Inauguration of ALBA Synchrotron
22/03/2010
ALBA, one of the main affiliated centres of the UAB Campus of International Excellence, will work as a large microscope to allow scientists to discover the secrets of matter structure at atomic and molecular levels. The properties of light generated are able to penetrate matter in an extremely selective manner and this will facilitate the analysis of molecules and materials. Each of the beamlines - seven in the first phase - is aimed at a specific use. Some of the applications made possible by these facilities include the study of the biological structures of proteins; the analysis of virus and bacteria; the creation of new drugs; the development of diagnosis techniques and medical therapies; the design of new industrial materials and authenticity analyses of historical remains and art works.
The new synchrotron facility will be a point of attraction for talent since it is surrounded by an important concentration of public and private research institutes and will contribute to attracting and retaining a large number of top level technological suppliers and excellent researchers and professionals. It additionally will have a catalyst effect on the competitiveness of the scientific and business community belonging to its area of influence, given that the synchrotron facility will play an important role in the generation of innovative knowledge, applications and services.
The construction of ALBA was possible thanks to the 201 million euros in investment since 2003, funded jointly by the Catalan Government and the Spanish Government under the Consortium CELLS (Consortium for the Construction, Equipment and Exploitation of the Synchrotron Light Laboratory). Dr Ramon Pascual, president of the consortium and professor of Physics at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, was the person in charge of proposing and putting the project into motion.
The facility will begin to function gradually throughout this year and in 2011 will be prepared to receive some one thousand researchers per year who will be using all seven beamlines.