The Cerdanyola synchrotron defies the crisis by bringing together 10,000 users to lead the leap to artificial intelligence

The Cerdanyola synchrotron defies the crisis by bringing together 10,000 users to lead the leap to artificial intelligence

The ALBA Synchrotron doubles lines and adds 10,000 users since 2012. The Cerdanyola facility prepares for the leap to the fourth generation with artificial intelligence through ALBA II, with the change of director.

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The ALBA Synchrotron, located in Cerdanyola del Vallès, has gone from seven to fourteen experimental lines since it opened its services to the scientific community in 2012 and is already preparing a new stage with the ALBA II project, approved to convert the facility into a fourth-generation synchrotron.

The leap comes after the center started in the midst of an economic crisis and, even so, consolidated its activity to gather more than 10,000 users among researchers, companies, and collaborating institutions, compared to the 600 it started with.

ALBA doubled its lines and expanded its scientific base since 2012

The first official experiment with users took place on May 7, 2012. Since then, the infrastructure has extended its experimental capacity and incorporated a new electron microscopy platform.

Today it serves research in biomedicine and materials science. In its facilities, the action of drugs is studied, therapies against rare diseases are evaluated, and new materials linked to the energy transition are developed.

Furthermore, the growth of the center has also been reflected in its scientific and technological community.

The facility has gone from 600 to more than 10,000 users among research staff, companies, and institutions that collaborate with the equipment in Cerdanyola del Vallès. This increase accompanies an expansion that has also affected its technical resources and its activity in areas such as health and advanced materials.

The ALBA II project foresees brighter beams and analysis with artificial intelligence

The next phase is already defined with the approval of ALBA II. The project will transform the center into a fourth-generation synchrotron, with brighter and more precise light beams and with artificial intelligence applied to data analysis.

This change connects with other recent debates about data leaks, although in this case the novelty is linked to the scientific treatment of information and the improvement of the infrastructure's analytical capacity.

The director of the ALBA Synchrotron maintains that the center overcame the challenge of becoming a fully operational scientific facility and offering first-class results in an adverse economic context.

In her stage review, the outgoing head summarizes the evolution of the equipment with an idea of institutional and scientific consolidation.

"Today ALBA is a consolidated infrastructure, with a much larger user community, new experimental lines, national and international collaborations, and an ambitious future project" - director of the ALBA Synchrotron

The handover in the center's management has also progressed, with Harry Westfahl Jr. taking over.

Before her departure, the director gave him direct advice on managing the new phase and working with the team. Harry Westfahl Jr. will be the successor in the management of a facility that is now facing the technological transformation of ALBA II.

"My advice would be to listen, to continue working with the team, and to be true to your own way of doing things" - director of the ALBA Synchrotron

The ALBA Synchrotron began its service to the scientific community in 2012 and conducted its first official experiment with users on May 7 of that same year.