Latest User Community News
11 Apr 2024
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The latest news from and for the user community

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​​​Throughout ​2024​

On 16 December 2024, ISIS will mark 40 years since first neutrons. Leading up to this significant milestone, we have organised a series of events (including roadshows, workshops, public engagement and more) that celebrate four decades of scientific discoveries, technological innovation, and productive partnerships.

See here​ for more information!​




14 March 2024

​​​Postdoctoral researcher on laser physics and non-linear optics

A postdoctoral position (“assegno di ricerca”) will soon be opened at the National Institute of Nuclear Physics in Trieste, focused on the development of an Optical Parametric Oscillator/Optical Parametric Amplifier (OPO/OPA) laser source in the near infrared.​

Seehere for positon details.

Please contact cecilia.pizzolotto@ts.infn.it for further information and to submit expressions of interest.



4 March 2024

26th JCNS Laboratory Course on Neutron Scattering

2-13 September 2024 at Jülich / Garching, Germany

Lectures on neutron scattering, instruments, and their applications at Forschungszentrum Jülich. Hands-on experience with the instruments at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum MLZ in Garching. The course is open to students with BSc or equivalent in physics, chemistry, material science, biology and early carrier postdocs with no or little experience with neutron scattering.

Registration deadline: 21 May 2024

https://www.fz-juelich.de/en/jcns/expertise/conferences-and-workshops/labcourse​

For more information email: neutronlab@fz-juelich.de

Attn. Prof. Dr. Stephan Förster

Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH​



20 February 2024

BTM Willis Prize 2024 – Call for Nominations

The BTM Willis Prize is awarded annually by the UK Neutron Scattering Group to an early-career researcher for an outstanding body of work in the application or development of neutron scattering to a significant problem in the physical sciences, life science or engineering.  The Prize is named in honour of Prof. B. T. M. (Terry) Willis (1927-2018), a pioneer in the development and teaching of neutron scattering in the UK and founder of the UK Neutron Scattering Group.

We are now seeking nominations for the 2024 BTM Willis Prize via the nomination website: https://forms.​office.com/e/Xd3m8LtxWj
Full details for the nomination process are given.The closing date for nominations is 17:00 GMT on the 18th March 2024

Selection Criteria

Nominations for the BTM Willis Prize are judged by a sub-section of the Neutron Scattering Group Committee. The judging panel base their evaluations on the overall quality of the relevant contributions and achievements of nominees, in relation to the following selection criteria:

  • Originality of research​​
  • Impact of research​
  • Quality of publications, instrumentation, software, or patents
  • Innovation
  • Professional standing
  • Independence​
  • Collaborations and teamwork
  • Other indicators of esteem indicated by the nominator and referee

Examples of relevant contributions of your nominee to the broader neutron scattering community could include, but are not limited to:

  • Involvement with neutron scattering interest groups and committees
  • Teaching or demonstrating of neutron scattering sciences
  • Effective mentorship within the community and beyond
  • Service on boards, committees, or panels
  • Leadership in the scientific community
  • Peer reviewing
  • Promotion of equality, diversity, and inclusion
  • Advocacy for neutron scattering
  • Public engagement and outreach

Eligibility

​The prize is open to nominees based in the UK or Ireland only.  Nominees should be an early-career scientist, typically with no more than 10 years of full-time equivalent professional experience.  Career breaks will be taken into consideration, and applications are particularly encouraged from those whose career has spanned a break due to caring responsibilities or personal circumstances, e.g. a period of parental/adoption leave, family commitments, illness, or other exceptional circumstances.



19 February 2024

We are pleased to announce the 3rd edition of the Training in Neutron Techniques (TNT) on Small Angle Scattering and Reflectometry that will take place in San Giovanni in Valle Aurina (BZ, Italy) from 16th to 21th of June 2024.

Training in Neutron Techniques is a three-year cycle of advanced schools in neutron scattering organized in collaboration with the Società Italiana di Scienze Neutroniche (SISN) and covering the topics of Diffraction and Structural Imaging (1st edition - 2022), Inelastic Scattering (2nd edition - 2023) and Small Angle Scattering and Reflectometry (3rd edition -2024). The Schools are open to Graduate and PhD students, Post-Docs and young researchers working in scientific disciplines as Biology, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Material Sciences, Physics, Sciences for Cultural Heritage Conservation, and similar.

After a warm welcome in the evening of the 15th of June 2024, lectures and tutorials will be proposed to students coming from all over the world in the Hotel Steinpent located in the scenic mountain landscape of Valle Aurina (https://www.ahrntal.com/).

The application for this school is now open and further information is available on the following web address: https://www.sisn.it/formazione/tnt-summer-school/

Thanks to spread the word in your laboratory and network!​

On behalf of all the organizers,​

Marco Maccarini and Francesco Spinozzi​



27 September 2023​

The Young Researchers’ community of the LINXS Institute of Advanced Neutron and X-ray Science in Lund, Sweden, is currently starting a series of workshops for “Young Researchers on X-ray and Neutron Science in Hard Condensed Matter” - to connect early career researchers, PhDs, and Postdocs in Europe. The aim is to expand personal research networks, build up future collaborations, and set up new research projects together. Making use of the close connection between the MAX IV and ESS facilities, we especially try to connect researchers using X-ray and Neutron techniques by workshops introducing the participants topics & techniques also for non-experts of those (i.e., hard condensed matter researchers), and with a focus on discussions and networking sessions.

We will host the event “Young Researchers' Symposium on X-ray and Neutron Science in Hard Matter”, organized in cooperation with LINXS, on 2nd November 2023 from 08:30 -17:00 CET in Lund, Sweden. It is free of charge and aimed at early career researchers, PhDs, and Postdocs using or being interested in large scale Neutron and X-ray facilities.


If you have any questions about the symposium, please feel free to contact one of our three organizers: Annika Stellhorn (annika.stellhorn@ess.eu), Sandra Benter (sandra.benter@sljus.lu.se), and Konstantin Victor Werner (kviwe@dtu.dk).


14 September 2023

STFC ISIS and Diamond Light Source 2023 Winter Crystallography Meeting

On behalf of the ISIS and Diamond Crystallography Groups and the Physical Crystallography Group, we would like to invite you to the Winter Crystallography Meeting to be held on 6th-7th November 2023 at Milton Hill House, near Didcot. 
 
The abstract submission deadline is Friday 6th October, and the registration deadline to attend is Friday 20th October.
 
To register for the meeting please click here.

The meeting is a celebration of structural science using neutron and/or X-ray diffraction and complementary techniques – we aim to put together a diverse program that includes something to interest everyone! We particularly encourage students and early career researchers to contribute short (15 minute) talks in what is a very friendly and supportive environment. Spaces at the poster session will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

The meeting is free to attend, and accommodation and meals will be provided.

Confirmed speakers include:
Christoph Salzmann (UCL)
John Claridge (University of Liverpool)
Alex Rettie (UCL)
Julia Payne (University of St Andrews) 

Please contact me at christopher.howard@stfc.ac.uk​ if you have any questions. 
 
We look forward to seeing you at the meeting! 
 
Christopher Howard 
ISIS Crystallography Group 
Craig Bull 
ISIS Crystallography Group Leader


31 July 2023​

For our Italian colleagues: The call for access Proposal Round 23 – 2 at the ISIS@MACH ITALIA is now open
 
Proposal deadline is 19:00, C.E.T. Friday 15 September 2023

Please note this is not a call for access to the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Facility​
 
With the same proposal users can both access to:
Medium-Range Facilities 1 (MRF1)
and, through the E-Platforms, to International Medium-Range Facilities (MRFs) and/or Large-Scale Facilities (LSFs)
 
This round access is for academic and industrial users with results to be published in the public domain. Please, contact the industrial access team for commercial access all year around.
 
Users are strongly recommended to contact an instrument scientist to discuss requirements before applying, even if they have previously submitted a proposal.
For information on instrumental options and reasonable time requests users are invited to contact the Help Desk. The IM@IT team will give feedback to requests and questions by users and liaise with contact scientists and specific instruments. 
 
____________________________________________________________________
ISIS@MACH ITALIA (IM@IT)
The Hybrid Italian Multidisciplinary Research Infrastructure (RI) for Complex Materials and Interfaces, Hub of ISIS Facility (UK), E-Platforms to International Medium-Range Facilities (MRFs) and to Large Scale Facilities.
 
____________________________________________________________________
PERIOD
Herewith we call for proposals for the experimental proposal’s period II-2 between 15th June and 15th September 2023. Medium-Range Facilities Access Panel (MAP) meeting will take place 9 -10 October 2023, with results to Principal Investigators expected by the end of October 2023.
____________________________________________________________________
PROPOSAL SUBMISSION
The Online Proposal System (OPS) is in place for Experimental and Training proposals.
Users may register to the OPS here for Direct Access to the suite of national MRF1​ and to International MRFs​. The feasibility of complex experiments should always be discussed in advance with the instrument scientists.
 
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With kind regards,
 
User Office - ISIS@MACH ITALIA
Email:
useroffice@isismachitalia.eu

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​10 July 2023

Call for next ENSA Chair

The European Neutron Scattering Association (ENSA) (https://ensa.tudelft.nl/about/) is seeking an individual to serve as its next chair* - replacing the outgoing chair, Henrik Rønnow of EPFL.

Candidates from the UK are invited to express their interest via e-mail, contacting either ENSA’s UK delegate, David Barlow, (david.barlow@manchester.ac.uk) or else the newly-appointed ENSA vice-chair, Stefano Deledda (Stefano.deledda@ife.no).
In September 2023, candidates will be asked to confirm their interest and will then be invited to send a motivational letter and curriculum vitae. In their motivational letter, candidates should address the following issues:

1) Promotion and consolidation of ENSA’s relationship with other associations, such as LENS, ESUO
2) The uncertain future of the European neutron landscape (e.g., the ILL shut down, emergence of compact neutron sources)
3) The shift in funding policies from topic/technique-centred themes to those based around societal challenges

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to present to the ENSA committee in November 2023, and the successful candidate appointed following election by the committee members.

* The role of ENSA chair is not honorary and requires some time commitment. The successful candidate will ideally have internal (institution/facility) resources to ensure fulfilment of this commitment.

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​21 June 2023

Faraday ISIS Emerging Leader Battery Fellowship
 
ISIS is pleased to announce the first Faraday ISIS Emerging Leader Battery fellowship.
 
This Faraday ISIS Emerging Leader Battery fellowship is a joint venture between the Faraday Institution and the ISIS Neutron and Muon Facility that seeks to appoint an early or mid-career researcher to promote, facilitate and carry out battery research at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, with a focus on the use of neutrons and/or muons. We are looking for a dynamic individual with a background in battery research to champion battery research at the Rutherford Laboratory. This is a great opportunity for early career and mid-career researchers to grow their research profile and enable community building.
 
The post is for three years and full details can be found here:
 

For confidential discussions about the post please contact Martin Jones at martin-owen.jones@stfc.ac.uk

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​20 June 2023

ISIS Muon User Meeting – registration open
  
The ISIS muon user meeting this year (11-12 ​September, 2023) will be held in association with PSI at The Queen's College, Oxford, a 14th-century college right in the heart of the historic city. 
 
This meeting will celebrate the work of the late Pabitra Biswas​, who developed an extensive research programme in the fields of magnetism and superconductivity. A series of science talks are planned, with the aim of fostering scientific collaborations across the muon community, and facility updates from both ISIS and PSI will be given. We are keen to encourage participation from early career researchers and to facilitate this we invite PhD students and postdocs to submit abstracts about their work. 
 
Local expenses will be covered for all delegates, and travel expenses will be reimbursed for those coming from UK-based institutions. Registration will be open until the 11 August. To register, or for more information, please visit. https://indico.​stfc.ac.uk/event/757/​

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​15 June 2023

The European Spallation Source Data Management and Software Centre Summer School

Held between the 4th and 8th of September. Applications to attend open on the 10th June. 

Data manipulation and handling skills are becoming more important in neutron scattering. This summer school will introduce the cutting-edge concepts and software required to understand neutron scattering data. The material will be taught through a series of talks and hands-on workshops led by ESS staff. 

The workshop will take place in Copenhagen at the Data Management and Software Centre and the historic Niels Bohr Institute, and will include a day in Sweden at the ESS facility in Lund.

The summer school is free to attend but spaces are limited. Accommodation, lunches and social activities are included and generously supported by DanScatt and the Carlberg Foundation.. 

All the information is available online: https://indico.esss.lu.se/event/3267/overview​

We look forward to seeing you in Copenhagen.


​18 May 2023

​University of Sheffield – ISIS Joint PhD Studentship

Laying deep foundations for operando muon spectroscopy experiments of ionic diffusion at ISIS
Supervisors: Prof Serena Cussen and Dr Innes McClelland (Sheffield), and Dr Peter Baker (ISIS)
 
Understanding how fast ions move through materials is vital for the design and optimization of next-generation energy materials and devices. While ionic diffusion rates can be evaluated electrochemically, such methods often see extrinsic properties of the device being measured, rather than the intrinsic properties of the materials. Muon spectroscopy (μSR) is able to measure the intrinsic ionic motion within materials as long as the ion of interest has a nuclear magnetic moment. This PhD project will aim to develop a suite of operando cell equipment and experimental methodologies for electrochemical and µSR experiments, while working closely with the Faraday Institution's FutureCat project to investigate the structure-property relationships of exciting new cathode materials.
 
Further details are available at FindAPhD here​.

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​11 May 2023

Simulation Meets Molecular Spectroscopy (SiMolSpec) Meeting (30th Oct-1st Nov)
MolSpec.png
The Molecular Spectroscopy Group at the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source will be hosting a special edition of their User Group Meeting this autumn. The meeting will be focused on the synergy that exists between simulation methods and neutron spectroscopy. This will include both how simulations can be used to extract more information content from neutron data, as well as how neutrons can be used to parametrise and feed into simulation models. In addition, we will also talk about how neutron spectroscopy is applied to different science areas. We warmly invite members of both the simulation community and neutron spectroscopy community to present talks both of an experimental and simulation nature. This will be an opportunity to meet members of a different community, with similar research interests, and form new collaborations. There will be a chance to present posters in a mixer session, as well as give flash presentations for selected posters.

Registration:https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=HDZmP36oWEGPYZnoLbPKyPpUYA1fZSlEgWRwn7Nn-05UNjFJQTBJMk5ESEFPMUIwQTBRS042MjlKQiQlQCN0PWcu
ISIS advertisement:https://www.isis.stfc.ac.uk/Pages/SiMol-2023.aspx


22 March 2023

The ISIS BioLabs facility is key in supporting one of the four ISIS scientific challenge areas – Life sciences and Healthcare. The labs are crucial for delivering the ISIS strategic goals set in the ISIS Scientific Strategy 2022-25.​

​​We are in the middle of putting together ISIS BioLab development plan, so that our BioL​abs can expand the range of services and facilities we offer to you, our users. We are aiming to complement the service already provided by other neutron facilities laboratories for neutron beam users and will be collaborating closely with wonderful colleagues from ANSTO and ESS.

​​To help us to shape up the strategy around our user needs, please complete a short questionnaire using the following link ​https://forms.office.com/e/TA2bmqARA2​. Feel free to be as detailed or as concise as you like.

​​Your opinion really matters, and we would be very grateful for sharing it with us.

​​As always, do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions or would like to discuss further.

​​​ Dr Ludmila M​ee​

ISIS BioLabs Manager



​14 March 2023

Joint PhD studentship between STFC ISIS and the University of Manchester:​

Online Structural Investigations of Advanced Porous Materials for A Net Zero Future

More ​information can be found here: https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/online-structural-investigations-of-advanced-porous-materials-for-a-net-zero-future/?p156339​

Enquiries from potential candidates should be sent to sihai.yang@manchester.ac.uk​​



8 March 2023​

​​Rome and the Coinages of the Mediterranean, 200BCE – 64CE’ RACOM Conference, to be held in The British School at Rome, Italy, April 17th & 18th 2023

​The ERC funded RACOM project is examining financial and monetary strategies of the Roman and Hellenistic worlds from c.150 BCE to a major coin reform in c. 64 CE, by providing a detailed 

and reliable set of analyses of the chemical composition of all major silver coinages of the period, obtained by taking samples from deep within the coins.

​As the analytical section of the project draws to a close, the team are hosting a two-day international conference on ‘Rome and the Coinages of the Mediterranean’, with ~ 20 invited speakers comprising RACOM team members, postdoctoral fellows, members of our advisory panel and other experts in the field who are now collaborating with the team on interpreting the new data.​

The conference will be a hybrid event, with the opportunity to attend in person (in Rome) or on-line via Zoom.

Additional information and REGISTRATION details can be found HERE.

Kind Regards,
The RACOM Team


1 March 2023
Post-doc position announcement in the field of crystallography with the special emphasis on high-pressure studies

https://www.chem.uw.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2_2023_ogloszenie_konkurs_SonataBis_publikacja.pdf

The post is available at the University of Warsaw, Department of Chemistry. The announcement is both in Polish and English​

If you have any questions please contact Katarzyna Jarzembska (katarzyna.jarzembska@uw.edu.pl​)



14 February 2023

Save the date for the Simulation Meets Molecular Spectroscopy (SiMol) Meeting, 30th Oct – 1st Nov 2023

This year’s Molecular Spectroscopy User Meeting will take on a slightly different format, as we incorporate a special focus, making the most of simulation and neutron spectroscopy data together. We aim to answer the following: “How simulation can aid the interpretation of neutron spectroscopy measurements and how neutron spectroscopy data help simulations”.  The event is scheduled to take place at Milton Hill House from the 30th of October till the 1st of November. This venue is close to the ISIS site, with good public transport links. At this point we encourage you to save the date in your calendar. 

We especially welcome members of the simulation community to attend, to hear about the potential opportunities of working closely with neutron experimentalist. We will showcase successful examples in a number of science areas [do we want to say what these are?] and we will host a mixer session where we will aim to pair simulators and experimentalists with similar research interests. 

There will be a chance for poster presentations for senior academics and PhD students, as well as a breadth of presentations ranging across themes of Catalysis, Energy Materials and Soft Matter. 

Best regards,​
​Mona Sarter

On behalf of the ISIS Molecular Spectroscopy Group and the Molecular Spectroscopy User Group Liaison Team



​​10 February 2023​

​​The ISIS Facility, ILL, the Institute of Physics Magnetism and Neutron Scattering groups and Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (MPIPKS, Dresden) are organising the 21st Theoretical and Experimental Magnetism Meeting (TEMM2023) on 21-22nd June 2023. TEMM2023 will be held in-person at the Cosener's House, Abingdon (near Oxford, UK).
The meeting is intended for anybody who is interested in current research in magnetism and superconductivity from both the experimental and theoretical perspective. Students and post-doctoral researchers are especially welcome.​

Full meeting information may be found at https://www.isis.stfc.ac.uk/Pages/TEMM-2023.aspx

There is no registration fee for attending the meeting.​  Deadline for registration is Monday 1 May 2023


1 February 2023

The Gordon Research Seminar on Neutron Scattering will be held from June 24 to 25, 2023 at the Four Points Sheraton / Holiday Inn Express (Ventura, CA, United States).    

The registration and abstract submission are now open! We invite all graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and early-career scientists to submit an abstract for the GRS.

The Neutron Scattering GRS is a forum for early-career scientists from different communities of soft and condensed matter with a wide range of scientific and technical expertise. A particular focus of the seminar will be the role of the neutron, as a powerful probe of ​multifunctional and sustainable materials, in addressing environmental societal challenges. 

The se​minar will be followed by the 2023 Gordon Research Conference on Neutron Scattering. The meeting will feature keynote lectures, oral presentations from submitted abstracts, poster sessions with plenty of time for social events and networking in a friendly environment.
 
Further Information
Download the poster

 


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