Thomas Feurer from European XFEL elected as future Chairman of LEAPS

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The 16-member organisations of the League of European Accelerator-based Photon Sources (LEAPS) | Copyright: © LEAPS | Download

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Thomas Feurer from European XFEL elected as future Chairman of LEAPS | Copyright: © European XFEL | Download

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At their annual meeting, the 16-member organisations of the League of European Accelerator-based Photon Sources (LEAPS) elected Prof. Dr Thomas Feurer, Chair of the Management Board of European XFEL, as their future chairman. LEAPS is a strategic initiative that brings together major European synchrotron radiation and free electron laser (FEL) facilities. Through joint efforts, LEAPS seeks to advance photon science and to maximize the impact of accelerator-based light sources in Europe. Feurer will succeed Jakub Szlachetko from the National Synchrotron Radiation Centre SOLARIS, Krakow (Poland). The handover will take place at the next plenary session in October or November next year. Until then, he will enjoy the status of Incoming Chair.

“It is quite an honour for me to serve as the next LEAPS chair”, says Thomas Feurer. “Alongside the 16 members, I will focus on strengthening the network, supporting successful EU applications, and advancing FEL-oriented initiatives. I am excited to turn our shared vision of leveraging our 16 research infrastructures to address societal challenges into a reality.”

Synchrotron radiation sources and free-electron lasers (FELs) make it possible to explore details of the micro- and nanocosmos 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, the current winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, David Baker, had his artificially created proteins analysed using X-ray lasers such as the European XFEL.

In addition, experiments with the X-ray flashes from these facilities allow us to better understand chemical processes such as from catalysis, which play an important role in nature and in the manufacture 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 into atomic and electronic structure and processes in materials and biological systems through to 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.

Weitere Informationen:
https://www.leaps-initiative.eu/ (LEAPS homepage)