The latest Business updates from the science industry


by Heather Hobbs eBIC Welcomes New Leader in Advanced Microscopy Research


Professor Peijun Zhang has been appointed by Diamond Light Source as inaugural director to oversee the growth of its new centre for electron bioimaging (eBIC), which will provide research facilities for investigations into the structures of proteins and protein complexes, viruses and other pathogens, as well as individual cells.


Commenting on her appointment, Peijun said: “eBIC is a vital resource for the international science community and I anticipate seeing a real range of discoveries coming out of this centre in the years to come. I will position this centre as one of the leading cryo- EM facilities in the world. We have state-of-the-art technology and we’re fully prepared to push the fi eld of structural biology forward. I’m delighted to join the team behind this exciting project and I’m confi dent that we can drive the science and technology development that will make eBIC a real hub for electron bio-imaging.”


With a PhD from the University of Virginia, Professor Zhang worked with the National Institute of Health, before becoming Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh in 2002.


A specialist in human pathogens, including HIV and bacterial infection, exploiting cryo-EM to study large protein complexes and macromolecular assemblies, Peijun is interested in combining


structural information from cryo-EM with biochemical and physiological analysis and computational modelling to create a broader understanding of the molecular machinery behind protein complexes.


Currently housing two high-end Krios cryo-electron microscopes, with two further microscopes planned for installation, eBIC will also provide training courses for structural and cell biologists and remain cutting edge though strong, in-house research.


Professor Dave Stuart, Director of Life Sciences at Diamond Light Source, said: “Most individual departments don’t have access to instruments like those available at eBIC, so it’s a really important tool for the UK science community. What’s more, the centralisation of these instruments near the UK synchrotron generates a real synergy between the different techniques on offer at Diamond.


Ultimately, eBIC represents a unique combination of scientifi c infrastructure on the world stage: synchrotron science and electron microscopy in one place. That’s something very special.”


41566pr@reply-direct.com Professor Peijun Zhang


UK Laser for Czech Republic Achieves a World First


New Era for Geoscience in Ireland


The Irish Centre for Research in Applied Geosciences (iCRAG) and Trinity College Dublin have launched a micro-beam analytical laboratory – the iCRAG Lab@TCD – comprising high range electron and laser beam equipment for the characterisation of geoscience material. Funded by Science Foundation Ireland, the centre’s fi rst dedicated scanning electron microscope, the TIGER, is a Pan- European collaboration of three leading manufacturers giving Irish researchers a cutting edge in applied and fundamental research.


J cryogenic amplifi er and preamplifi er (Credit: HiLASE)


A UK designed and built laser delivered by STFC under a £10 million contract to the Czech Republic has become the most powerful laser of its kind in the World. DiPOLE 100, which has high potential in new medical applications, advanced imaging capabilities and improved processing of novel materials, was shipped to the HiLASE centre, a new multimillion pound project under construction near Prague, at the end of 2015. Twelve months later the Dipole 100, a fully diode pumped solid state laser (DPSSL) had achieved its full design performance of delivering ten pulses a second at 100 joules per pulse at 1kw, for over an hour without operator intervention.


John Collier, Director of the STFC Central Laser Facility where the DiPOLE 100 laser was designed and constructed, said “This result is a vital milestone that moves the performance of high peak power lasers beyond the limits of conventional fl ash lamp pumping, opening up important new applications in materials processing, advanced imaging and fundamental science.”


Tomas Mocek, Head of the HiLASE Centre, added “This is the fi rst time that a DPSSL system has broken the 1kW barrier. This performance is truly world-leading. My HiLASE and CLF colleagues and I are looking forward to further successes as the system moves into the operational phase.”


Optimisation of laser parameters continued during January to build up operational experience and to fully characterise the system after which it will be brought on line for user experiments.


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Speaking at the launch, Professor Kamber said, “The TIGER is a special type of scanning electron microscope, which we will use to investigate real-world rocks and environmental samples at sub- microscopic scale. This cutting edge analytical instrument has a wide array of detectors that allow the simultaneous determination of many properties, such as composition, luminescence and atomic arrangement. The TIGER also has software that can automatically recognise groups of minerals within a rock and map their mutual relationships. Most importantly, the TIGER can quantify the content of valuable metals in rocks in unprecedented detail. It will thus be used to develop new approaches to resource and energy effi ciency.”


“Combining electron with laser beam analytical equipment in one facility gives iCRAG researchers the ability to study elemental fi ngerprints over 9 orders of magnitude in concentration,” Professor Kamber added, “This enables the team to tackle questions as broad as the cause of problematic aggregate in Irish housing estates, reconstructing the ocean temperature signal stored in deep coral or assessing the personal exposure of Dubliners to diesel particulate emissions.”


Science Foundation Ireland Director of Programmes Dr Darrin Morrissey (left) with iCRAG Deputy Director Professor Balz Kamber (right) launch the TIGER scanning electron microscope in the iCRAG Lab@TCD


Dr Darrin Morrissey, Director of Programmes at Science Foundation Ireland, said, “The launch of the iCRAG Lab@TCD is a key development in Ireland’s Geoscience Research and represents a strategic investment of SFI into a facility that will help to address several societal challenges. Due to its geographic position and its bedrock geology, Ireland is an ideal testbed for new analytical solutions facing our society, such as resource effi ciency, clean water supply and the energy transition. With the help of this investment, SFI is contributing to iCRAG researchers successfully competing for EU and other international funding.”


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Multi-spectral Imaging Specialist Joins Halma


UK-based safety, health and environmental technology group Halma has acquired FluxData Inc. Halma is a provider of multi-spectral and polarimetric imaging systems for a wide range of applications, including high volume production quality control, medical imaging, food and agricultural analysis, traffi c control and air and water analysis for environmental protection.


The cash consideration was $12.0 million (£9.8 million) adjustable, US$ for US$, if the net assets are more or less than a pre- determined amount (the adjustment is not expected to be material). Further contingent consideration of up to $15.5 million (£12.6


million) may be payable based on performance to 31 March 2019. The acquisition, which is expected to be immediately earnings enhancing, was funded from Halma’s existing cash and debt facilities.


Halma’s Environmental and Analysis sector includes leading photonics companies Ocean Optics, Labsphere Avo Photonics and Fiberguide Industries.


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