Tag: collaboration

UK and France launch biomedical and AI health alliance to accelerate research into major diseases

UK and France launch biomedical and AI health alliance to accelerate research into major diseases

A new partnership will unite expertise, infrastructure and data across borders to accelerate diagnosis, treatment and ultimately prevention of major diseases – starting with women’s health, infectious diseases and pandemic preparedness.

Diamond Light Source, the University of Oxford, Université Paris Cité, the Institut Pasteur and Synchrotron SOLEIL have signed a landmark agreement establishing a major new UK-France scientific alliance designed to strengthen how diseases are understood, diagnosed, treated and ultimately prevented.

The partnership comes at a time when advances in science and technology are generating unprecedented amounts of biological and clinical data, as well as transforming our understanding of human health. But turning that information into faster diagnoses, better treatments and improved disease prevention remains a major challenge across disciplines, institutions and national systems.

The UK–France Strategic Biomedical Alliance in Health and AI has been established to address that challenge by connecting world-leading expertise and national infrastructure into a single collaboration. The interdisciplinary model will unite clinical research, molecular biology, engineering, advanced imaging, data science, artificial intelligence and translational medicine across both countries, making it faster and easier for researchers to connect the technologies, expertise and data needed to tackle complex disease.  

Read more on the Diamond website

Image: Dr Jean Susini, Director General, Synchrotron SOLEIL. Sir Thomas Drew KCMG, His Majesty’s Ambassador to France. Professor Richard Cornall, Head of the Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford. Professor Matthieu Resche-Rigon, Dean of the Health Faculty, Université Paris Cité. Jean-Luc Moullet, Director General for Research and Innovation, French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Space. Dr Martin Walsh, Interim Director of Life Sciences, Diamond Light Source. Dr Odette Tomescu-Hatto, Director of International Affairs, Institut Pasteur.

Credit: The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)

10 Years of SOLARIS – A Decade of Science, Collaboration and Technological Development

10 Years of SOLARIS – A Decade of Science, Collaboration and Technological Development

On 22 May 2026, the SOLARIS National Synchrotron Radiation Centre of the Jagiellonian University celebrated the 10th anniversary of its activity. The jubilee gala, held at the historic Stara Zajezdnia venue in Kraków, gathered 230 guests representing the scientific community, European research infrastructures, public administration, regional authorities and the business sector. The anniversary was not only an opportunity to reflect on the first decade of operation of the only synchrotron in Central and Eastern Europe, but also a moment to consider the role of modern research infrastructures in the development of science, technology and international collaboration.

Among the guests were representatives of the authorities of the Jagiellonian University, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, national and regional administration, as well as international partners representing European research infrastructures, synchrotron facilities and institutions collaborating with SOLARIS. Participants included Prof. Piotr Jedynak, Rector of the Jagiellonian University, Prof. Wojciech Macyk, Vice-Rector for Research of the Jagiellonian University, Michał Goszczyński, Director of the Department at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Stanisław Kracik, Deputy Mayor of the City of Kraków, as well as representatives of regional authorities, the scientific and infrastructure communities from Poland and abroad, including Prof. Jean Daillant, Director General of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in France, and Prof. Thomas Feurer, Director of European XFEL in Hamburg.


The official part of the celebration began with speeches delivered by representatives of the authorities of the Jagiellonian University – Prof. Piotr Jedynak, Rector of the Jagiellonian University, and Prof. Wojciech Macyk, Vice-Rector for Research. Afterwards, the Director of SOLARIS, Prof. Jakub Szlachetko, addressed the audience, referring in his speech to the work of Stanisław Lem – the author of the novel Solaris, from which the Centre derives its name.
“We are only seeking Man. We have no need of other worlds. We need mirrors,” quoted the Director of the Centre, referring to Lem’s famous words. “For the past ten years, SOLARIS has been exactly such a place – a place of discovery, of asking questions, and of pushing the boundaries of what still seems impossible to see and understand.”


In his speech, Prof. Szlachetko recalled the history of the first synchrotron in Poland – from the long-standing efforts of the scientific community gathered around the Polish Synchrotron Radiation Society and the Polish Synchrotron Consortium, through the support of the Jagiellonian University and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, to the launch of the first electron beam in 2016. “SOLARIS is the result of a collective effort by the scientific community, institutional courage and the conviction that Poland needs a modern research infrastructure capable of conducting world-class research,” emphasised Prof. Szlachetko.

Read more on the SOLARIS website

Image: Speech by the Director of the SOLARIS Centre, Prof. Jakub Szlachetko. SOLARIS 10th Anniversary Gala

Credit: Joanna Kowalik

Safe and sustainable batteries focus for new university collaboration

Safe and sustainable batteries focus for new university collaboration

A battery research collaboration focusing on lithium-ion alternatives is starting at MAX IV. The collaboration involving Swedish and Danish universities is a pilot for the new HUB user access mode.

Battery technology is an important Swedish and Nordic research area, something that has been underscored, not least by recent initiatives by the Swedish Government. The challenge of finding new, effective and sustainable lithium-ion battery alternatives is a complex and multifaceted task that requires collaboration between experts in different areas. This need motivated the new Battery pilot HUB, including Chalmers University of Technology, Uppsala University, Lund University, Aarhus University and MAX IV.

We spoke to Aleksandar Matic from Chalmers University of Technology, one of the partners in the newly formed Battery HUB collaboration named BatMAX and Joachim Schnadt, MAX IV Science Director.

“We’re going to study sodium-ion batteries, a promising battery technology for the future. Sodium-ion batteries can store about the same amount of energy as a conventional lithium-ion battery, but have several important advantages. Sodium is more abundant and evenly spread globally as a raw material since it can be extracted from seawater. Sodium-ion batteries are also more sustainable because the cathode materials do not contain cobalt, which is often used in lithium-ion battery cathodes,” says Matic.

Read more on the MAX IV website

Engineering Division pilots equipment protection interlock system for Berkeley Lab user endstations

Engineering Division pilots equipment protection interlock system for Berkeley Lab user endstations

A new user-configurable equipment protection interlock system that helps protect scientific equipment and users will provide more flexibility and reliability while improving safety at the Lab.

Equipment protection interlock systems are a vital component of the infrastructure for many types of scientific equipment and facilities, especially at Berkeley Lab facilities like the Advanced Light Source (ALS), BELLA, and the Joint Genome Institute. These specialized interlock systems control the mechanisms that prevent unsafe conditions when using equipment. Actions like protecting beamline slits and components from overheating fall to interlock systems that have been custom-configured to meet the specific requirements of equipment and experiments. The Engineering Division is currently piloting a system for Berkeley Lab that will make setting up and using equipment protection system interlocks safer, faster, and more consistent—with minimal training and no need for coding on the user side.

This new tool has been developed at the ALS in collaboration with the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). The underlying idea for the interlock system comes from ESRF, where more than 400 of the devices are already in use. When Ernesto Paiser, ALS Instrument Software Support Group Lead, formerly of ESRF, arrived at Berkeley Lab, he saw an opportunity to implement a similar system that would provide increased reliability and flexibility while improving safety and efficiency.

“When I started at the Lab,” says Paiser, “I was immediately confronted with numerous challenges related to the equipment protection system (EPS). One of the most significant issues was how complex and inaccessible the system was for end users when they needed to define or modify interlock requirements at the end stations. Even a minor request often required changes to the main front-end interlock program. Each modification triggered a full system retest, regardless of the scope of the change. In many cases, by the time the work was completed, the original request was no longer needed, yet the changes remained permanently embedded in the system.”

Read more on the LBL website

Image: Ernesto Paiser, ALS Instrument Software Support Group Lead, pictured with the new no-code interlock system.

Credit: Engineering Division

“Research, a collective adventure”

“Research, a collective adventure”

Through a series of portraits, SOLEIL sets out to meet the people who make the synchrotron what it is. For this sixth episode, Edwige Otero, a scientist on DEIMOS—one of SOLEIL’s 29 beamlines—agreed to take part.

Driven from an early age by the joy of understanding, Edwige Otero naturally gravitated toward research. But just as important was her desire to contribute to a collective endeavour, one in which knowledge and discoveries are shared. From Lorraine to Canada, from chemistry to physics, her path reflects a constant passion for science and dialogue.

“Truth be told, I didn’t choose research; I simply followed my interest in science, step by step, and that’s where it led me.” When asked about the origins of her career, Edwige Otero, now a scientist on the DEIMOS beamline at SOLEIL, takes us back to her childhood. “There was no predetermined path, but rather a sensitive, open-minded upbringing and a “sincere and collective investment in the pursuit of knowledge.”

“I was lucky to grow up in a family where reflection and curiosity mattered a lot, where people always took the time to answer our questions,” she explains. “Wondering, asking, and trying to understand became second nature,” she adds. “It’s such an exhilarating feeling when you finally realise: so that’s how it works!”

“All I wanted was to be older”
In the days before the Internet, Edwige learned to look for answers wherever she could: in books, museums, exhibitions, open days… Her first physics–chemistry teacher also played a decisive role: “He made you want to understand everything,” she recalls. “He often took us beyond the official curriculum, and whenever he did, he would say: you’ll learn that later. All I wanted was to be older already.”

Read more on the SOLEIL website

LEAPS chairmanship transferred to Thomas Feurer

LEAPS chairmanship transferred to Thomas Feurer

Consortium set to increase influence in Brussels and broaden funding base

At the 8th LEAPS Plenary Meeting, Prof. Thomas Feurer was welcomed as the 2026 Chair of the League of European Accelerator-based Photon Sources. Feurer is also Chairman of the Management Board of European XFEL and succeeds Prof. Jakub Szlachetko from the National Synchrotron Radiation Centre SOLARIS in Krakow, Poland. 

“It is an honour to be chairing LEAPS,” said Feurer, who attended the meeting remotely. “I am looking forward to continuing the excellent work that has been done here in recent years.” A significant milestone for LEAPS under Feurer’s leadership will be its registration as an international non-profit association under Belgian law in spring 2026. “This will result in stronger visibility and influence in Brussels and beyond, enhancing our ability to form cross-sectoral partnerships in Europe”, Feurer explained.

As a non-profit entity, LEAPS will facilitate collaboration agreements in science and technology between its members and help coordinate funding. Feurer is looking to broaden the funding base for European photon science by pursuing multi-partner opportunities, including partnerships with industry consortia. While building an increased presence at EU level, he also intends to align LEAPS more closely with national roadmaps.

The LEAPS chairmanship was ceremonially handed over at the consortium meeting. Prof. Serguei Molodtsov, Scientific Director of European XFEL, accepted the symbolic baton on Thomas Feurer’s behalf. 

Read more on the European XFEL website

Image: Prof. Serguei Molodtsov, Scientific Director of European XFEL, accepts the symbolic chairmanship baton on Thomas Feurer’s behalf

Credit: Joanna Kowalik

MAX IV and BESSY II initiate new collaboration to advance materials science

MAX IV and BESSY II initiate new collaboration to advance materials science

Swedish national synchrotron laboratory MAX IV and Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) BESSY II light source announce the signing of a 5-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The new MoU establishes a framework to strengthen cooperation for operational and technological development in the highlighted fields of accelerator research and development, beamlines and optics, endstations and sample environments as well as digitalisation and data science.

The new agreement increases accessibility and overall opportunities for users to conduct advanced materials science investigations at MAX IV and BESSY II in a smooth, integrated manner. Facility collaboration through project-based initiatives may include, among others, reciprocal exchange of knowledge, instrumentation development and usage, data handling, scientific and technical staff, research initiatives, and PhD programme activities.

“Decades of collaboration between Sweden and HZB—rooted in, for example, shared work on energy-relevant materials and enabling methods and technologies—have continually advanced our field. The MoU we sign today gives MAX IV and HZB a solid platform to keep advancing synchrotron science into the 2030s and beyond,” says Olof Karis, Director of MAX IV.

Read more on MAX IV website

Image: MAX IV and HZB after signing the MoU. From left Olof Karis, Director at MAX IV, Antje Hasselberg, authorized signatory at HZB and Bernd Rech, Scientific Director at HZB.

Credit: HZB / Ronja Gründke

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

SESAME leads the way in Open Science worldwide with DataCite Global Access Fund

SESAME leads the way in Open Science worldwide with DataCite Global Access Fund

SESAME and Arab States Research and Education Network (ASREN) are collaborating with Global Access Fund (GAF) on a transformative initiative to enhance the accessibility, management, and sharing of research data to its user community. The GAF is part of the DataCite Global Access Program (GAP) made possible by grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The scope of the project is to create a scalable infrastructure that enhances data discoverability, citation, and accessibility, advancing Open Science and international collaboration. SESAME’s role in this initiative underscores its commitment to scientific progress and global partnerships.

In addition to SESAME’s efforts, ASREN plays a vital role by providing the technical infrastructure needed for Open Science initiatives in the Middle East and Africa. True to its mission to implement, manage and extend sustainable pan-Arab e-Infrastructures dedicated to the use of research and education communities, ASREN will facilitate data sharing among research institutions through high-capacity networks.

This collaboration places SESAME in a unique position to foster scientific cooperation in politically diverse regions. With its (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) FAIR data practices and partnerships with global organizations like DataCite, SESAME is helping researchers from the Middle East contribute significantly to global scientific knowledge. The comprehensive experimental data and its metadata associated with Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) support researchers in sharing their findings transparently and collaborating with the global scientific community, raising the visibility of Middle Eastern scientists and promoting new opportunities for partnerships.

Read more on SESAME website

UK and Switzerland partner for science using neutrons, muons and X-rays

UK and Switzerland partner for science using neutrons, muons and X-rays

A strategic partnership between research facilities in the UK and Switzerland has been established by the UK International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF), which will develop new capabilities for science using neutrons, muons and X-rays. 

UK facilities – ISIS Neutron and Muon Source (ISIS) and the Diamond Light Source, located at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) – and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), in Switzerland – home to the Swiss Spallation Neutron Source SINQ, the Swiss Muon Source SµS, the Swiss Light Source SLS and the X-ray Free-Electron Laser SwissFEL, will create new scientific capabilities to address global challenges.  

These large-scale research infrastructures have a rich history in pushing forward science in key areas for our society, such as net zero technology development, healthcare solutions and therapies, and resilient communications, relying on their ability to study material properties at the atomic and molecular scales. Recent studies have included investigation of materials for enhanced batteries, quantum computing and technologies, and novel drug delivery mechanisms, as well as fundamental science investigations. The ISPF partnership will enable new projects to be taken forward, developing capabilities for research facilities that benefit society overall. 

Researchers and technical teams from ISIS, Diamond and PSI have already worked in close collaboration for many years. The ISPF funding will allow an extension of collaborations into new research areas, enabling the development of novel capabilities in both countries. Around 16 projects will be taken forward as part of the programme, with 16 early-career postdoctoral researchers employed to work between the facilities. 

Read more on Diamond website

Image: Meeting of members of the ISIS – Diamond – PSI partnership at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, 27-28 November 2024.

Leading Korean science research centre to work in collaboration with Diamond 

Leading Korean science research centre to work in collaboration with Diamond 

A new partnership agreement between Diamond and Max Planck POSTECH/Korea Research Initiative (MPK) has been established

Representatives from both institutions met this week to sign a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The aim of the agreement is to unite the two organisations in educational and scientific cooperation. This will include exchanging research expertise in shared fields of interest, as well as encouraging research visits between the two organisations. 

MPK was established in October 2011 in close cooperation with the Max Planck Foundation (MPI) in Germany to advance foundational and innovative technologies in materials science through international collaboration. Part of its remit is to actively promote global talent training programs in association with Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH).

The initiative is particularly interested in developing cutting-edge functional materials and nanostructures with complex properties, as well as the development of high-tech functional nanodevices with new optical, electrical, and magnetic properties.

Read more on Diamond website

Image: Dr Adrian Mancuso, Physical Sciences Director (Diamond); Prof. Jae-Hoon Park Director (MPK); Changyong Song, Prof. of Physics (MPK); Sukeun Park (MPK) , Prof. Jongsu Park (MPK)

Leading UK Science facilities announce new five-year collaboration

Leading UK Science facilities announce new five-year collaboration

A new five-year agreement to facilitate collaboration between two leading UK Science institutions has been announced.

Diamond Light Source, the UK’s synchrotron light source and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) aim to bring the two organisations closer together to allow students to learn about each other’s science portfolio. This agreement will drive a closer collaboration through the formation of a Steering Committee that will help shape curriculum content to meet students’ needs.

Commenting on the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Chief Scientist at NPL, DR JT Janssen;

Our goal is to combine our expertise and facilities to accomplish momentous scientific impact.  We want to develop common specialised knowledge and increase the effective use of our facilities; as well as increasing cooperation and mutual support among our students and staff.

In addition to joint meetings, networking and training, the MoU will facilitate the identification of collaborative research and skills development opportunities of mutual or individual interest through a dedicated Steering Committee with representatives from both organisations.

Prof. Gianluigi Botton, Chief Executive Officer at Diamond Light Source adds;

This agreement is going to create great opportunities for new science and for both organisations’ scientists and students.  A key objective is to facilitate collaboration around student engagement activities, including using our respective expertise to accomplish valuable scientific training for each other’s student cohorts

Read more on Diamond website

Image: From L to R: (Front Row) CEOs Dr Peter Thompson (NPL) and Prof. Gianluigi Botton (Diamond), and (Second Row) Dr Richard Burguete Postgraduate Institute Director (NPL), Dr JT Janssen, Chief Scientist (NPL), Isabelle Boscaro-Clark, Head of Impact, Communications and Engagement (Diamond), Dr Adrian Mancuso, Physical Sciences Director (Diamond), and Prof. Sir Dave Stuart FRS, Life Sciences Director (Diamond)

Travel the world of light sources with our 2023 calendar

Travel the world of light sources with our 2023 calendar

Lightsources.org is a collaboration that brings together 23 synchrotrons and 7 Free Electron Lasers located at 24 member facilities around the world. Each member facility has contributed an image for our 2023 Lightsources.org calendar.

Download your digital copy below and keep up to date with news, events, job vacancies (including PhD and postdoc positions) and proposal deadlines by subscribing to our weekly newsletter here

You can get in touch with Silvana Westbury, our Project Manager, via e-mail at: webmaster@lightsources.org

1920-x1080pxl-LightsourcesCalendar2023Download
Opening Ceremony for the new ASTRA (SOLABS) beamline

Opening Ceremony for the new ASTRA (SOLABS) beamline

On 29 June 2022, the official opening ceremony was held for the ASTRA beamline (formerly SOLABS), a beamline dedicated to measurements using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) in the energy range of 1 keV to 15 keV. The ceremony was attended by a number of distinguished guests along with the international team involved in building the beamline.

International cooperation is the key to success.

The ASTRA beamline was created thanks to the cooperation of 4 scientific institutions, the Hochschule Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences (Germany), Synchrotron Light Research Institute (Thailand), the Institute of Physics at Bonn University (Germany), and the SOLARIS Center.

Read more on the Solaris website

Image: Starting from right to left: Prof. Alexander Prange (Hochschule Niederrhein), Dr Thomas Grünewald (Hochschule Niederrhein), Prof. Stanisław Kistryn (Jagiellonian University), Prof. Marek Stankiewicz (SOLARIS, JU), Dr Michael Groß (Consul General of Germany), Prof. Josef Hormes (University of Bonn). Further Dr Alexey Maximenko (SOLARIS), Dr Henning Lichtenberg (Hochschule Niederrhein), Marcel Piszak (SOLARIS) – credit Solaris Synchrotron. 

Reshaping the world of research through remote experimentation

Reshaping the world of research through remote experimentation

We all remember the impact of stay-at-home-orders on our everyday lives in spring 2020. However, it was not only restaurants, salons, flower shops, and bookstores that had to close their doors. National user research facilities shut down most operations, closing the doors to thousands of visiting scientists, and bringing research on new batteries, pharmaceutical drugs, and many other materials to a grinding halt, at a time when the country needed these facilities more than ever. So, seven user research facilities decided to form a team of experts, the Remote Access Working Group (RAWG), to figure out how these facilities could keep the science going even when the researchers couldn’t access them in person.

The solution is as simple as it is difficult. Research facilities that serve visiting researchers have to create an environment in which experiments can be run from afar – with nearly no human interaction. Scientists have dubbed this new way of doing research remote experimentation. While each facility started the unexpected journey to remote experimentation on their own, the RAWG has brought all the different ideas together to help each facility overcome the numerous challenges encountered along the way.

Most challenges result from the nature of how these facilities operate. All seven facilities are neutron or light sources funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science. This means they generate highly intense beams of neutrons or x-rays that visiting scientists use to study the inner workings of materials. These visiting researchers, or users, collaborate with facility staff to study everything from ancient mummies to novel quantum materials, generating new knowledge daily.

The Desolation of COVID-19

In a world before COVID-19, these user facilities were a hub for research teams. Scientists traveled to them, used unique tools to study their materials, worked with brilliant people on all kinds of scientific questions, then left the facility with new data that could answer these questions. With the ongoing pandemic, travelling to a facility in a different state—let alone a different country—is not an option. And with this, the well-established cycle of creating new knowledge was broken.

To re-start this cycle without going back to the old ways, each facility was confronted with a host of challenges that ranged from how to control an experiment from afar to how to get the samples to the facility in the first place. This was just the tip of the iceberg of issues the pandemic created. The RAWG’s mission is to share experiences and solutions for these issues among the facilities.

The Fellowship of Remote Experimentation

The RAWG was built upon the existing collaboration of the five DOE light source facilities. Their directors meet twice a year to discuss common challenges so that they can form teams to tackle various issues. So, it was only natural to join forces again when COVID-19 hit.

Read more on the Brookhaven website

Image: Beamline scientist, Olaf Borkiewicz from the APS, is wearing a Hololens for a virtual session of National School on Neutron and X-Ray Scattering held each summer. (Note: This photo was taken while fully vaccinated individuals were allowed to not wear masks indoors.) 

Credit: APS, Argonne National Laboratory