News

Members of COFREND (Confédération Française pour les Essais Non Destructifs) were at the ILL for a visit focused on our imaging instrument NeXT (Neutron and X-ray Tomography). This group of professionals in the field of Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) had the opportunity to tour the ILL's experimental facilities and get insights into the powerful complementarity of neutron and X-ray techniques when applied to industrial research.

The recently published European strategy clearly recommends the exploitation of ILL well beyond 2033 – due to its scientific relevance, competitiveness in nuclear (and particle) physics, and capability for producing radioisotopes for research and cancer treatment.

On the occasion of the meeting in Grenoble of the users of the two largest European research infrastructures dedicated to neutrons, the ILL invited the general public to attend a conference in French at Minatec, entitled "La science des neutrons au service de notre avenir" (Neutron science supporting our future).

As we near the end of the year, it is an appropriate time to look back at accomplishments. In particular, 2024 provides the opportunity to look back to the start of neutron interferometry 50 years ago – the development of this neutron technique is captured eloquently in an article by Wolfgang Treimer, professor at the Berlin University of Applied Sciences, published in September in Physik Journal, the official journal of the German Physical Society (in German).

The lipid membranes surrounding human cells are known to be asymmetric in terms of their molecular composition. The localisation of cholesterol within these membranes has, however, been difficult to pinpoint until recently. Using neutron scattering and selective deuteration, researchers were able to tackle this challenge and to provide deep insights into the complexity of biological membranes. This knowledge can help design articificial membranes for drug delivery and facilitate the handling of demanding proteins.

Future progress will be defined by the development of new and innovative next-generation materials. Despite the magnitude of the endeavour, breakthroughs will depend on understanding at the smallest scale: fundamentally, the properties of a material depend on its structure. A recent study highlights the unique insights that can be provided by world-leading neutron expertise, instruments and technology at the ILL.

The ILL-ESS User Meeting 2024 brought together experts, researchers, and users from across the globe to celebrate collaboration and scientific progress.

The completion of the ILL Endurance upgrade programme was officially celebrated yesterday, 27 November 2024, in the presence of representatives of the ILL Associate Countries – France, Germany and the United Kingdom – and of several ILL Scientific Member Countries, European neutron facilities and key partner institutions.

How neutron studies of exotic materials can pave the way towards quantum computers

Recent awards and publications are testament to the sustained efforts and long-standing contributions of the ILL diffraction group to crystallography, and reinforce our ongoing commitment to advancing scientific understanding in the discipline.

An irradiation in ILL’s high flux reactor produced einsteinium-255 that served as on tap supply of fermium-255, enabling high-resolution laser spectroscopy in Mainz.

How neutrons help us understand the industrial production of therapeutic molecules