CAREER FACTFILE
Beamline Scientist
Diamond Light Source, Oxfordshire
by Andy Smith
Andy Smith is a Beamline Scientist. He joined
Diamond after completing his PhD studies at
University College London. His main interests are
nucleation and growth of inorganic materials,
and the standardisation of SAXS measurements.
Diamond is a synchrotron; a huge scientific
machine, half a kilometre in circumference,
designed to produce very intense beams of
X-rays, infrared and ultraviolet light which can
be used to deduce the structure of substances
at a molecular level. This structural information
allows us to design highly effective new medicines,
smart materials, advanced engineering, and
nanotechnology, and to find out more about the
world around us, from dinosaurs to outer space.
Diamond has 25 experimental stations, called
beamlines, which are used by thousands of
researchers each year. This number will reach
33 by 2018. A beamline is a complex collection
of mechanical and electronic equipment which
can be configured to provide the best data
to answer a given research question. The
schematic below shows the individual beamline
components that help focus and fine-tune the
light before it hits the sample that is being
studied and the data is recorded by a detector.
All images courtesy of Diamond Light Source
12
IGNIS