JCNS Scientist honoured with ICAA Young Scientist Award
Dr. Iaroslav Meleshenkovskii (Quantum Materials and Collective Phenomena JCNS-2/PGI-4) was selected to receive the prestigious 2024 Young Scientist Award presented by the International Committee on Activation Analysis (ICAA) at the Sixteenth International Conference on Modern Trends in Activation Analysis (MTAA-16) held from 5-10 May 2024 in Budapest, Hungary. The award recognizes outstanding contributions and early career achievements in nuclear analytical methodology and its applications in research and applied studies.
Dr. Meleshenkovskii received the award in recognition of his achievements in fast-neutron induced analytical techniques for the characterization of magnetic materials.
Research activities
Rare-earth magnets, such as NdFeB, are a critical component in modern technologies and their recycling is of strategic importance for Europe. Such magnets are classified together with 37 other elements and 9 substances as critical raw materials (CRMs) by the European Commission due to their economic and strategic relevance as well as their supply risk.
Actions to ensure a secure and sustainable supply of CRMs are proposed in the European Critical Raw Materials Act, including the important issue of recycling. Efficient recycling requires first a sorting of the magnets according not only to their type (Ferrite, SmCo, AlNiCo, NFeB, etc.) but also according to their rare-earth element (REE) content. Such a task requires a suitable analytical method for qualitative and quantitative magnet analysis. On an industrial scale, this is a new challenge since such an analysis must be done non-destructively, rapidly and on bulk, dense material.
The research of Dr. Meleshenkovskii at Forschungszentrum Jülich in the framework of the EU MAGFAST project (MSCA GNeuS COFUND grant) is devoted to the development of a method for rapid non-destructive characterization of such rare-earth magnets in view of their recycling for industrial applications.
Prompt Gamma Analysis based on Inelastic Neutron Scattering (PGAINS) was proposed as a solution for a rapid determination of the elemental composition of permanent magnets. This method measures the element-specific gamma-rays induced by the inelastic scattering of fast neutrons i.e. (n,n´γ) reactions.
The proof of the physical principle of PGAINS has been demonstrated with the FaNGaS (Fast Neutron-induced Gamma-ray Spectrometry) instrument installed at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) using the intense fission neutron beam delivered by the beamtube SR 10 of the FRM II reactor (Forschungs-Neutronenquelle Heinz Maier-Leibnitz).