“When the chair of the SESAME Council asked if the ESRF could coordinate a proposal as part of an H2020 call to construct a beamline at SESAME, the ESRF directors agreed that I head the proposition. However, I was in charge of the ISDD (Instrumentation Services and Development Division) at the time, so I asked if Axel Kaprolat could help me in this task. Together, we steered the proposal. It was an intense period, especially while we were trying to get the consortium together and get the different members on board. Once the project started, everybody was very motivated, and it is just fantastic now to see the project getting into shape. It is my first experience of working with the Middle East, and it’s proving to be a very positive one. Not just because I have been able to work with people from different facilities that I did not know before, but because it further confirmed that we need to help each other and to support countries in their development. It is part of the ESRF’s mission to share our know-how with the smaller synchrotrons. Not only is that a real pleasure and a privilege, but it is a lot of fun!”
Michael Krisch is the scientist in charge of the ESRF biomedical beamline ID17 and the biomedical facility. He holds a PhD in Physics from the University of Dortmund, Germany. He was previously scientist in charge of beamlines ID20 and ID28 and led the Dynamics and Extreme Conditions Group at the ESRF from 2009 to 2015. From 2015 to 2019 he was Head of the Instrumentation Services and Development Division (ISDD), in charge of ESRF’s instrumentation programme encompassing radiation detectors, mechanics, electronics, X-ray optics, and software and control systems. He was the Coordinator of the ESRFUP (The ESRF Upgrade) and CRISP (Cluster of Research Infrastructures for Synergies in Physics) FP7 grants. Currently he is involved in several EU grants. He is Chair of the ATTRACT Project Consortium Board and serves on the BEATS Steering Committee. Until recently he was Deputy Director of the HERCULES School.