Speaker: Paul Langan, Director of ILL

LINXS Guest seminar/webinar

Date: November 30, 2022

Abstract: Over the past few decades, neutron scattering has become a vital tool for studying materials across many scientific fields. The exceptional properties of neutrons provide unique insight into structure, dynamics and function that is complementary to information provided by other techniques based on the use of photons and electrons. This improved understanding of materials underpins future technologies and applications that advance human well-being and drive our economy. The Institute Laue Langevin (ILL) operates Europe’s premier center for neutron science and technology, as a user facility catering to the majority of the European neutron research community. The ILL is collocated on the European Photon and Neutron (EPN) campus in Grenoble along with other leading facilities including the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) and the Institute for Structural Biology (IBS). EPN is the research anchor for the GIANT Innovation Campus which brings together over 30,000 people to foster the technological breakthroughs of the future. ILL, EMBL, IBS and ESRF work in partnership to provide access to some of the most advanced experimental platforms for research based on complementary photon, neutron and electron scattering and imaging. To illustrate the extraordinary potential of the ILL to further impact a broad spectrum of scientific fields, I will describe some recent examples of new scientific discoveries made by visiting researchers.

Bio: Paul Langan is Director General of the Institut Laue Langevin, a premiere international research center operating a nuclear reactor that provides intense beam of neutrons for basic and applied research. Over the years the ILL has made several stellar scientific contributions and will be positioned to enable wholly new types of exciting experiments on completion of a major upgrade of its research capabilities within two years. Those capabilities include neutron scattering, isotope production, nuclear and particle physics, materials irradiation, and theory. Prior to the ILL, Paul was an Associate Laboratory Director at Oak Ridge National Laboratory with responsibility for leading the operation and development of the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) and the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) user facilities. Oak Ridge played a major role in the early application and development of neutron scattering to materials research at the world’s first reactor-based neutron sources. Today, the capabilities of the SNS and HFIR are broad and include neutron scattering, isotope production, accelerator research, neutrino physics, materials irradiation, fundamental particle physics, gamma irradiation and materials activation analysis. In earlier career Paul was involved in construction of novel neutron scattering capabilities at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and led several research teams to address scientific challenges in areas including bioenergy, bioengineering, cell signalling and rational drug design. Other assignments in Biology, Chemistry and Physics have included various joint faculty positions as Professor at Universities, editorial positions in journals, leadership positions in professional organizations, and leadership of multiple research projects at National Laboratories in the US. Paul received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in Physics from Edinburgh University and then a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Keele University. Paul’s major areas of research interest and impact have been in structural biology, biomass and bioenergy, computational methods and the development of new technologies and methods for X-ray and neutron scattering.