9th AOFSRR Cheiron School

Hyogo, Japan, September 2015

[Beamline tour] Beamline tour
[Site tour] Site tour
[Discussion] Discussion with experts
[Participants]

The 9th AOFSRR (Asia-Oceania Forum for Synchrotron Radiation Research) Cheiron School (http://cheiron2015.spring8.or.jp/), organized by AOFSRR, RIKEN, the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI) and the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), was held September 10-19, 2015, at SPring-8 in Japan and was attended by 60 students.

The AOFSRR is an association established in 2006 to enhance global cooperation in the Asia-Oceania region for synchrotron radiation research among member countries, including Australia, China, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Japan, and associated member countries New Zealand, Malaysia and Vietnam.

To develop human resources in synchrotron radiation science in the region, the AOFSRR Cheiron School was launched in 2007 at SPring-8. The school was named after Cheiron, an immortal god who was the master of many arts and sciences and the mentor of Greek heroes. His mentorship coincides with the policy of the school to provide each student with the appropriate knowledge and skills. The main aim is to provide useful and basic knowledge, as well as perspectives of synchrotron radiation science and technology for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, young scientists and engineers who wish to pursue their career in a field requiring synchrotron radiation and to join a synchrotron radiation facility in the Asia-Oceania region. Over the past 9 years, more than 500 young scientists have attended the school. In 2014, the school welcomed young scientists from Africa recommended by UNESCO in the context of the International Year of Crystallography (IYCr2014), and in 2015, with support and recommendation from the IUCr, two prominent young scientists participated from Africa and the Middle East. The school includes lectures, practicals, discussions with researchers/experts and site tours of SPring-8 and the XFEL facility, SACLA.

The introductory lecture, 'The school overview of SR and the AOFSRR', was delivered by Richard Garrett (ANSTO, Australia), and lectures related to crystallographic applications were presented by David Attwood, UC Berkeley (X-ray optics), Mitchell Guss, U. of Sydney (protein crystallography), and Mark Dean, Brookhaven National Lab (resonant X-ray scattering).

The students enjoyed discussions with the experts about their own problems in synchrotron radiation science and learned useful skills and knowledge in the practicals.

Naoto Yagi