idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
idw - Informationsdienst
Wissenschaft
At the 8th LEAPS Plenary Meeting, Prof. Thomas Feurer was welcomed as the 2026 Chair of the League of European Accelerator-based Photon Sources. Feurer is also Chairman of the Management Board of European XFEL and succeeds Prof. Jakub Szlachetko from the National Synchrotron Radiation Centre SOLARIS in Krakow, Poland.
“It is an honour to be chairing LEAPS,” said Feurer, who attended the meeting remotely. “I am looking forward to continuing the excellent work that has been done here in recent years.” A significant milestone for LEAPS under Feurer's leadership will be its registration as an international non-profit association under Belgian law in spring 2026. “This will result in stronger visibility and influence in Brussels and beyond, enhancing our ability to form cross-sectoral partnerships in Europe”, Feurer explained.
As a non-profit entity, LEAPS will facilitate collaboration agreements in science and technology between its members and help coordinate funding. Feurer is looking to broaden the funding base for European photon science by pursuing multi-partner opportunities, including partnerships with industry consortia. While building an increased presence at EU level, he also intends to align LEAPS more closely with national roadmaps.
The LEAPS chairmanship was ceremonially handed over at the consortium meeting. Prof. Serguei Molodtsov, Scientific Director of European XFEL, accepted the symbolic baton on Thomas Feurer's behalf.
Synchrotron radiation sources and free-electron lasers (FELs) make it possible to explore details of the micro- and nano cosmos with unprecedented precision. The high-brilliance X-ray pulses from the LEAPS facilities enable more than 35,000 academic and industrial researchers every year to decipher for example the structures of biomolecules and cellular components. These are very important basics for the development of new drugs or therapies. For example, Nobel laureates in Chemistry from both 2024 and 2025, had samples analysed using X-ray laser pulses at the European XFEL.
In addition, experiments with the X-ray flashes from these facilities allow us to better understand chemical processes such as catalysis, which play an important role in nature and in the manufacturing of most chemical substances produced in industry. New processes or materials can also be explored, with applications ranging from better utilisation of renewable energy to higher density data storage. The LEAPS facilities provide unique analytical tools for research of atomic and electronic structures and processes in materials and biological systems as well as palaeontology and cultural heritage.
In recent years, the LEAPS facilities have repeatedly produced findings that push the boundaries of our knowledge and shed light on completely new areas of science. The main objective of LEAPS is basic, applied and industrial research for the benefit of European science and society.
Prof. Serguei Molodtsov, Scientific Director of European XFEL, accepts the symbolic chairmanship bat ...
Quelle: Joanna Kowalik
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