On 7th June 2023, in the wake of the BEATS inauguration, the beamline opened its doors to a group of first users, offering hands-on training on the use of the beamline, data collection and analysis.
The ‘students-of-the-day’ had diverse backgrounds, coming from the Near or Middle Eastern region or Europe, experienced or novice in the use of synchrotron light. What they all shared, however, was a common enthusiasm to use this unique new facility at SESAME and the new prospects the tomography beamline will open for their research.
Here’s what they had to say:
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Roberta Zanini Post-doctoral researcher Center for Cultural Heritage Technology, CCHT-IIT, Italy“I study archaeological glass to understand the alteration processes during ageing, in particular “crizzling”, which is a corrosion phenomenon impossible to stop. My work helps in the development of corrective treatments that are 100% compatible with the original material. With SR-tomography at BEATS, I can obtain high resolution images of how the treatment penetrates the glass and acts as a consolidant.“ |
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Abdellatif Saadaldin
Doctor of Mathematics “Through my work I would like to raise awareness of the impact BEATS can have on research and visibility of research for Palestinian scientists. The BEATS beamline will help develop and facilitate a network of collaboration among researchers from the area and wider afield. It means better access to samples and resources.” |
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Fareeha Hameed
Associate Professor, Physics “BEATS is a demonstration of concepts in place at leading facilities and it is interesting to see them function in a new beamline. BEATS will help study composite porous materials in 3D both qualitatively and quantitatively: porosity analysis, morphotextural analysis. BEATS in Jordan means these advanced imaging techniques are now accessible to scientists and industrialists in the Middle East.” |
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Lutendo Mukwevho
University of Witwatersrand, South Africa “I study extinct relatives of mammals and in particular their gut contents to gain a better understanding of the predator-prey relationship and how these creatures interacted with their environment 250 million years ago. The techniques at BEATS will allow me to perform non-destructive histological studies, dental sequencing and study the gross anatomy of specimens in greater detail.” |
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Jamal Hannun
Engineer, Ph.D. candidate “I study fluid movement within groundwater aquifers. The fast 3D scanning techniques at BEATS mean we can study dynamic phenomena within porous rock. This will help us to increase the water storage capacity of existing aquifers, as well as CO2 sequestration, through a better understanding of the pore-scale physics of the porous matrix.“ |
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Wan Nordiana Rahman
Lecturer/Researcher “My research focuses on developing biomaterials to replace damaged bone for generation and repair. This involves implanting the biomaterial to the damaged area then observing new bone generation and architecture. At BEATS, the sample environment is much simpler than with conventional research techniques. I will be able to visualise my materials in a way that was not possible before.” |
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Gonca Dardeniz Arikan
Associate Professor, Archaeology Department. “BEATS will allow us to carry out cutting-edge science in our region. It will bring samples, scholars, and expertise together and enable us to analyse unique archaeological samples without damaging them. By learning from the past and understanding the adaptation patterns of the ancient communities, BEATS can be used to prepare a better future.” |
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Hamza Elfarraj
Ph.D. student “I study the effect of various dental treatments on the chemical structure of teeth, with a focus on root canal therapy, dental pulp and radicular stones. The advanced imaging techniques at BEATS will provide unprecedented information about the effect of dental procedure on tooth structure. Moreover, these techniques will allow us to explore how different internal morphologies of the tooth can be influenced by treatment.”
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Marieh Al Handawi
Post Doctoral associate “I brought a seed to BEATS to study the dynamic structure of the seed fibre that activates it to twist and bury itself into the soil on contact with water. This knowledge can help us develop new activators based on the principles employed in the seed. Scan duration is a big advantage of BEATS: at my lab, the scan can take hours but at BEATS we have the first images in seconds to minutes.” |
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Samer Mhanna
Assistant Professor in Medical Imaging “BEATS is my first experience of a synchrotron and I am just discovering the tomography techniques that the beamline has to offer. This is the future of imaging and having this installation in Jordan will open a new era for medical imaging in the Middle East. I generally study bone and soft tissue using MRI or X-rays. BEATS goes far beyond the capabilities of these conventional imaging tools.” |
These portraits were first published on the BEATS Twitter account with the hashtag #BEATSisReal.
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