The ICMM inaugurates the 'Synchrotron School' with the visit of five students to the Spline beamline at the ESRF in Grenoble

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What is a Synchrotron? What techniques can be found in this facility? How are they used? These were the fundamental questions that five predoctoral researchers from the Materials Science Institute of Madrid (ICMM-CSIC) were able to answer thanks to their participation in the first edition of the 'Synchrotron School,' organized by ICMM-CSIC in collaboration with the Spline beamline at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France.

"The idea behind this initiative is for students to understand the possibilities offered by such large facilities and how to leverage them in their future research," explains Irene Palacio, the course organizer from ICMM-CSIC. It was in Madrid where the predoctoral students who would live this pilot experience were selected: Adriana Barreto, Clara López García, Adrián Saez, Carlos Díaz Ufano, and Rubén Fernández.

Once selected, these students received a mini-course on how to write a proposal to access such facilities. Upon arriving in Grenoble, the Spanish staff there provided them with theoretical and practical classes on each of the experimental techniques currently available in the Spline beamline, as well as on the production and generation of synchrotron radiation. Thanks to this initial contact, the students were able to measure their own samples in the facilities.

In addition, the course included a tour of the experimental hall at the ESRF, the accelerator control room, and visits to some VIP beamlines at the ESRF. "It was a good experience for everyone, and I think it helped them get a good idea of what a large facility of this kind is like and what the SpLine beamline (i.e., ICMM) offers to the national and international user community," adds Juan Rubio Zuazo, the ICMM scientist in charge of the Spanish Spline beamline and co-organizer of the course.