He will succeed Caterina Biscari, who has led the facility since 2012, and will oversee the transition to ALBA II, the next-generation synchrotron.
The Rector Council of the ALBA Synchrotron has appointed Harry Westfahl Jr. as the next Director. He will take office in November this year, taking over on Caterina Biscari, who has led ALBA since 2012, consolidating a period of major scientific and institutional growth for the facility.
He joins ALBA at a pivotal moment. Following the approval of the ALBA II upgrade project, he will lead the transformation into a fourth-generation research infrastructure, expanding its scientific capabilities and strengthening its strategic role for the country.
Harry Westfahl Jr. is a physicist with broad experience in synchrotron science, instrumentation, and leading large-scale research infrastructures. He has developed most of his scientific career at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS), where he has held senior leadership positions, including Scientific Director and Director since 2020. He played a central role in the development of Sirius, the Brazilian fourth-generation synchrotron light source. He led the scientific strategy and beamline program and brought it through its final construction phase and operation.
Caterina Biscari heartily welcomes the appointment, saying “ALBA enters its most ambitious phase since its construction. Harry’s experience and proven scientific, technological and managerial excellence make him the ideal person to guide ALBA II and continue strengthening our national and international impact”.
Harry Westfahl Jr. says: “I am honoured by the trust placed in me by the Rector Council, and delighted to join ALBA as its next Director. ALBA is entering a decisive and very promising phase, and I take up this responsibility with respect and admiration for what Caterina Biscari and the ALBA team have built. The ALBA team can count on my full commitment, and I look forward to working closely with the Rector Council, the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades and the Departament de Recerca i Universitats, and with the scientific, technological, and industrial communities in Spain and beyond. Together, we will work to strengthen ALBA’s scientific impact today and bring ALBA II into operation as a transformative research infrastructure for Spain and Europe.”
Read more on the ALBA website