Wednesday 27 May 2009 @ 13:51
Science and Technology Facilities Council
Printable version E-mail this to a friend

STFC’s world-leading ISIS neutron source opens £145 million research centre

 Healthcare and environment just two of the areas to benefit

Healthcare and the environment are just two of the many areas that will benefit from a new 145 million pound research centre at the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC’s) world-leading ISIS neutron source. After five years of construction, the new facility has opened its doors (Tuesday 26th May) to a team of scientists from the STFC and Oxford University who are conducting the first experiment.
 
The joint team will carry out work expected to lead to significant advances in understanding the workings of everything from cell membranes to the practical chemistry of fabric conditioners.
 
Neutrons play a vital role in offering analysis techniques for research on subjects as varied as clean energy and the environment, pharmaceuticals and health care, through to nanotechnology, materials engineering and IT.
 
Professor Keith Mason, Chief Executive of the STFC said; ‘’the start of research on ISIS Second Target Station is a major day for UK science, and demonstrates the wisdom of long-term government investment in research. The ISIS team can be justifiably proud of their achievement in delivering this major new research facility on time and on budget. ISIS Second Target Station will play a major role in delivering on STFC's vision to maximise the benefits of our research for the UK and global communities’’.
 
Dr Andrew Taylor, Director of ISIS and STFC Facilities Development and Operations said; “This first experiment on one of our seven new instruments is a very important milestone in the project and a significant day for the global science community. The Second Target Station builds on the success and expertise we have developed over the past 20 years in the UK at ISIS and allows us to move further into the areas of soft matter, advanced materials and bioscience. We will be carrying out fundamental research that will shape the technological advances of tomorrow.”
 
Neutron beams at ISIS can be used like “super x-rays” to study materials at the atomic level. Neutron scattering experiments allow the location of atoms and the forces between them to be measured. ISIS has been doing this since 1984 and has established itself as a world leader in the physical and life sciences.
 
Professor Jeff Penfold, the Chief Scientist for the ISIS Second Target Station will be leading the team from Oxford and STFC carrying out the first experiment, which also marks the beginning of a £400,000 project funded by the STFC’s sister council, the EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council).
 
“We plan to explore for the first time how the layered structures formed by surfactants at a liquid surface dis-assemble in real time. When I first started using neutron scattering for these kind of chemistry studies in the early 1990s, experiments such as these would have been unimaginable. The new optimized instruments on the second target station now allow us to see in a minute what used to take a day. It’s a real boost for studies in soft matter and biochemistry and will allow us to take a major step forward in our understanding.”
 
Neutrons are produced at ISIS when bunches of protons travelling at 84% of the speed of light are transferred from the circular ISIS synchrotron accelerator and fired into a tungsten target inside the new target station. This creates billions of neutrons per second that can be used for experiments in seven new instruments.
 
The Second Target Station Project serves an international community of over 2,000 scientists. It was made possible by a grant from The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills through the Large Facilities Capital Fund.
 
Notes to Editors
 
The first experiment at the ISIS Second Target Station is the start of a £400k major new research programme funded by the EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) awarded to Professor Jeffrey Penfold (ISIS, STFC) and Professor Bob Thomas (University of Oxford). The research will use neutron scattering techniques to reveal how multilayer structures at surfaces and interfaces can self-assemble. These structures are found in a wide range of applications in biology and technology including aspects of soft lubrication (hair and fabric conditioners) and bio-lubrication.
 
Images Available
 
Please contact the press office for more details
 
Contacts
 
Jim Sutton
Proof Communication
Tel Number: 0845 680 1867 (direct)
Mob: 07969 631499
 
Lucy Stone
Press Officer
STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
Tel Number: 01235 445627
Mobile: 07920870125
 
Martyn Bull
ISIS
Tel Number: 01235 445085
 
 
Further Information
 
ISIS Pulsed Neutron and Muon Source
 
ISIS is a world-leading centre for research in physical and life sciences operated by the Science and Technology Facilities Council at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire, UK.
 
ISIS supports an international community of over 2000 scientists who use neutrons and muons for research in physics, chemistry, materials science, geology, engineering and biology. It is the most productive research centre of its type in the world.
 
Neutron scattering is a vital research and analysis technique in exploring the structure and dynamics of materials and molecules. It provides unique and complementary information to that available from synchrotron light sources.
 
The ISIS Second Target Station Project complements the facilities already operating at ISIS and enables the science programme to expand into the key research areas of soft matter, advanced materials and bio-science.
 
Science and Technology Facilities Council
The Science and Technology Facilities Council ensures the UK retains its leading place on the world stage by delivering world-class science; accessing and hosting international facilities; developing innovative technologies; and increasing the socio-economic impact of its research through effective knowledge exchange partnerships.
 
The Council has a broad science portfolio including Astronomy, Particle Physics, Particle Astrophysics, Nuclear Physics, Space Science, Synchrotron Radiation, Neutron Sources and High Power Lasers. In addition the Council manages and operates three internationally renowned laboratories:
 
                       - The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxfordshire
                       - The Daresbury Laboratory, Cheshire
                 - The UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Edinburgh
The Council gives researchers access to world-class facilities and funds the UK membership of international bodies such as the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), the Institute Laue Langevin (ILL), European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), the European organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO) and the European Space Agency (ESA). It also contributes money for the UK telescopes overseas on La Palma, Hawaii, Australia and in Chile, and the MERLIN/VLBI National Facility, which includes the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory.
 

Latest Report: AI, digital transformation, and vulnerable customers