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 decadeImage: 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