| From the acting director |
|
TURNING BRIGHT IDEAS INTO BRILLIANT OUTCOMES
Welcome to the Australian Synchrotron, Australia’s newest and brightest major national research facility, and one of the nation’s busiest. Since officially opening our doors in July 2007, the synchrotron has hosted thousands of visitors, scientific and otherwise. These have included over 1000 individual users from research groups using the synchrotron’s state-of-the-art beamlines to further their research objectives, and hundreds more potential users we hope to see using the facility soon. Our other visitors include tertiary and secondary students, lecturers and teachers keen to ensure that a new generation of researchers is fully informed about the potential to use synchrotrons in their future work. We are also hosting an increasing number of international delegations as well as visitors from Australian business and industry groups interested in our unique capabilities. To most of our visitors, the synchrotron is simply a source of highly intense light ranging from infrared to hard x-rays that can be used for an impressive array of non-destructive, high-resolution, rapid, in-situ, real-time imaging and analysis techniques. The unique properties of synchrotron light mean that experimental results are far superior in accuracy, clarity, specificity and timeliness to those obtained using conventional laboratory equipment. 2009 is shaping to be our busiest year since opening. Highlights of the year so far include announcements of additional government funding worth $50 million for key onsite infrastructure additions and improvements, onsite accommodation for users, and a major extension to our medical and imaging beamline. In September 2009, Melbourne hosted the world’s largest synchrotron conference: the 10th International Conference on Synchrotron Radiation Instrumentation. SRI2009 attracted around 700 Australian and overseas delegates. The Australian Synchrotron is a world-class young facility with a rapidly growing reputation for producing high-quality results. By the end of 2009, we will be the largest scientific user facility in the southern hemisphere. Thank you for your interest in the Australian Synchrotron. We welcome your enquiries. Dr George Borg |