Conveners
Plenary
- Philip Oluseyi Oladijo (Botswana International University of Science and Technology)
Plenary: Plenary
- Tshepo Ntsoane (Necsa)
Plenary: Plenary
- Kudakwashe Jakata (European Synchrotron)
Plenary
- Marcus Newton (University of Southampton)
Plenary: Plenar
- There are no conveners in this block
Plenary
- Prosper Ngabonziza (Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research)
Plenary
- Kathleen Dollman (ESRF)
Plenary: AfLS Plenary
- Gihan Kamel (SESAME Light Source)
Plenary
- Lawrence Norris (National Society of Black Physicists)
Plenary: Plenary
- Sonia Semedo (UFPLP and Universidade de Cabo Verde)
Plenary
- Sekazi Mtingwa (Massachusetts Institute of Technology & Brookhaven National Laboratory& African Laser Centre)
Plenary
- Marielle AGBAHOUNGBATA (Semi City)
Plenary
- Edward Mitchell (ESRF)
Description
Plenary
Accelerators-based sources are super microscopes implementing various sets of experimental techniques those are powerful enough to reveal the most vital details about matter. They can shed light on invisible particulars in physics, chemistry, biology, pharmaceuticals and biomedicine, environment and materials science.
The high brightness delivered by these sources allows to compensate for...
Coral reefs cover only 1% of ocean floors, yet they host 25% of all known marine species. This incredible biodiversity is sheltered by the 3D structure of coral skeletons. My group and I revealed that corals form their skeletons by attachment of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) nanoparticles[1], then fill interstitial spaces by ion attachment[2]. Polarization-dependent Imaging Contrast...
In recent years, established Big Science organizations in the Global North, such as the particle physics facility CERN or the synchrotron facility ESRF, became increasingly internationalized, both in terms of the involved researchers and the participating countries. At the same time, more and more large Big Science projects emerge in regions where until recently no or very few Big Science...
This is the first community driven African Strategy for Physics and Applied Physics. It started in July 2019, and it is now in the final preparation of the Strategy Document. Scientific and technological achievements have become commonplace. As remarkable as these achievements are for other regions of the world, enormous challenges and opportunities remain to be addressed in Africa. Although...
Discussion session after presentation on ASFAP
Structural information obtained at synchrotrons and cry-EMs at up to the atomic level of resolution for even large macro-molecular biomolecules helps to elucidate the function of the bio system. One can identify drug targets or similar medical interventions. This inspires the design of new drugs. Africa should lead research of this nature finding cures for diseases, especially if these are of...
Establishing pressure scale has been a subject of intensive research but still involves significant extrapolation and approximations, especially under the inner core conditions. In order to solve the problem, we developed techniques to measure the sound velocity at high pressure with using Inelastic X-ray scattering (IXS). We developed a primary pressure scale extending to the multi-Megabar...
Nanoparticles, nanoporous materials and nanostructured bulk materials are at the heart of next generation technological solutions in sustainable energy, effective new pharmaceuticals and environmental remediation. A key to making progress is to be able to understand the nanoparticle structure, the arrangements of atoms in the nanoparticles and nanoscale structures. Also critical is...
The African School of Electronic Structure Methods and Applications (ASESMA) has built up a network of researchers across Africa with expertise in an area that is now an essential part of research. The focus on computational methods and applications of electronic structure was chosen because it is an important field that is narrow enough to build up a network for joint work and collaboration,...
Ever since the first dedicated light source facilities in the 1980’s, synchrotron light sources have been developing rapidly around the world. These light sources essentially extend our human vision and allow us to see and investigate tiny things from microstructures to molecules and atoms, in many cases in-situ and under operating conditions. Such research activities have made substantial...
The project LAAAMP was started in 2016 by the International Science Council (ISC) through a grant awarded to the joint IUPAP-IUCr project entitled Utilisation of Light Source and Crystallographic Sciences to Facilitate the Enhancement of Knowledge and Improve the Economic and Social Conditions in Targeted Regions of the World. Aim of the project is to enhance Advanced Light Sources (AdLS) and...
Synchrotron X-ray micro-computed tomography has shown its importance through time for biomedical, structure of materials, and natural and cultural heritage research. The new installation of BM18 and upgrade of BM05 (Extremely Brilliant Lightsource, EBS), which are both propagation phase contrast micro-computed tomography (PPC-SRµCT) beamlines, at the European Synchrotron and Radiation Facility...
Structural biology clarifies the molecular basis of disease processes, guides the rational design of new drugs and vaccines, and improves existing therapeutics. Few Africa-based scientists are trained in structural biology. BioStruct-Africa develops Africa-based structural biologists by organizing workshops onsite at our partner institutions and universities in Africa, followed by online...
The African BioImaging Consortium (ABIC) was founded as a catalyst to empower and grow life science research in Africa by addressing needs for training, education, and accessibility of microscopy technologies. As a community-driven and community-guided initiative, ABIC seeks to expand the role microscopy plays in biomedical research on the continent — helping embrace imaging approaches in...
Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) is a widely recognized experimental probe to study the electronic band structure of a material. It has shown its practical applications in several scientific disciplines such as solid-state and condensed matter physics, material science and engineering, as well as in surface science. ARPES is based on the photoelectric effect, in which an...
Beamline
FinEstBeAMS [1] – Finnish-Estonian Beamline for Atmospheric and Materials Sciences – is located at the 1.5 GeV storage ring at MAX IV Laboratory in Lund, Sweden. It has mainly been financed by Finnish and Estonian research consortiums, but any researchers can apply for beamtime at the beamline. FinEstBeAMS receives synchrotron radiation from an elliptically polarizing undulator...
The European Synchrotron (ESRF) has recently completed its upgrade to become the world's first fourth-generation high-energy synchrotron X-ray source, serving nearly 10,000 researchers annually. The ESRF holds a prominent position on the European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructures Roadmap and is recognised as a central pillar of the European Research Area. The exceptional brilliance...
The project of a second Larin American Synchrotron in the Caribbean and its connection with that of AfLS for what concerns implementation strategy and joint acitions of local training will be discussed
Both science in general and frontier technologies researchers in particular, have struggled to communicate to Society their contribution to improve the wellbeing of people around the globe. I have estimated that almost 50 billion dollars have been invested by more that 20 countries in the design, construction, operation, maintenance and upgrade of more than 50 operating Synchrotrons...
With a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the National University of Mexico and postdoctoral experience at the Imperial College in London, Brenda Valderrama is biotechnologist specialized in molecular biology and biochemistry. She has been a researcher at the Biotechnology Institute of the National University of Mexico since 1997 and member of the National Researchers System with level II. With...
Dr. Abel Moreno was awarded with a B.Sc. in Chemistry from the Autonomous University of Puebla (Mexico) in 1990. Dr. Moreno was also awarded with a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Granada (Spain) in 1995. Currently, Dr. Moreno is a full Professor of Biological and Physical Chemistry at the Institute of Chemistry of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico City....
The Machine and Science highlights of the Sirius Light Source and a message for Africa
SESAME (Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East) is a “third-generation” synchrotron light source that was officially opened in Allan (Jordan) on 16 May, 2017. It is the first synchrotron light source in the Middle East and neighbouring countries, and also the region’s first major international centre of excellence.
It is a cooperative venture by...
The Munich Compact Light Source (MuCLS) is an inverse-Compton scattering source and consists of an electron storage ring and a passive bow-tie laser resonator. The X-ray energy varies between 15 keV and 35 keV with a flux up to 1.5⋅10^10 ph/s. Examples of the experiments that can be performed include dynamic in vivo respiratory imaging, propagation-based phase-contrast imaging, grating-based...
Elettra - Machine and Science Highlights, a message for Africa
The Institute of Materials Structure Science is one of the institutes in KEK, and runs a synchrotron facility, Photon Factory (PF), where two synchrotron rings, PF and PF-AR (Advanced Ring) are operated. PF is operated with the beam energy of 2.5 GeV. PF-AR with 6.5 GeV or 5. 0GeV provides higher energy regions. There are about 50 end stations including 6 x-ray absorption fine structure...
X-TechLab is the first experimental platform in West Africa dedicated to training in X-ray techniques and their application to problem solving in key economic sectors. It is established within Sèmè City hub, one of the Benin government’s flagship project which aims to create a world-class knowledge and innovation center in Africa. Started in 2019, X-TechLab has trained over 100 learners (PhD...
Diamond Light Source is the UK's national synchrotron providing national science infrastructure that is free at the point of use. Based on the on the Harwell Campus, Diamond facilities are available to researchers through a competitive application process, provided that published results are in the public domain. Over 14,000 researchers from across life and physical sciences both from...
AfCA : Introduction update and working towards the AfLS
Countries of the Latin American and Caribbean region demonstrate a clear lag in progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015. This lag seems to become more evident after the pandemic caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV- 2, and one of the most overdue SDGs is 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure. Large regional research...
