Q&A with Elizabeth Blackburn, New Materials theme leader about running a theme at LINXS
Q&A with Elizabeth Blackburn, New Materials theme leader about running a theme at LINXS.
LINXS National and International theme call 2023 is currently open. To support researchers interested in making a theme application, we share reflections from New Materials theme leader, Elizabeth Blackburn. She highlights the benefits of running a theme at LINXS and gives some tips on how to write a good theme application.
Elizabeth Blackburn is Professor at Synchrotron Radiation Research at Lund University.
Why did you apply for a theme at LINXS?
I saw it as a great opportunity to build together a network and activity that would support my research but also the research of other colleagues in Lund and further afield. We built a collaboration and discussed the application thoroughly beforehand. By pulling together different parties who were interested in participating, we were able to construct a theme around the idea of new materials for energy and sustainability. We thought that our theme and its direction would function very well within the organisation of LINXS.
How have you organised your work?
Our theme has been organised with a core group, with several working groups tied to it. It is within the working groups that most of the magic actually happens. Each working group has a set of different activities they can use to get to their end goal. For example, one working group has focused a lot on education, and on training new researchers in various techniques, whereas another working group has spent a lot of time and effort trying to figure out what is needed to improve certain scientific software, and to identify gaps within this field. We have tried to organise our theme so that each working group can focus on their own interests and aims. Through this set-up, we have created a unity and a whole.
What are the benefits of running a theme at LINXS?
It is a great opportunity to meet people from all over the world at different events. We have also been able to support certain activities, for example the school we ran on X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy. This is an activity we hope to be able to establish as a more permanent fixture, even after the theme ends.
What are your reflections now the theme is almost over?
The theme is coming to an end in December 2023. Looking back, it is nice to see all the different things that have been achieved by the working groups, which have formed their own identities. I am also proud that we have been able to bring many international and national researchers here to Lund to give presentations. It has been great to meet these people and have them talk about their research. This has sparked a lot of new ideas and activities, as well as the overall work within the theme. I am very glad too, that we have been able to engage both postdocs and students in our work and that they have channeled their energy and enthusiasm into developing activities. On the whole, we have been able to build new relationships between people, and that has been the most positive outcome of the whole experience.
What advice would you give on the theme application process?
It is key to demonstrate the clear benefits that will arise from your theme, how the theme relates to LINXS’ mission, and explain how the working groups will contribute. It is important to show how the theme will support the working groups to focus on their own activities, and to create opportunities for cross-working group collaboration. One also has to demonstrate a clear framework for how the theme will operate. Above all, one needs to show the motivation of the core group, and create a strong theme consortium, which will ensure that plenty of things happen should the theme get funded!