Category: Lightsources.org Collaboration

Interviews with the winners of the Student Clips challenge at FASEM 2026, which was sponsored by Lightsources.org

1st prize winner was Maimunah Fa Izun Haji Abdul Rahman, a PhD student at the ESRF in Grenoble

Can you tell us about your background?

I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Chemistry from Malaysia and a Master’s in Materials Science and Chemistry through the Erasmus Mundus MESC+ program, where I studied across Poland, France, and Spain with a focus on energy storage systems. I am currently a PhD student at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) working on biomass-derived hard carbons for sodium-ion batteries, with an emphasis on understanding structure-property relationships at multiple length scales using advanced characterization techniques.

What attracted you to the FASEM school?

My background is more centred on materials and chemistry, so I wanted to build a stronger understanding of characterization techniques, especially X-ray scattering, which is central to my PhD. FASEM appealed to me because of its broad scope, covering not only SAXS and WAXS but also complementary methods like neutron scattering and XRR, all with a strong emphasis on practical understanding.

What did you get out of attending the school?

What I valued most was the exchange with people working on very different fields but facing similar questions involving X-ray and neutron-based analyses. It really broadened how I think about my own work. At the same time, the school filled in a lot of gaps, from new characterization approaches to practical things like writing beamtime proposals. It also made concepts I’d seen before feel much more concrete and usable.

How will you build on what you learnt in your own research?

FASEM broadened how I think about designing experiments and interpreting data. In addition to SAXS and WAXS, I’m particularly interested in incorporating techniques like X-ray tomography to better understand morphological features, and neutron scattering to probe low-Z elements that are otherwise difficult to resolve. More broadly, I aim to take a more integrated approach to characterization, combining multiple techniques to gain a more complete understanding of my materials.

2nd prize winner was Sagar Jathar, Uppsala University

Can you tell us about your background?

I am a PhD student in Inorganic Chemistry at Uppsala University, working in close collaboration with Westinghouse company on developing chromium-based protective coatings for applications in harsh environments, particularly for nuclear fuel rod cladding.

 What attracted you to the FASEM school?

FASEM attracted me because of its strong focus on synchrotron and neutron-based techniques and its close connection to major large-scale research facilities such as MAX IV, ESRF, and ILL, which are highly relevant to my work. It was particularly exciting to gain first-hand insight into how these facilities operate and how advanced experimental techniques can be applied in real research. Understanding how to design experiments and effectively use these tools is very valuable for my PhD. In addition, the school provided an excellent platform to interact with researchers from different backgrounds, build a professional network, and exchange ideas. Such programs are extremely helpful for developing collaborations and broadening perspectives in advanced materials research.

 What did you get out of attending the school?

I gained deeper insight into advanced scattering techniques such as XANES and EXAFS, particularly for probing the local atomic structure in complex or amorphous materials. In addition, I learned how neutron scattering can be used to study hydrogen-related phenomena in nuclear reactors, such as ZrH₂ hydride formation, which is one of the key causes of cladding embrittlement and loss of structural integrity. Because neutrons are highly sensitive to light elements like hydrogen, these techniques enable mapping of hydrogen distribution and provide a clearer understanding of hydride formation and its impact on material performance.

 How will you build on what you learnt in your own research?

I will apply synchrotron based X-ray and neutron scattering techniques to better understand local structure and bonding in my Cr–Nb–N coatings, helping to establish stronger structure–property relationships for nuclear applications. Also, with operando neutron radiography/tomography to physically see the hydrogen uptake and embrittlement deep inside the cladding tube.

3rd prize winner was Marcus Liljenberg, Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm

Can you tell us about your background?

I have a MSc in Chemical engineering with a focus on material science from Uppsala University. After graduating I was working for a few years in industry. I’ve always wanted to do my own research, so when the opportunity came I started as an industrial PhD student at KTH and PowerCell in Sweden. My topic is intermediate temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells, where I’m focusing on optimizing the catalyst layers.

What attracted you to the FASEM school?

Many of the papers I’ve been reading include methods using small angle scattering techniques. Interpreting these results is not trivial and I’ve been looking for some course to study these methods. I was lucky to find FASEM and that the focus this year is on energy materials is a happy coincidence! 

What did you get out of attending the school?

A broad introduction to many techniques using x-rays and neutrons, which I hope to incorporate in my own research. I’m also hoping on getting some advice on how to proceed to make proposals to get to do my own experiments. I’m not experienced in this and neither are my supervisors, which makes it a bit difficult to start. This is also a very good opportunity to network and I’ve met many nice persons, some that I could perhaps even collaborate with.

How will you build on what you learnt in your own research?

I will have a much better understanding of reading literature where these techniques are applied. I’m also hoping to be able to consider designing my own experiments that can compliment other methods that I’m currently using. I’ll try to keep in contact with others that attended, perhaps we can continue with collaborations.

Early career scientists celebrate their success in Lightsources.org sponsored awards

Early career scientists celebrate their success in Lightsources.org sponsored awards

A group of early career scientists participating in two established training schools have received Lightsources.org awards recognising the work they presented during the 2026 editions of the schools.   

Ana Belén Martínez, Head of Communications and Outreach at ALBA and Chair of Lightsources.org, comments, “An important goal for Lightsources.org is to support early career STEM professionals and highlight both the career opportunities and experimental capabilities of the facilities within our global membership. Partnering with HERCULES 2026 and the FASEM school has enabled us to recognise outstanding contributions during these two schools, both of which provide incredible experiences for those looking to build their knowledge and experience within a range of world class European facilities. Our congratulations go to all the winners and everyone who took part in these training schools.”

The HERCULES EUROPEAN SCHOOL, which celebrates its 35th Anniversary this year, runs over five weeks and provides training for students, postdoctoral and senior scientists from European and non-European universities and laboratories, in the field of Neutrons, X-ray Synchrotron Radiation, and Free Electron Laser for condensed matter studies.

It’s coordinated by the Université Grenoble Alpes in collaboration with the ESRF, ILL and counts with the support of other European facilities (ALBA, DESY, Elettra, KIT, MAX IV, SLS, SOLEIL, European XFEL, ESS and FERMI). Each year, four of these partner large scale facilities give participants the opportunity to gain practical experience.

For HERCULES 2026, they were ALBA in Spain, KIT in Germany, MAX IV and the ESS in Sweden and SOLEIL in France. The students who spent time at the ALBA synchrotron near Barcelona could learn from the scientists about different techniques, sample preparation and data collection process, combining talks and practical sessions at the beamlines. They worked in teams and presented their experimental reports in groups of four on the last day of the school. Lightsources.org awards were presented to the group who the local jury selected as having given the best presentation.  

The winning group at ALBA with members of the local jury

As a complementary educative initiative, the French-Swedish Academy for Scattering Experiments and Modeling (FASEM) is a one-week, biennial advanced-school, that rotate across three key thematic areas: Scattering Techniques for Environment & Materials, Life Sciences, and Energy Applications. The third version was coordinated by ESS, ILL and the French Embassy with support from ESRF. “Its goals are to prepare the future generation of users of large-scale facilities for synchrotron and neutron scattering; to develop and strengthen sustainable scientific exchanges driven by the French and Swedish communities on the use of large-scale facilities, in connection with the forthcoming ESS operation; to reinforce links between research infrastructures, academia and industry; and to strengthen collaboration between institutes in France (ILL, ESRF, SOLEIL) and in Sweden (ESS, MAX-IV),” explains Christine Darve FASEM coordinator. “The 3rd edition organized at ILL, was held in a hybrid format, bringing 30 in-person participants and more than 55 online students to learn scattering techniques (small-angle, diffraction, spectroscopy, etc) applied to energy materials ,” adds Peter Fouquet, ILL local organizer.

During FASEM 2026, students participated in a Student Clips challenge where they were invited to present their research to camera. Lightsources.org sponsored this challenge and prizes were awarded to the students who produced the top three clips.

Maimunah Fa Izun Haji Abdul Rahman, a PhD student at the ESRF in Grenoble, won 1st prize in the FASEM 2026 Lightsources.org Student Clips challenge. 2nd and 3rd prizes went to Sagar Jathar, Uppsala University, and Marcus Liljenberg, Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, respectively.

Maimunah Fa Izun Haji Abdul Rahman receiving 1st prize certificate at FASEM 2026

Reflecting on the week at FASEM, Maimunah comments, “What I valued most was the exchange with people working on very different fields but facing similar questions involving X-ray and neutron-based analyses. It really broadened how I think about my own work. At the same time, the school filled in a lot of gaps, from new characterization approaches to practical things like writing beamtime proposals. It also made concepts I’d seen before feel much more concrete and usable.”

Sagar adds, “I gained deeper insight into advanced scattering techniques such as XANES and EXAFS, particularly for probing the local atomic structure in complex or amorphous materials. In my own research, I now plan to apply synchrotron-based X-ray and neutron scattering techniques to better understand local structure and bonding in my Cr–Nb–N coatings, helping to establish stronger structure–property relationships for nuclear applications.”     

Read full interviews with Maimunah, Sagar and Marcus here

The one-week FASEM2026 material is available here

The Student Clips and other talks from the school can be found here

Diamond hosts Lightsources.org in-person meeting in UK

Diamond hosts Lightsources.org in-person meeting in UK

Last week, science communicators from the across the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia met in person at Diamond Light Source at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire, UK from Wednesday 23rd to Friday 25th April 2025. The gathering provided a platform for members of the global Lightsources.org network to exchange ideas, highlight successful strategies, and foster stronger collaboration.

The meeting served as a valuable forum for exploring key trends and challenges shaping science communication today. Topics discussed ranged from the impact of changing social media dynamics on outreach strategies, to cross-facility collaboration, promoting scientific capabilities to industry, and advancing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in STEM.

The three-day programme featured a rich lineup of presentations and interactive sessions. Rachel Freeman, Industrial Liaison Marketing Manager at Diamond, outlined the facility’s industry-focused marketing approach. Amy Griffin, Engagement Team Manager, gave an overview of Diamond’s public engagement activities, highlighting strategies for connecting with diverse audiences and making complex science accessible. Attendees also had the opportunity to tour the Diamond facility, gaining insights into how visual storytelling and narrative tools are used to communicate advanced research in engaging ways.

Hannah Conduit, Social Media Manager at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), UK, led a hands-on workshop on emerging trends in social media, sharing practical advice based on STFC’s experiences. Delphine Chenevier, Head of Communications at the ESRF, provided updates on ESRF’s strategy and shared examples of successful collaborations through EIROforum. A round-table session on internal communications, led by Emma Corness, Internal Communications Manager at Diamond, sparked thoughtful discussion on engaging staff and enhancing internal messaging.

Participants also shared recent achievements and discussed their communications priorities for 2025-2026. Silvana Westbury, Project Manager for Lightsources.org, gave an overview of upcoming collaborative projects.

Lightsources.org creates one voice for the field, ensuring member facilities are well positioned for funding, access, and research, to make use of each facility’s unique capabilities, and to enhance the effectiveness of the science carried out.

If you are interested in becoming a member of Lightsources.org, please visit our About Lightsources.org page or contact Silvana Westbury, our Project Manager, at webmaster@lightsources.org  

To keep up to date with light source news, career opportunities, events, proposal deadlines and upgrade information from our member facilities, please subscribe to our weekly e-newsletter

Cross-Facility Collaboration | Panel Discussion

Cross-Facility Collaboration | Panel Discussion

Do you participate in cross-facility collaborations? Are you interested in cross-facility collaborations, but encountering some roadblocks? Hear from staff at light sources around the world about how they work together on MLExchange, SciCat, PaNOSC, LEAPS, and more. Then, we’ll learn about existing resources and brainstorm ways to collaborate in the future.

Date: Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Time: 16:00 UK/BST or 17:00 Germany/CEST or 8:00 California/PDT

In-person:Diamond Light Source (Room: MR G59), Didcot, Oxfordshire, UK

Virtually: Zoom

Contact cindylee@lbl.gov and events@diamond.ac.uk with any questions.

REGISTER

Share your collaboration experiences with the panel in advance of the discussion by filling out this survey.

Panelists and Collaborations:

  • Sharif Ahmed, Diamond Light Source: Sharif Ahmed is the Principal Beamline Scientist for the DIAD beamline. His software collaborations focus on developing user-centric capabilities that enable novel measurement methods and easy “results” generation. Collaborations include MLExchange with Dylan McReynolds and the ALS Computing Group, the Ada Lovelace Centre, and The Faraday Institute. 
  • Andy Gotz, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF): Andy Gotz is the coordinator of the Photon and Neutron Open Science Cluster (PaNOSC) collaboration which developed out of the PaNOSC and ESCAPE projects. He also chairs the Tango Controls collaboration for control systems (similar to EPICS) used by a number of synchrotrons and laser facilities.
    • Collaboration requires constant effort by a dedicated few to ensure it grows and is nurtured
    • Collaborations are often set up to achieve a higher purpose goal like “Open Science” but require concrete measurable outcomes with impact on the ground to be really useful
    • Collaborations can be strengthened through strong support from top management and being part of the facility objectives
    • Collaborations help facilities to achieve more with less resources and to learn from experience of other facilities
  • Cara Laasch, Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL): Cara Laasch is the User Research Administration Manager at SSRL. Previously, she moderated the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Light & Neutron Sources Remote Access Forum. This was organized by the Remote Access Working Group, providing a connection point for the five DOE light sources.
  • Dylan McReynolds, Advanced Light Source (ALS): Dylan McReynolds is the Data Infrastructure Lead at the ALS. His collaborations include MLExchange with Sharif Ahmed, SciCat,  ILLUMINE and Bluesky. Dylan sits on the Bluesky Technical Steering Committee. He is a co-creator of the Tiled data service project, a multi-facility Bluesky collaboration.  
  • Elke Plönjes, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY): Elke Plönjes is the Group Leader for Beamlines and Optics at the FLASH free electron laser. She is the Scientific Coordinator of the LEAPS-INNOV project, where League of European Accelerator-based Photon Sources (LEAPS) institutes are working with companies to develop new technologies.
  • Tim Snow, Diamond Light Source: Tim Snow is the Data Analysis Scientist working alongside the I22 beamline. His collaborations include MLExchange and SciCat.
  • Nick Terrill, Diamond Light Source: Nick Terrill is the Principal Beamline Scientist responsible for the SAXS instruments I22 and labSAXS as well as the SAXS Sample Environment Development Lab (SEDL). His work on sample environments and sample holders has facilitated collaboration across light sources.
  • Moderator: Cindy Lee, Senior Communications Specialist, Advanced Light Source (ALS)

Co-organizer: Silvana Westbury, Project Manager, Lightsources.org

Lightsources.org appoints new Vice-Chair and launches its Vision and Strategic Goals for the next decade

Lightsources.org appoints new Vice-Chair and launches its Vision and Strategic Goals for the next decade

Lightsources.org, the international collaboration of light source science communicators, has appointed Ana Belén Martínez, Head of the Communications and Outreach Office at the ALBA Synchrotron near Barcelona in Spain, as the collaboration’s new Vice-Chair.

Ana joins Sandra Ribeiro, Communications Advisor at the Canadian Light Source (CLS), who is the Chair of Lightsources.org. Together they will lead the collaboration and guide it at a strategic level. Silvana Westbury, the Project Manager, manages the collaboration’s online activities and supports the 26 member organisations by facilitating opportunities for knowledge exchange and delivering communications activities aimed at a range of audiences including facility staff, existing and potential users, early career professionals and specialist publications.

Lightsources.org starts 2025 will a clear vision for the next decade. Ana’s appointment coincides with the publication of the collaboration’s 10-year Vision and Strategic Goals (link below), which gives Lightsources.org defined goals and tactics for supporting the communications activities of all its members.

Commenting on these exciting developments, Sandra Ribeiro says, “We are delighted to have Ana on board as Vice-Chair following a recent vote by our members. She replaces Isabelle Boscaro-Clarke, former Head of Communications at Diamond Light Source, whose energy and support was instrumental in making Lightsources.org the success it is today. Having built up the Communications and Outreach Office at ALBA over the past decade, Ana brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our collaboration. In addition, Ana has been an active member of Lightsources.org since 2016 and her passion for our field and willingness to support communications colleagues around the world make her ideal for the role of Vice-Chair”.

Ana Belén Martínez adds, “I’m thrilled to take on this new role in our collaboration, particularly at such an exciting time. Lightsources.org celebrated its 20th Anniversary last year and this milestone prompted us to focus on the vision and strategic goals for the next decade. As the home for the global light source community, we have exciting plans to help our members to attract the next generation of STEM professionals; provide training opportunities aimed at keeping members at the forefront of the ever evolving field of science communication; showcase the science enabled by light sources and its impact on society as a whole; and support members in important areas such as equality, diversity and inclusion and staff wellbeing.”    

Lightsources.org creates one voice for the field, ensuring member facilities are well positioned for funding, access, and research, to make use of each facility’s unique capabilities, and to enhance the effectiveness of the science carried out.

The Lightsources.org website is a global resource, providing information and updates about light sources research and achievements, and opportunities for careers and international collaboration. This is made possible by financial support from the member facilities, whose contributions enable further promotion and international coverage of their innovations and capabilities.

Light sources are large science facilities that create hubs of research and technical expertise. Scientists from both academia and industry can access and use the light produced in the form of beams of X-rays, Ultra-Violet and Infrared. The scale of their impact can be evidenced in the output. Since the collaboration’s member facilities came online more than 183,000 unique articles* have been published by the user communities and staff. Most of the light sources have capabilities in protein crystallography and there have been over 130,000 protein structures* deposited by our user communities and staff in the Worldwide Protein Data Bank. Light sources also employ large teams of scientists, engineers, data scientists, software engineers, along with support teams that include experts in technical support, procurement, finance, legal, user support, communications and human resources. These teams currently make up 8,000* staff spread over the 32 facilities within Lightsources.org.

*as of December 2023

The Lightsources.org 10-year Vision and Strategic Goals plan, can be viewed via the link below:

https://www.diamond.ac.uk/docroot/lightsources.org/ls.org-vision-goals/: Lightsources.org appoints new Vice-Chair and launches its Vision and Strategic Goals for the next decade

Image: Lightsources.org members at the 20th Anniversary in person meeting at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory, October 2024. Left to right – Shelly Kelly, APS physicist and group leader, Marie Gray, Argonne Integrated Communications Manager, Photon Sciences, Ana Belén Martínez, Head of the Communications and Outreach Office at ALBA & Vice-Chair of Lightsources.org, Ricarda Laasch, Manager, SSRL User Research Administration (SLAC), Beth Schlesinger, Agronne Head of Communications, Photon Sciences, Paul Jones, Project Manager and Coordinator for LCLS (SLAC), Silvana Westbury, Project Manager, Lightsources.org, Katelyn Towner, CHESS User Office Manager (Cornell), Cindy Lee, Senior Communications Specialist at the ALS (Berkeley), Mirjam van Daalen, Head of Communications at PSI, Gianna FazioLiu, Director of Communications at the ALS (Berkeley), Denise Yazak, NSLS-II & LBMS Science Communications Manager (Brookhaven), Sandra Ribeiro, Communications Advisor at the Canadian Light Source and Chair of Lightsources.org, Rick Ryan, Science Communicator at CHESS (Cornell), Stefania Mazzorana, Event and Development Manager at Diamond Light Source.

Credit: APS/Argonne

Reflecting on an incredible week of connections at SRI2024

Reflecting on an incredible week of connections at SRI2024

Last week, Lightsources.org travelled to Hamburg to be part of one of the community’s most popular events, the Synchrotron Radiation Instrumentation (SRI) conference. The SRI conference is regarded as the world’s most important exchange forum for experimenters, developers and operators of large X-ray radiation sources.

SRI2024 was organised by DESY and the European XFEL and attracted over 1000 experts from all over the world. The conference gave Lightsources.org the perfect opportunity to celebrate its 20th Anniversary with scientists and technical experts from facilities, academic institutes and companies within the international light source community.   

As a collaboration of science communicators, Lightsources.org organised a series of events and activities aimed at raising the profile of its members, which include 24 synchrotrons and 8 Free Electron Lasers. An additional focus involved recognising the science and science communication talents of conference attendees through two poster prize competitions.

Isabelle Boscaro-Clarke, Head of Communications, Engagement and Impact at Diamond and Vice-Chair of Lightsources.org, comments, “It was a real honour for Lightsources.org to be part of this wonderful conference. Our collaboration of science communicators exists to provide one voice for the light source community. It was inspiring to meet so many delegates and exhibitors who share our passion for these amazing facilities and the incredible science they deliver.”  

Lightsources.org is particularly keen to support early career professionals and, to support this goal, two lunchtime sessions were offered during the conference. The session on Wednesday, which was chaired by Isabelle Boscaro-Clarke, focused on career insights and development with a panel of senior leaders including Gianluigi Botton, Diamond Light Source, Sakura Pascarelli, the European XFEL, Britta Redlich, HFML – FELIX and LEAPS, Laurent Chapon, Argonne (APS) and Gerd Materlik, UCL.

The second session on Thursday put the spotlight on science communication and gave participants the opportunity to practice and develop their communication skills. Attendees were supported by science communicators including Silvana Westbury, Lightsources.org, Isabelle Boscaro-Clarke, Diamond/Lightsources.org, Cindy Lee and Andrea Taylor, Berkeley ( ALS) and Synchrotron Radiation News, Miriam Arrell, the Paul Scherrer Institute (SLS / Swiss FEL) and Florentine Krawatzek,Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (BESSY II). During the session, attendees were given a series of tips to support them with their science communication journeys. The facilitators also highlighted the fact that getting involved in science communication is a great way to support professional career development through transferable skills. When individuals find the right kind of science communication for them, it also adds an extra element of fun to their professional life.  

Image: The Lightsources.org Team on the stand at SRI2024 (left to right) Silvana Westbury, Lightsources.org, Miriam Arrell, the Paul Scherrer Institute (SLS / Swiss FEL), Florentine Krawatzek,Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (BESSY II), Isabelle Boscaro-Clarke, Diamond/Lightsources.org, and Andrea Taylor, Berkeley( ALS) and Synchrotron Radiation News, and Cindy Lee, Berkeley ( ALS).
Credit: Lightsources.org

During the poster sessions, Lightsources.org organised the judging of posters that had been entered into the science and science communication poster prize competitions. Christian Schroer from DESY and Andy Dent from Diamond judged the SRI 2024 Science Poster Prize, while Cindy Lee from Berkeley Lab (ALS) and Miriam Arrell from Paul Scherrer Institute (SLS / SwissFEL) judged the SRI 2024 Science Communication Poster Prize, which was in memoriam to Till Mundzeck.

The Prize Award Session took place on Friday afternoon and the following winners were announced:

 SRI 2024 Science Poster Prize

The first prize went to Renan Ramalho Geraldes from Sirius at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS) for the poster “The Loading Chamber of the SAPOTI Cryogenic Nanoprobe at the CARNAUBA Beamline at Sirius/LNLS”.

Judges comments, “Outstanding development of cryogenic stage and sample exchange for nano imaging which has wide applicability to other facilities.”  

The second prize was given to Tang Li from DESY for the poster “Real-life challenges of single-beam ptychography vs. multi-beam ptychography”.

Judges comments, “Clever use of a mask and analysis to generate multi-beams to enable “parallel” ptychography to image larger areas.”

The third prize went to Jan Lukas Dresselhaus from the Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging for the poster with the title “Aberration corrected multilayer Laue lenses enable focusing to below 3 nanometres”.

Judges comments, “Further application of calculating and using an array of refractive phase correctors to improve the focus from MLL’s.”

Image: SRI2024 Poster Prize winners: (Left to Right) Renan Ramalho Geraldes, Amna Majid, David Meier, Tang Li and Jan Lukas Dresselhaus with Lightsources.org Project Manager Silvana Westbury.
Credit: European XFEL, Frank Poppe

Honourable mentions went to:

Amna Majid       Fault detection in Ion Pumps at the European XFEL

Judges comments, “Very nice presentation and useful use of AI for detection of ion-pump failures with wide applicability”

Dawit Hailu       ForwardGAN, an Unsupervised Forward Operator-based Generative Adversarial Network for solving Inverse Problems: The the Near-Field Phase Retrieval Problem

Judges comments, “Helpful work showing how a Generative Network can be used to solve the phase retrieval problem with limited data.”

Qais Saadeh    Optical Constants Determination for Soft X-ray/EUV Optics: Refined Optical Data for Rhodium

Judges comments, “Very information poster on new measurements on the Rh optical constants in VUV range which are highly relevant to the silicon manufacturing industry.”

Zeynep Reyhan Öztürk        TXPES – A new soft X-ray spectroscopy beamline at the SESAME synchrotron

Judges comments, “Poster showing the excellent design for the new Turkish beamline to be built at Sesame.”

SRI 2024 Science Communication Poster Prize (in memoriam Till Mundzeck)

Jan Lukas Dresselhaus also won the Science Communication Poster Prize. The second prize was given to Amna Majid from European XFEL for the poster with the title “Fault detection in Ion Pumps at the European XFEL”. And the third prize went to David Meier from Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin for his poster with the title “Offset finding of beamline parameters on the METRIXS beamline at BESSY II”. The SRI 2024 Science Communication Poster Prize (Public voting) was awarded to Emmanuel Aneke (APS) for the poster “Simulation and Measurement of Horizontal Emittance via Undulator High Harmonics at the APS-U”.

Honourable mentions went to:

Sonal Ramesh Patel (Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin)

Rafael Celestre (Soleil)

Ibrahym Dourki (EuXFEL)

Emmanuel Aneke (Argonne)

Dawit Hailu (Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon)

Judges comments:

We are so pleased with the entries in the science communication contest. First, it takes courage to put yourself forward, particularly when communication has not been part of traditional academic training in sciences. Second, we saw a lot of good poster designs and heard a lot of great communication strategies in the presentations over the past three days. You all have a lot to be proud of. 

Some highlights included:

-font size and color choices that allowed us to easily read the text

-creative use of white space and graphics

-clear visual and verbal markers that helped us to orientate ourselves

– a clear outline of the big picture

– when participants checked in with us to see if we were following 

– clever use of humour and analogies that brought the science alive.

Both poster judges, Cindy Lee and Miriam Arrell, would be happy to stay in touch and offer critique. You can contact them via email at cindylee@lbl.gov and miriam.arrell@psi.ch. To help refresh their memories, please include a photo of yourself as well as your poster. That way, they can remember your presentation and offer specific feedback on your poster. 

The SRI 2024 Science Communication Poster Prize honours Till Mundzeck, who was an inspiring science communicator and author of books, who worked within DESY’s public relations team in Hamburg. He was a highly valued member of the Lightsources.org collaboration until he died recently. Till’s enthusiasm for good science and communication was infectious.

Jumpei Yamada from Osaka University, Japan, and Agostino Marinelli from the National Accelerator Laboratory SLAC, USA, were honoured for their important contributions to advance research using free electron X-ray lasers.

FELs of Europe Award

Jumpei Yamada of Osaka University, Japan, was awarded with the FELs of Europe Award for his work on “Ultimate focusing of X-ray free-electron laser down to 7×7 nm spot for achieving 1022 W/cm2 intensity”. Free electron lasers are machines where accelerated electrons are jointly forced to emit a very brilliant light. Particularly, the emitted X-ray light has developed into a unique tool for research: Scientists from all over the world use this extremely brilliant light for their research: from medical research to nanotechnology.

Kai-Siegbahn-Prize 2024

Agostino Marinelli of the National Accelerator Laboratory SLAC, U.S., was awarded with the “Kai-Siegbahn-Prize 2024” for his pioneering development of attosecond X-ray free electron lasers and their application to ultrafast X-ray science at the Linac Coherent Light Source at SLAC. The prize was established in 2009 in honour of Kai Siegbahn, the physics Nobel Prize winner 1981 and founder of the journal “Nuclear Instruments and Methods A” (NIM A).

The next SRI conference will be held in 2027 in Brazil.

Image: Isabelle Boscaro-Clarke (left) chairing the Lightsources.org careers session with panel members (left to right), Britta Redlich, HFML – FELIX and LEAPS, Gianluigi Botton, Diamond Light Source, Sakura Pascarelli, the European XFEL, Gerd Materlik, UCL and Laurent Chapon, Argonne (APS).

Credit: Lightsources.org

Lightsources.org to run Careers Q&A and Science Communication session at SRI2024

Lightsources.org to run Careers Q&A and Science Communication session at SRI2024

Heading to SRI2024 in Hamburg next week?

All delegates are warmly invited to join Lightsources.org as we celebrate our 20th Anniversary with two lunchtime sessions. We’ll be running a Careers Q & A and a Science Communication session (details below). We are also running poster competitions and have a stand in the exhibition area.

Looking forward to seeing you there, the Lightsources.org SRI2024 team!

Community does us proud on #LightSourceSelfiesDay2024

Community does us proud on #LightSourceSelfiesDay2024

Inspired by our #LightSourceSelfies video campaign (featured here on our website) we invited everyone with a passion for light source science to join our #LightSourceSelfiesDay on Monday 20th May 2024.  This special day succeeded in lighting up social media with images that showed the wide range of places, people, technology, and world-changing science that makes up our amazing community.

Huge thanks to all those who participated. We look forward to repeating this activity in 2025. In the meantime, keep sharing your selfies and tagging us at #Happy20Lightsources and #LightSourceSelfiesDay2024.

Greetings from our global light source community!

Greetings from our global light source community!

Greetings from around the light sources community

A common feature of all light sources is that they attract staff from a global community of scientists, engineers, computer scientists, project managers, administrators, science communicators, STEM students etc.

As you walk around synchrotron and free electron laser facilities you will hear many different languages being spoken. International customs and cuisines are discussed alongside the intricacies of the machine and the wide variety of scientific experiments.

Here, we present an international greeting as we start celebrations to mark the 20th Anniversary of Lightsources.org. If you are interested in job offers at synchrotrons and free electron lasers, check out our careers section. It’s updated on a daily basis! Careers at light sources around the world – https://lightsources.org/careers/

2024 marks 20 years of Lightsources.org!

2024 marks 20 years of Lightsources.org!

Our global collaboration of light source communicators was formed back in 2004 to provide one voice for the brightest science.

To celebrate our 20th Anniversary, we invite everyone with a passion for light source science to join our #LightSourceSelfiesDay on Monday 20.05.2024.

On 20th May, light up social media with photos that show the wide range of places, people, technology, and world changing science that make up our amazing community. Let’s see how many different images we can share in a single day!

You could be working at a synchrotron or free electron laser; preparing samples in your home laboratory; gathering samples from out in the field; travelling to a light source, relaxing after a hectic period of beamtime; participating in public engagement; or learning about light sources at your school or university.

The possibilities are endless. Creativity and teamwork are encouraged!

Tag us with:

#LightSourceSelfiesDay2024

#Happy20Lightsources

Find us at:

LinkedIn lightsources.org

Instagram lightsources_org

X @lightsources

This celebration is just one of a number of special activities we have planned for 2024. Keep an eye on our website, newsletter and social media for more details.

Supporting the light source community is a wonderful honour and we thank all our amazing members for the brilliant support they give us. Find out more about them here.  Their engagement means we can bring you hot off the press news, job opportunities, event details, proposal deadlines and much more. It also enables us to attend conferences and facility events to meet people face to face, spread the word about Lightsources.org and find new ways to encourage and support those who are in the early stages of their light source career journeys’.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter here

Image: The way we were! The Lightsources.org home page shortly after its launch in 2005

Synchrotron Radiation News Volume 37 – call schedule

Synchrotron Radiation News Volume 37 – call schedule

Synchrotron Radiation News (SRN) is a bimonthly magazine that publishes latest news related to research on synchrotron facilities, meeting reports, upcoming conferences, and new products. SRN invites contributions to Volume 37.

Please find SRN’s call schedule below, and direct any questions or requests to contribute to Andrea Taylor, SRN Commissioning Editor, at altaylorsrn@gmail.com.

ESRF hosts Lightsources.org members’ meeting in Grenoble

ESRF hosts Lightsources.org members’ meeting in Grenoble

Science communicators from light source facilities within Lightsources.org, the global collaboration of 23 synchrotrons and 7 Free Electron Lasers, gathered at The European Synchrotron (ESRF) last week to share knowledge, ideas, and strategic plans. The in-person meeting, the first to be held in Europe since before the pandemic, also focussed on developing a special programme of activities to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Lightsources.org in 2024.

Guest speakers included Terry O’Connor, EMBL’s Head of communication, and Daniela Antonio, CERN’s Social media and community manager, both of whom shared insights into their strategies, activities and priorities in the ever changing landscape of 21st century science communication.

Delphine Chenevier, Head of communications at the ESRF, comments, “Since we last hosted a Lightsources.org collaboration meeting, the ESRF has undergone a major upgrade to a fourth-generation high-energy synchrotron. This has significantly increased our scientific capabilities. It was wonderful to be able to show colleagues several beamlines where ESRF staff outlined the research that can now be done across a range of fields including health, materials, environmental sciences, cultural heritage, and palaeontology.”

Isabelle Boscaro-Clarke, Diamond’s Head of Impact, Communication and Engagement, adds “One of the most valuable aspects of being a member of Lightsources.org is the connections you develop with colleagues in similar roles around the world. Our in-person meetings give us the opportunity to share both the triumphs and the challenges and provide the time needed to have in-depth discussions. These discussions help us to strengthen our communications programmes at an individual facility level and plan the future development of the Lightsources.org collaboration as it continues to provide one voice for the brightest science.”

Lightsources.org was established in 2004 and, as the 20th Anniversary approaches, the collaboration will be focusing on a new Vision and Strategic Plan for 2024-2044 along with a special programme of activities to raise the profile of Lightsources.org and its members throughout 2024.

If you are interested in becoming a member of Lightsources.org, please visit our About Lightsources.org page or contact Silvana Westbury, our Project Manager, at webmaster@lightsources.org  

To keep up to date with light source news, career opportunities, events, proposal deadlines and upgrade information from our member facilities, please subscribe to our weekly e-newsletter

    

Top Image: Lightsources.org members outside the ESRF, Tuesday 26th September 2023. Left to right: Agnieszka Cudek, SOLARIS, Poland, Ana Belén Martínez, ALBA, Spain, Laia Torres Aribau, ALBA, Spain, Beth Schlesinger, APS (Argonne), USA, Emma Corness, Diamond, UK, Miriam Arrell, SLS/SwissFEL (PSI) Switzerland, Silvana Westbury, Lightsources.org, Isabelle Boscaro-Clarke, Diamond, UK, Florentine Krawatzek, BESSY II (HZB), Germany, Wiebke Laasch, DESY Photon Science, Germany, Delphine Chenevier, ESRF, France

Credit: ESRF

Recording available! Illustrating Science: a conversation with Julia Kuo and Steven Haddock

Recording available! Illustrating Science: a conversation with Julia Kuo and Steven Haddock

Researchers and communicators alike can benefit from new ways to explain complex scientific concepts.

Watch this Lightsources.org session to learn about how Julia Kuo brought bioluminescence to the pages of a children’s book. Inspired by her adventures around the world, she wrote and illustrated Luminous: Living Things That Light Up the Night. Julia worked with marine biologist Steven Haddock, who provided fact-checking and a glimpse into the mindset of bioluminescence researchers. In this conversation, we’ll hear about how artists and scientists collaborate to depict the beauty and awe of science.

Julia Kuo is the author and illustrator of Let’s Do Everything and Nothing and the illustrator of several picture and specialty books including the NYT bestselling book RISE. She has created editorial illustrations for publications such as the Wall Street Journal, The Economist, and the New York Times. Julia has taught illustration courses at Columbia College Chicago and at her alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis. She has been an artist-in-residence twice at the Banff Centre for the Arts and was a 2019-2021 fellow with the Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry at the University of Chicago. She currently lives in Seattle, WA.

Steven Haddock has been participating in deep-sea research for more than 30 years. He studies marine diversity, molecular biology, and bioluminescence at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and UC Santa Cruz. He specializes in fragile gelatinous drifters that are abundant in the deep-sea and open ocean. In addition to conducting research expeditions, he has documented many luminous species for the first time. He uses genetic methods to reveal the relationships between organisms and to understand the proteins and chemicals that they use to make bioluminescent light. He also runs the Bioluminescence Web Page (www.biolum.eemb.ucsb.edu), the citizen-science project www.jellywatch.org, and teaches computing to scientists at www.practicalcomputing.org

Bright Expectations early career event – recording now available!

Bright Expectations early career event – recording now available!

International Day of Light Early Career Virtual Session

Bright Expectations: Panel discussion with scientists working at 4th Generation Light Sources
Tuesday 16th May 2023

Our Bright Expectations early career event provides an opportunity for viewers to learn what it is like to work at a 4th generation light source directly from scientists from around the world. This interactive session includes short talks from the panellists on the facility they work at/use and their current roles. Ashley White, our moderator, then poses questions to the panel on their career journeys, their views on the advantages and potential of 4th generation lights sources, potential breakthroughs on the horizon and more…

Huge thanks to our amazing panel and moderator!

You can view the recording of the session here

Bright Expectations! Book you place on our virtual early career event

Bright Expectations! Book you place on our virtual early career event

Join us as we celebrate International Day of Light with a special Early Career event

You are warmly invited to register for our 2023 virtual panel discussion……. 
Bright Expectations: Insights from scientists working at 4th Generation Light Sources
Date: Tuesday 16th May 2023
Time: 09:00 PDT/17:00 BST/18:00 CEST (1 hour event)
Location: Virtual event – click here to register 

Details: An opportunity to learn what it is like to work at a 4th generation light source directly from scientists from around the world. This interactive session will include short talks from the panellists on the facility they work at and their current roles. Ashley White, our moderator, will then pose questions to the panel on their career journeys, their views on the advantages and potential of 4th generation lights sources, potential breakthroughs on the horizon and more….
There will then be an opportunity for the audience to ask questions. If you would like to submit a question in advance, please send it to Silvana Westbury, Lightsources.org Project Manager at silvana.westbury@diamond.ac.uk

Our participants

Welcome: Sandra Ribeiro, Chair of Lightsources.org and Communications Advisor at the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada  

Moderator: Ashley White, Director of Communications Interim Deputy for Strategy, Advanced Light Source (ALS), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, USA

Panel members:

Monika Bjelcic, PhD Student at the MicroMAX beamline at MAX IV in Lund, Sweden

Georgi, Dakovski, Lead Scientist at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at SLAC in California, USA

Graziela Sedenho, Academic user working on biocatalysis at Sirius, the Brazilian synchrotron light source in Campinas (SP) in Brazil

4th panel member to be confirmed

About International Day of Light 

Light plays a central role in our lives. On the most fundamental level, through photosynthesis, light is at the origin of life itself. The study of light has led to promising alternative energy sources, lifesaving medical advances in diagnostics technology and treatments, light-speed internet and many other discoveries that have revolutionized society and shaped our understanding of the universe.
The International Day of Light (IDL) is celebrated on 16 May each year, the anniversary of the first successful operation of the laser in 1960 by physicist and engineer, Theodore Maiman. This day is a call to strengthen scientific cooperation and harness its potential to foster peace and sustainable development.
The International Day of Light celebrates the role light plays in science, culture and art, education, and sustainable development, and in fields as diverse as medicine, communications, and energy. The celebration will allow many different sectors of society worldwide to participate in activities that demonstrates how science, technology, art and culture can help achieve the goals of UNESCO – building the foundation for peaceful societies.

>Read more on the UNESCO website

>Explore all the events for the next International Day of Light in 2023