23rd JCNS Laboratory Course for Future Neutron Scatterers

15 November 2019

This year, 55 students from 15 countries took part in the Laboratory Course of the Jülich Centre for Neutron Science at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) in Garching. They learned about the physics of neutron scattering in a combination of lectures held in Jülich and experiments at the neutron source FRM II.

The Laboratory Course aims to give a realistic insight into the experimental techniques of neutron scattering and the scientific potential of neutrons. The theoretical part took place in the first week at the JCNS, the practical part in the second week at twelve different scientific instruments at the MLZ. In small groups, the students became familiar with at least five of the instruments.

Although it was only possible to perform training exercises with data that had already been measured due to unplanned reactor downtime, the students were impressed by the opportunity to see components of the instruments that would have otherwise been inaccessible during operation.

Students from various disciplines such as chemistry, physics, materials science, biology, geosciences and engineering, and from a total of 15 different countries, participated in the course, as Dr. Reiner Zorn, chief organizer of the event, was pleased to report. More than a third of the participants were female.
These future neutron scatterers are now well prepared to apply for measurement time at the MLZ in order to use the experimental techniques for their own research.

Further information:

This year saw the 23rd JCNS Laboratory Course take place; it was for the first time supported by three European projects: SINE 2020, SoftComp and EUSMI.