From November 13th to 14th, the second edition of the workshop entitled: "ALBA Synchrotron, new instrumentation for Materials Characterization" took place in ALBA. This workshop started last year and is an ALBA initiative co-funded by ALBA and the "Grupo Especializado en Nanociencia y Materiales Moleculares" (NANOMATMOL) from the "Real Sociedad Española de Química (RSEQ) y de Física (RSEF)". The main objective is to provide basic insights about the synchrotron light and its potential applications among those researchers unfamiliar with its analytical possibilities.
This first discussion forum of European User Offices has been held on November 3rd and 4th at the ALBA Synchrotron. The aim was to discuss about different topics related to the User Offices, to exchange experiences and knowledge and to share common worries.
The ALBA Synchrotron operated continuously for the whole of last week. This is the first week free of trips since ALBA switched to operate in top-up mode.
A group of researchers, led by UPC university, has discovered that atoms react differently depending on the characteristics of the support that is used. Part of this study, which has been published today in Science, was performed at the NAPP endstation of CIRCE beamline of ALBA Synchrotron.
The structural and vibrational properties of CdAl2S4 under high pressure and ambient temperature have been investigated in a joint experimental and theoretical study. Results show a new CdAl2S4 phase in spinel structure after high pressure conditions, which may have direct implications in both technological applications and geophysics.
From 6th to 9th October the ALBA Synchrotron and the UAB organised a specialization course of XANES & EXAFS for chemical speciation on environmental systems.
Researchers have proven a new pathway in the design of two-dimensional electronic materials by using oxide interfaces with different crystal orientations. Results have been published in Physical Review Letters.
For the third year in a row, the ALBA Open Day has raised the interest of the general public. Last Saturday 11th October, 1.630 visitors came to ALBA to discover what a synchrotron is and how it works.
On September 26th the ALBA Synchrotron organized free outreach activities for all ages. The event was held at the Museum of Art of Cerdanyola del Vallès from 18:00 till 23:00 h.
Ian Robinson, member of the ALBA Scientific Advisory Committee, has been awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in recognition of his development of diffraction methods for studying surfaces and nanomaterials.
On Saturday 11th October ALBA is celebrating its 2014 Open Day. During the whole day, visitors will be able to explore the facility and discover its functions and applications. The tour will also include demonstrations and activities for all ages.
From September 8th until September 28th, undergraduate students interested in doing an internship in the ALBA Synchrotron can submit a proposal.
A group of international researchers from Switzerland, Spain, Italy and France have studied the so-called spin-orbit fields mechanisms for in-plane current induced magnetization reversal of magnetic tunnel junctions, and their optimization. This work continues a research line open by the previous recent discovery of in-plane current induced magnetization reversal. The main investigation via transport measurements was complemented with XAS and XMCD performed at BOREAS beamline in the ALBA Synchrotron, to trace at the atomic level the evolution of the sample properties upon thermal annealing leading to enhanced response. Results have been published in the journal Physical Review B.
ALBA Synchrotron is interested in brilliant students to perform their PhD thesis in synchrotron light related subjects.
A week-long oPAC advanced School on Accelerator Optimization took place from 7th to 11th July 2014. The event was hosted by Royal Holloway University of London (UK) and was joined by around 80 delegates from across Europe, including ALBA staff from the Accelerator division.
On 29th July, the Governing Council of ALBA has met at ALBA’s facilities. Accompanied by the director, Caterina Biscari, and division heads, the members of the Governing Council have visited the experimental hall and some of the beamlines of the ALBA Synchrotron.
Researchers from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC), the Institute of Medical Chemistry (IQM-CSIC) and the University of Glasgow have proved that the CD27 drug is a true alternative against malaria. They have analysed the crystalline structure of the DNA with the drug by performing X-ray diffraction experiments at the ALBA Synchrotron. This work has been published in the journal Acta Crystallographica D.
X-ray diffraction experiments were performed at ALBA and Elettra Synchrotron. This material may have applications as photocatalyst for hydrogen production, improving renewable energy sources. This work has been highlighted in the Journal of Physics Condensed Matter. It has been also chosen for IOPselect, a special collection of IOP articles chosen from their quality.
ALBA has published its annual report of activities performed in 2013. This document includes scientific results, divisions' reports, collaboration agreements, etc.
We are sad to announce that Prof. Manuel Cardona passed away at the age of 79. He was one of the most internationally renowned physicists in the area of materials science.
The ALBA Synchrotron has given two awards to the best in-house experiment and instrumental development of 2013.
Till July 7th a new call for proposals of the ALBA Synchrotron is opened. These experiments will be developed from January to June 2015.
Last June 14th the ALBA Synchrotron took part for the first time in the Festival of Science and Technology with a demonstration about how to create a homemade particle accelerator.
Manuel Vázquez, from the Institute of Materials Science of Madrid (CSIC), is the 1.000th researcher using ALBA’s facility. He and his team will analyse magnetic nanowires at CIRCE beamline.
Researchers from CNB-CSIC, using data collected in MISTRAL and BESSY II (Germany), have discovered that T cells are able to capture and kill bacteria from dendritic cells by transinfection.
Together with scientists Mark E. Davis and Galen D. Stucky (USA), Corma has been bestowed with the 2014 Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research.
The Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation (FCRi) is promoting the EDI program (Innovation Teams) to enhance the relationship between research and business sectors. The ALBA Synchrotron, one of the entities joining the EDI program, has hosted the second workshop on investment topics.
The kick-off meeting of the Committee in charge of promoting education and outreach activities for celebrating the International Year of Light in Spain has been held.
The ALBA Synchrotron has been recognized by the Ministry of Employment and Social Security of the Spanish government with the BONUS system for contributing to the reduction and prevention of occupational hazard.
From April 30th until June 9th, undergraduate students interested in doing an internship in the ALBA Synchrotron can submit a proposal.
Renowned companies working in the area of Chemistry and Materials Science, like CEPSA, ERCROS or AC MARCA group, were among the attendees.
The ALBA Synchrotron has published the results of the last call for proposals with a new record: a total of 250 proposals (a 34% increase over 2013 call). ALBA has received more than double of proposals to be allocated: 128 of them have been granted, representing an overbooking of 2.3 in terms of requested and allocated shifts. Granted experiments will be performed from May to December 2014 in the seven beamlines of ALBA.
Researchers from the CRSPD of the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria (Portugal) have been performing time-resolved in situ SAXS experiments at NCD beamline in ALBA to map the morphology of a scaffold and test its level of deformation in working conditions. The results of this research are expected to have a huge impact in improving the recovery process of bone injuries and fractures.
Our colleague Valentí Massana has been selected to receive the "Eduard Fontseré" award for the best thesis of 2013 in the Physics area. The thesis was directed by Jordi Marcos and Pep Campmany (both from ALBA Accelerators division).
Including the very latest news of the ALBA Synchrotron: science highlights, industry collaborations, outreach activities, information of the staff and a special report about the strategic plan of ALBA for the following years. Do not miss it!
On April 10th 2014, ALBA is organizing a workshop with the scientific community for a pre-screening of ALBA phase-III beamlines. Synchrotron users who are interested in supporting new beamlines must send a proposal –preferably agreed with other researchers -before 31st March and to present it during the workshop to be held on April.
CRYSFORMA, a unit from the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) managed by Dr. Jordi Cerón, provides complete scientific support to the pharmaceutical and fine chemistry industry in the field of pharmaceutical solid state development. CRYSFORMA is currently applying its expertise to use the ALBA synchrotron facilities in its projects in the area of polymorphism.
ITQ-52 is a new zeolite with industrial applications in catalysis, gas adsorption and separation, encapsulation and controlled release of molecules. This structure has been solved using X-ray diffraction data collected at BL04-MSPD.
CRYSFORMA, a unit from the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) managed by Dr. Jordi Cerón, provides complete scientific support to the pharmaceutical and fine chemistry industry in the field of pharmaceutical solid state development. CRYSFORMA is currently applying its expertise to use the ALBA synchrotron facilities in its projects in the area of polymorphism.
Researchers from the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB), the Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (IBMB-CSIC) and the University of Wageningen (The Netherlands) have discovered how auxin hormone-regulated proteins activate development genes in plants. Some of the measurements of this study- published in Cell- were performed at XALOC beamline.
A paper from a group of researchers from Finland, Czech Republic, Germany and Russia -led by Martina Stekrova- has been published in the journal "Applied Catalysis A: General". Part of the data of this research was acquired at CLAESS beamline from the ALBA Synchrotron.
More than 250 researchers have participated in the survey launched by the ALBA Synchrotron and the Spanish Association of Synchrotron Users (AUSE) to know the present and future scientific fields of interest of the ALBA synchrotron light source user community
This year 2014 has been declared by the United Nations as the International Year of Crystallography. During the year, different activities will be organized to explain what crystallography is and which applications this science has on people's everyday life. The ALBA Synchrotron uses crystallography and X-ray diffraction in three beamlines.
From December 16th to 18th, ALBA and SSRF scientists met in ALBA facility to share their most recent updates and foster collaboration opportunities.
During the 2nd "Night of Cerdanyola Empresarial", held on 21st November at the UAB Campus Hotel, the association of local companies from Cerdanyola del Vallès awarded the ALBA Synchrotron in recognition of the international projection of the city among institutions all over the world.
On November 30th, the director of the ALBA Synchrotron was awarded by the ambassador of Italy, Pietro Sebastiani, with the "Ufficiale dell'Ordine della Stella d'Italia" for her contribution to strengthen links between Italy and Spain.
During the 60th meeting of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) Council, held last 25th November, Miguel Ángel García Aranda, scientific director of the ALBA Synchrotron, has been elected vice-president of the ESRF Council. García Aranda will combine his position at the ESRF Council with his current position as scientific director of ALBA from the 1st January 2014.
In spite of the non-optimum weather conditions, on Saturday 16th November, the ALBA Synchrotron opened its doors to 1.584 visitors. Following an itinerary of about one hour and 30 minutes, visitors had the opportunity to learn from ALBA scientists and technicians what a synchrotron is, how it works and which its main applications are. One of the most successful novelties of this year were the activities arranged for kids.
November 6th and 8th 2013, the ALBA Synchrotron and the Catalunya-La Pedrera Foundation organized a seminar for high school teachers in order to increase their knowledge of synchrotron light and its properties. The seminar combined theoretic and practical contents, materials and examples to be used with students into the classroom and a visit to ALBA's facilities.
The latest issue of the ALBA News magazine is out! ALBA News includes the latest news of the ALBA Synchrotron: scientific reports, information about the staff and the activities developed at ALBA and a calendar of events. This issue contains a special report about the first ALBA User Meeting.
