Jun 21, 2023

MAX IV & ESS Workshop on Nov 29 – X-ray and neutron techniques for bio-based materials research

Updated: Oct 20, 2023

Learn how to benefit from advanced X-ray and neutron techniques in bio-based materials research.

The city of Lund in southern Sweden hosts two world-leading large-scale research facilities. The MAX IV synchrotron has been operational since 2016, with 16 beamlines dedicated to different X-ray techniques being currently available. The European Spallation Source (ESS) is a neutron facility that is being built in the close vicinity of MAX IV, and it is expected to open for users in 2027. These facilities offer a wide range of scattering, imaging and spectroscopy techniques that can be used to study the structure and behavior of materials and systems.

This workshop aims to gather current and potential Finnish users of synchrotron light and neutrons in the field of biobased materials to learn about the opportunities at MAX IV and ESS. It includes presentations by invited speakers from the facilities and examples from their use in bio-based materials research, followed by an afterwork networking event to establish personal contacts and initiate collaborations.

The workshop will be organized on November 29, 2023, in Dipoli, Otaniemi, Espoo, Finland.

Program

11:00 Opening words

11:10 Neutrons for bio-materials research
  Andrew Jackson
  Head of Neutron Instruments Division, ESS

Neutrons have unique characteristics that make them especially useful in the study of bio-materials, and ESS will open new opportunities for the Nordic scientific community. I will introduce the concepts underlying neutron scattering and imaging, discuss the status of ESS, and give examples of how the various experimental techniques can contribute to bio-materials research.

11:35 Imaging capabilities for biomaterials at ESS
  Manuel Morgano
  Instrument Scientist for Neutron Imaging, ESS

I will describe the concept of attenuation-based neutron imaging and its implementation at ESS. I will then give an overview of relevant, state-of-the-art example of this technique applied to biomaterials and in general to bio-adjacent fields of research. At the end, I will give a taste of more advanced flavors of neutron imaging, to pick the brain of participants for new and exciting applications.

12:00 Lunch

13:00 Structural biology at ESS
  Esko Oksanen
  Instrument Scientist for Macromolecular Crystallography, ESS

I will introduce the use of neutron techniques in structural biology with a view to enzyme mechanism and design. I will then outline that capabilities that will be available at the ESS for these techniques. I will finish by introducing the advanced study institute LINXS that will help push the boundaries of neutron and X-rays based methods.

13:25 MAX IV Industry engagements
  Magnus Larsson
  Head of Industrial Relations, MAX IV

MAX IV has a dedicated industry strategy and an Industrial Relations Office driving the industry activities in close collaboration with industry, academia and the surrounding eco-system of actors to achieve the strategic goals. We have successful collaborations within the Swedish forest industry, which is funding the operation of a tailored beamline at MAX IV. Additionally, the Swedish technology and manufacturing industry has been actively working from within MAX IV to develop its own unique approach. Furthermore, we can draw on valuable insights gained from the international pharmaceutical industry over the years. Given these experiences, the question arises: How can Finnish companies or industry-related project benefit from MAX IV?

13:50 Break

14:15 ForMAX – zooming into the structure and function of
  bio-based materials
  Kim Nygård
  Beamline Manager at ForMAX, MAX IV

ForMAX is a new instrument at MAX IV, with a special focus on the development of new materials from forest resources. It allows unique in-situ multiscale structural characterization of hierarchical materials from nm to mm length scales by combining x-ray scattering and full-field tomographic imaging.

14:40 How large-scale X-ray and neutron facilities have helped
  my research – a user’s perspective
  Paavo Penttilä
  Academy Research Fellow, Aalto University

I have been utilizing synchrotron radiation and neutrons for scattering experiments on various bio-based materials, in particular wood and lignocelluloses, for over 10 years. I have participated in 17 in-person experiments at large-scale X-ray and neutron facilities, and my group represented the first Finnish users at the ForMAX beamline in April 2023. This presentation will present several case examples from my research on bio-based materials using X-ray and neutron scattering at large-scale facilities.

15:00 Q&A with experts

15:30-17 Afterwork networking with experts

Facilitated discussion with the invited speakers