Plenary Lectures
Stewart Parker
Neutron Scattering Studies of Catalysts
ISIS Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, UK
Stewart Parker is the ISIS Facility’s expert on catalysis and related science areas, having started as an Instrument Scientist on the TFXA, and then TOSCA, neutron vibrational spectrometers. His research is centred on catalysis but has also included a range of organic and inorganic molecules including C60, C70, metal hexahalo complexes and organometallic systems, all supported by ab initio calculations. He has over 450 publications including the standard text on inelastic neutron scattering spectroscopy.
In recognition of his research (i) he was promoted to an Individual Merit Scientist (the equivalent position at a university would be a personal chair) in 2014, (ii) awarded a DSc in 2014, (ii) an Honorary Professorship at the University of Glasgow in 2019 and (iii) the Norman Sheppard Award for Vibrational Spectroscopy for 2021 by the Infrared and Raman Discussion Group.
José Ignacio Porras
Boron Neutron Capture Therapy with compact accelerator-based neutron sources: accelerating a new hope for cancers of bad prognosis
Dpt. of Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Spain
Professor and researcher in Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics at the University of Granada since 1998, with special emphasis on Medical Physics and Neutron Applications. Director of the University Chair ‘Neutrons for Medicine’ in Granada University since 2017 and President of the International Society for Neutron Capture Therapy (ISNCT) since 2018. Leader of the Project NeMeSis towards a facility for clinical BNCT and radioisotope production at the University Hospital Virgen de las Nieves in Granada (Spain), with grants from national and european agencies as well as health foundations. Has written more than 30 research papers on neutron applications for health.
He has been awarded with the Andalusian Flag for Research in Science and Health 2023 and the “Singular Project” 2016 from the Spanish National Society Against Cancer (AECC)
Anatoliy Senyshyn
TUM School of Natural Sciences, Technische Universität München
He is Coordinator of the MLZ Science Group “Structure Research” and g Research group leader – neutron and X-ray scattering studies on energy storage materials, systems and components, and he is Instrument scientist at high-resolution neutron powder diffractometer SPODI Forschungsneutronenquelle Heinz Maier-Leibnitz FRM II, Technische Universität München, Germany. One of his research topics is the In situ/in operando diffraction studies of electrode materials in battery applications.
Hi has authored 299 publications in peer-reviewed journals in total (296 articles, 3 book chapters), for details see the full publications list1. According to Web of Science: 310 papers in peer-reviewed journals, cited 9,844 times (9,224 times without self citations): 1249 times in 2020, 1476 times in 2021, 1398 times in 2022, 1319 times in 2023, 17 times in 2024, the h-index is 51. According to Google Scholar: 13010 citations in total (8245 since 2019), the h-index is 60 and i10 index is 211.
Guest Speakers
Monika Hartl
“Proton Dynamics in Superacids”
ESS Lund, Sweden
PhD in chemistry 2002 from the University of Hannover, Germany
Postdoc at Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA (2003-2006) – working on the Filter Difference Spectrometer at Lujan Center
Scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA (2006-2014)– instrument scientist on the Small Angle Neutron Scattering Instrument LQD at Lujan Center
Scientist at the European Spallation Source, Sweden (2014-2018) –
Group Leader for Sample and User Laboratory Facility at the European Spallation Source, Sweden (2018-2023)
Group Leader for the Chemistry and Life Science Support Group at the European Spallation Source, Sweden (2023-now)
Armando Maestro
Interfacial Assembly of nano(bio)materials: Insights from Neutron Reflectivity of Fluid Interfaces and Surfaces.
Ikerbasque Research Associate at the Materials Physics Center (CSIC-UPV/EHU), Bilbao, Spain
After completing a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry at the University Complutense of Madrid, he embarked on a journey of postdoctoral research, starting with a CNRS fellowship at the University of Paris-Saclay, followed by a grant at the University of Twente sponsored by BP. He received a Newton Fellowship from the Royal Society, leading him to the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge. There, as a University of Cambridge/Wellcome Trust Junior Interdisciplinary Fellow, he was interested in the biophysics of in vitro biomimetic model systems. Later, he become a neutron reflectometry scientist at the Institut Laue-Langevin in Grenoble. Currently, he is furthering his research of the self-assembly of biological and soft interfaces to design model biomembranes and bio-inspired materials as an Ikerbasque Research Associate at the Materials Physics Center in Donostia/San Sebastian.
Mario Pérez, ESS Bilbao
ARGITU Compact Accelerator Neutron Source. A unique infrastructure fostering the R&D ecosystem in Spain and beyond.
Executive Director of ESS Bilbao
Executive Director of ESS Bilbao, a public consortium of Central and Basque Governments; bringing knowledge and added value in particle accelerators and neutron scattering science and technologies; by leveraging Spanish in-kind contribution to the European Spallation Neutron Source, in Lund (Sweden). Once in operation, ESS will be the brightest neutron source in the World.
+20 years of cross-functional international experience in programme and operations management. An outstanding track record of success across a broad range of projects and programs spanning from government to private industry in Algeria, Chile, Germany, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Spain and UK.
He is also an advocate of the so called HiCANs (Hich Current Compact Accelerator-Based Neutron Sources) and currently the Chair of the ELENA (European Low Energy Accelerator-Based Neutron Facilities Association). ELENA promotes the cooperation within Europe in the field of neutron sources based on an accelerator and a low energy reaction to produce neutrons.
Before joining ESS Bilbao, he was mainly involved in Fusion Energy R&D programmes. He held the role of Project Coordinator at WPENS (Work Package Early Neutron Source) Project within EUROfusion Consortium. Prior to this he was Director of the PMO at IFMIF/EVEDA (Japan) seconded by CIEMAT, a Public Research Agency at the Ministry of Science & Technology.
Member of the European Commission delegation representing the European Atomic Energy Community in the IFMIF/EVEDA Project Committee of the Broader Approach activities; from October 2019 till September 2023.
Permanent Expert to the Spanish Council Delegation of ESS ERIC; since May 2018.
Vice-Chair of the F4E PCC (Procurement and Contracts Committee); since January 2022.
MSc Engineering degree in Electronics and Industrial Automation by University Carlos III of Madrid and in Industrial Management at EOI (Spanish School of Industrial Organization); Executive MBA at IMD Switzerland.
Lionel Porcar
Structure and dynamics in lipid based system investigated by Small Angle Neutron Scattering
Institut Laue-Langevin, Grenoble, France
He got his PhD in 97 at the University of Montpellier (France) in Physico-Chemistry investigating lyotropic lamellar phases. Then he spent 3 years as a postdoctoral researcher at HFIR in Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee under the guidance of Dr William Hamilton working on shear induced topology changes on surfactant based bilayer phases using Small Angle Neutron Scattering and Neutron Reflectivity.
He joined NIST NCNR as a SANS instrument scientist for 6 years to finally return to France for a similar position at the Institut Laue Langevin in Grenoble. He is now the principal instrument scientist of the D22 small angle spectrometer and his research interests spread from lipid membranes to fuel cells.
Stanislav Savvin
XtremeD Instrument Responsible, Instituto de Nanociencia y Materiales de Aragón, Zaragoza, Spain and Institut Laue-Langevin, Grenoble, France
Dr. Savvin’s research interests lie primarily in the area of synthesis, physical and structural characterization of new functional materials. His work focuses on the structure-property relationships in condensed matter under ambient and extreme conditions. Recently, Dr. Savvin has been in charge of commissioning and start-up of XtremeD, a new Spanish CRG diffractometer at ILL, featuring high neutron flux and quick data acquisition indispensable for the studies of materials under extreme temperatures, magnetic fields and pressures
