Some time ago, prof. Jakub Szlachetko visited IChF to advertise the new synchrotron that was built in Krakow. Solaris was opened for users in 2018, and from that time onwards, it is getting a steadily growing influx of users. The seminar was just a prelude, as both institutes want to tighten collaboration and get more IChF researchers to discover the possibilities offered by Solaris.
As one of the afternoons during the ML Summer School was free from lectures, Emilia and Steven went on a self-organized field trip to Solaris, which conveniently was only 1km from the venue. The visit was led by dr Anna Wach, who was recently contracted to a joint position by both institutions and will help IChF researchers put their ideas into practice. Solaris is currently shut down. Twice a year, the synchrotron is closed for repairs and installation of upgrades, so Emilia and Steven had the chance to walk more freely around the facility. It was their first time visiting such a place, and it was pretty impressive!
Solaris’ name is inspired by Polish sci-fi writer Lem and the naming system of the five beamlines already in operation follows the same trend. Emilia and Steven saw a nanofluidic electrochemical cell used at the DEMETER beamline and discussed the possibilities of using XAS at the ASTRA beamline for electrochemical studies.
Let’s see what exciting new projects will come from this inspiring visit.