells – theoretical and practical aspects” offered by Stas Singeikin (DAC Tools) and “Recent developments in advanced synchrotron and optical probe” offered by Vitali Prakapenka, Stella Chariton, and Dongzhou Zhang (GSECARS, The University of Chicago).
MASTERCLASS:
Title: Recent developments in advanced synchrotron and optical probes
Expected level of knowledge in the area of the attendees: new to this area or looking for updates on advanced techniques and sophisticated methods of analysis
Description: Microscopic structures of materials under extreme environments have been a key focus area in high-pressure science, and X-ray diffraction has been the major technique to probe their complex nature at high temperatures and high pressures. We will provide an overview of the GSECARS facilities (Sector 13, APS) and discuss critical requirements for sample preparation, X-ray diffraction data collection, and analysis. We will describe how one can extract valuable information from their data through a few case examples, followed by a Q&A session. Based on our experience with thousands of users coming to our beamlines, we have established several useful tips and tricks that we will share with students, postdocs, and researchers in the field of high-pressure research that might help them avoid pitfalls and utilize their precious beamtime at large facilities more efficiently.
Format: 90-minute session, 2-3 oral presentations + Q&A.
Masterclass leads: Stella Chariton, Dongzhou Zhang, and Vitali Prakapenka, The University of Chicago.
https://engage.aps.org/gccm/meetings/biennial-2025/masterclasses25
MASTERCLASS:
Title: Introduction to Diamond Anvil Cells – theoretical and practical aspects
Expected level of knowledge in the area of the attendees: new to this area, or have some experience with Diamond Cell wor,k and looking for a broader overview
Description: For more than six decades Diamond Anvil Cell has been the only device capable of generating static pressure exceeding 1 Megabar = 100 GPa and allowing to study of materials structure and properties with X-ray, optical, and a number of other techniques at extreme pressures and temperatures ranging from milli-kelvin to thousands of degrees. The purpose of this masterclass is to give an overview of diamond cells and accessories, and familiarize the participants with both theoretical and practical aspects of the Diamond Cell Work: from various DAC designs and proper choice of the DAC types for various experiments, through DAC and sample preparation, choice of gasket materials, pressure media and pressure sensors, to pressure and temperature control and measurements. The lecture part will be accompanied by a practical demonstration of DAC preparation and sample loading.
Format: 90+ minutes session, 1-2 oral presentations + Demo session + Q&A.
