Words from the Director Trevor Forsyth - read about the latest developments and news at LINXS!

It is becoming increasingly busy at LINXS, with many thematic and other events coming up, including a number of guest seminars in March and early April. On 2nd/3rd May there will be a Catalysis workshop as part of the New Materials Theme. On 4th May,  the next LINXS Science Day will feature presentations from senior managers at MAX IV, ESS, and ISIS (UK). 

LINXS Director Trevor Forsyth. Photo: Kennet Ruona.

There will also be updates on LINXS’ plans for the future – for example new Themes approved in response to the recent LINXS National and International Theme Call 2022, and our imminent move to Science Village that will place LINXS directly between MAX IV and ESS, and right in the middle of an area that without doubt will become a key national and international hub for science and industry.

Following this, the focus of the day will shift to early-stage researchers and their science, as well as plans to expand the LINXS community and associated developments at MAX IV, ESS and the other infrastructures to which Sweden subscribes (including ESRF, ILL, ISIS, and Diamond), and an informal mingle at the end.

Other LINXS events coming up include the Integrated Pharmacology and Drug Discovery, IPDD, workshop on Biomedical Imaging (9th May), the IPDD theme meeting (24th May), and the annual Northern Lights on Food conference (7-9 June). There are numerous other  activities, so please keep an eye on our events. 

It is also nice to reflect on some very successful recent activities, such as the LINXS Young Researchers’ Symposium in Life Sciences – an event that was so popular that registration had to be closed well ahead of the deadline. The event which was organised, run, and attended almost exclusively by young scientists (convened by Daniel Sarabi (LINXS) and Swati Aggarwal (MAX IV)), was hosted and supported by LINXS. It was a vibrant, lively, and highly interactive event with participants from all over Sweden and indeed Europe, and is set to become a recurring annual event. Parallel events are being planned in the areas of Soft Matter and Hard Matter. There was also a Northern Lights on Food Hackathon – which gathered large numbers of participants and highlighted the need for discussion, exchange and networking. 

As mentioned above, we are also about to announce the outcome of our National and International Theme Call 2022. We are convinced that the incoming Themes will make outstanding additions to the existing portfolio of activities, greatly strengthening the effort to develop X-ray and neutron-based research throughout Sweden and internationally.

Last, but not least, we are delighted to welcome a new colleague! Josefin Martell is the new LINXS Activities Coordinator. You can read more about her in this interview. You can also read some interviews with our two incoming guest researchers, Andrew Boothroyd and Michael Phillip Adams, as well as an article about one of the ESS in-kind projects which is hosted by LINXS, and co-led by New Materials theme leader Elizabeth Blackburn.

We are looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the upcoming LINXS events, and of-course at the LINXS Science Day, 4th of May! 

Take care and stay safe!