| From the acting director |
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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. Synchrotron science enables users to study the structure and properties of materials at unprecedented levels of detail. Synchrotron technologies surpass conventional methods and help drive innovation across many areas of pure and applied research and industrial development. Since officially opening our doors in July 2007, the Australian Synchrotron has hosted thousands of visitors, scientific and otherwise. These have included around 2000 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. Enhanced access to synchrotron technologies is helping Australian scientific and industrial researchers to achieve and retain positions at the forefront of their fields, boosting Australia’s reputation in world scientific circles, enabling a stronger national contribution to the international development of advanced research capabilities and techniques, and attracting experts from around the globe to live and work in Australia. In June 2009, the AS was awarded ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management Systems accreditation after a comprehensive external audit of policies, procedures and documentation in every aspect of our operations. This means an extra level of confidence for users that we have everything in place to optimise their scientific experiences at the synchrotron all the way from bringing their samples in to taking their data home. Our work on the Australian Synchrotron Development Plan (‘Science Case 2’) will help to ensure that we can support and enable world-class research well into the future. Science Case 2 includes a plan for capital expansion of the Australian Synchrotron to include 10 new beamlines. This has been peer-reviewed with the help of national and international experts including the Australian Synchrotron Science Advisory Committee. Science Case 2 will be complemented by a business case, which provides a rationale and justification for existing and projected expenditure. Both documents will be submitted to the state and federal governments for consideration. We also have an important role in helping to inspire Australia about science and research, particularly the youngest members of our community, encouraging them to consider science-related careers. In addition to our usual educational tours and laboratory sessions, we jointly hosted the ANZAAS – Australian Synchrotron Winter School in July 2010, and we are supporting students to attend similar events at overseas facilities, such as the Cheiron School in Japan. This year, the Australian Synchrotron’s annual Open Day will happen on 15 August 2010 as part of National Science Week. More information is available in the events section on our website. Please take the time to look around our website. We welcome your enquiries. Dr George Borg |