Szymon studies the internal properties of materials using optical methods such as photoacoustic spectroscopy. He has visited Diamond Light Source and the Polish national synchrotron Solaris in the past for experiments and had heard through various channels that neutrons might be useful to his work. However, submitting a proposal felt like a big step into the unknown, and one he was unsure to take without further guidance.

After hearing about NEPHEWS (Neutrons and Photons Elevating Worldwide Science), he saw it offered a great opportunity to discover whether neutrons would be useful to his research and, if they were, how to go about determining which samples would be suitable and how to prepare them.

Szymon has been supported by NEPHEWS to come to ISIS for a week, working closely with David Voneshen and the rest of the Excitations Group. “Even after one day, we had had some very useful discussions," says Szymon. “David and I are interested in the same sort of research problems, and I see there are definitely opportunities for neutrons to be part of my groups' research."

While at ISIS, Szymon has had the chance to join David in the sample preparation process and learn more about the practicalities of how to run an experiment and analyse the data.

“This visit has been very useful," says Szymon, “it is a big step towards submitting a proposal and returning for an experiment."

“Preparation is key for inelastic neutron scattering experiments," explains David. “This type of training is far easier in person than done remotely, and when Szymon does do neutron experiments in the future, he'll be ready to hit the ground running."

NEPHEWS is a European Union funded project providing access to the world-class collective of Europe's premiere advanced neutron, synchrotron and free-electron laser research infrastructures to promote curiosity-driven excellence in research.

As well as in-depth training, such as in this case study, the project also supports a twinning programme, where potential users are paired with experienced​ ones during their experiment.

Here are some examples of scientists who have come to ISIS as part of the twinning programme:

Anna Drzewicz and Olga Adamczyk

João Santos

Alina Brzęczek-Szafran

Marcin Piwowarczyk

More information about NEPHEWS can be found on the relevant ISIS user page, or the NEPHEWS website.