Fascination - Science & Technology Facilities Council

Image from the ISIS art exhibition, see inside for more details
ISSUE 4 - December 2010
News from the
Science and Technology
Facilities Council
Exploring & Understanding Science
CONTENTS
Cheaper oil extraction
Taking a closer look
at the eye
Computational Science
takes on global
challenges
Space Weather
Europe’s First Free
Electron Laser
Diamond illuminates
HIV
Daresbury Joint
Venture Approved
QM2 measures sea
temperature

Greener, cheaper oil extraction
Geographical and geological concerns are not the only
factors that make locating and securing energy supplies such
a challenge. It is an unfortunate fact of life that some of the
places which hold the biggest reserves of energy are also
among the most politically and socially volatile places on Earth.
Not only do companies need to use more innovative techniques,
they also need to consider the longer term effects on the
environment. Reserves that would have been inaccessible a
decade ago are now within reach. Companies and academics are
constantly looking for ways to improve their operations to be able
to continue to meet the world’s energy needs.
A research team led by the University of Bristol has used
STFC’s ISIS neutron source to come up with a new way to treat
carbon dioxide (CO 2
), so that it can be used in efficient and
environmentally friendly methods for extracting oil.
The researchers have developed a soap-like additive for CO 2
that turns it into a viable solvent for commercial-scale enhanced
oil recovery to increase the amount of crude oil that can be
extracted from oil fields.
Liquid CO 2
is increasingly used industrially to replace common
petrochemical solvents because it requires less processing and
it can be easily recycled. The difficulty has been that to operate
effectively as a solvent CO 2
needs additives, many of which are, in
themselves, damaging to the environment. This new development
could be the answer.
CO 2
offers an efficient, cheap, non-toxic, non-flammable
and environmentally responsible alternative to conventional
petrochemical solvents. For example, even water as a solvent
comes with its own set of problems; after being used to flush
out oil from rocks it then requires cleaning before it can be used
again, whereas liquid CO 2
can be re-used immediately.
The results of this work have been published in the journal
Langmuir. The paper is the first to come from Sans2d, one of
seven new neutron instruments at the ISIS second target station, a
£145 million expansion to the facility. It is also one of the first to
be published using data collected at the new target station.
The new additive, surfactant TC14, enables small pockets
to form in the liquid CO 2
. Called ‘reverse micelles’ these cause
the liquid to thicken. Neutron scattering at ISIS allowed the
structure of the ‘reverse micelles’ to be studied in the CO 2
as
they formed under high pressure. The neutron instruments giving
this molecular level viewpoint are often described as ‘supermicroscopes’.
The international team includes scientists from Bristol
University led by Professor Julian Eastoe, the University of
Pittsburgh led by Professor Bob Enick and ISIS scientists Dr Sarah
Rogers and Dr Richard Heenan. The project has been funded by
the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and
the US Department of Energy.

ALMA Front End Integration Centre
Ready to Start Production Phase
STFC is participating in the construction of the Atacama Large
Millimeter Array (ALMA), located in the Atacama Desert of the
Northern Chilean Andes.
The project will involve the installation of fifty-four 12m diameter
and twelve 7m diameter telescopes working together as one large
telescope. The site was chosen because of its exceptionally dry
and clear skies, which are required to operate telescopes working
at millimetre and sub-millimetre wavelengths. The quality of the
observing site, combined with unprecedented spectral resolution
and image accuracy made possible with ALMA, will enable
astronomers to carry out transformational research in a wide
variety of astronomical areas, including studying the earliest and
most distant galaxies and probing dust-obscured regions which
are the birthplace of stars and planets.
Key parts of the ALMA project are the ‘Front Ends’, one of
which is needed for each of the 66 antenna. These have up
to ten cryogenically cooled detectors that receive the faint
radio signals emanating from space and convert them into a
frequency range that can be more easily processed. The three
Front End Integration Centres (FEIC) responsible for assembly and
integration of these units are located in North America, Taiwan
and Europe. The European FEIC, which is funded by the European
Southern Observatory, is located within STFC’s RAL Space and has
recently completed the second stage of its operational readiness
review. This review focussed on the test equipment used to
measure some of the key performance requirements of the Front
Ends, such as noise temperature and beam pattern.
At the end of the two day review, the panel declared that the
centre had not only passed, but that they were very impressed
with the high standard of the EU FEIC test equipment. This
validation enables the team to continue with its production phase
with the aim of delivering one Front End to the site each month
for the next two years, meeting its target of 26 by the end of
December 2012, when the array will become fully operational.
The Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA)

Taking a closer look
Particle physics requires more sensitive, tough and smaller detectors
than other applications, forcing engineering breakthroughs which can
be used in other situations.
The largest of the detectors at the LHC, ATLAS will help lead
the search for the Higgs particle, which is believed to provide
all other particles with mass. At the same time as they
pursue these fundamental developments, ATLAS scientists
are taking the knowledge they have gained in their work and
applying it in other fields.
One such example is the subject of a recent paper
in Nature –‘Functional connectivity in the retina at the
resolution of photoreceptors’. A collaboration of scientists
has used a retinal read-out device inspired by technologies
that physicists developed for the ATLAS detector.
Just as an eye converts light and passes the information to
the brain a silicon detector converts light into an electrical
signal that is passed to a read-out system.
The pixel detector of the eye is the retina, which lines the
back of the eye and contains the cells that respond to light.
These specialised cells are called photoreceptors. There are
two types of photoreceptors in the retina: rods and cones.
The rods are most sensitive to light and dark changes and
contain only one type of light-sensitive pigment. The cones
are less sensitive to light but more sensitive to one of three
different colours (green, red or blue) . Signals from the cones
are sent to the brain which then translates these messages
into the perception of colour. Colour vision requires neural
circuitry to compare signals from spectrally distinct cone
types. How these signals are combined and transmitted by
the ganglion cells to the brain has been subject to debate.
This new system records neural signals at high speed with
fine spatial detail, sufficient to detect even a locally complete
population of the tiny and densely spaced output cells
known as ‘midget’ retinal ganglion cells. The high-resolution
recording allowed the researchers to conclude which cone
fed information to which retinal ganglion cell and so trace
for the first time the neural circuitry that connects individual
photoreceptors with retinal ganglion cells.
This research is essential in order to understand how the
retina works and develop potential new therapies for eye
disorders and to possibly even create future retinal prosthetic
devices.
The work is the result of a collaboration including the
University of Glasgow, the Salk Institute for Biological
Studies, UC Santa Cruz and AGH Krakow.

Spinout success
Microvisk Technologies, a spinout company from STFC, is
developing the world’s first medical diagnostic strip based on
a Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) that was originally
created as a movement system for nano-robots. MEMS technology
is used in devices such as the i-phone and Nintendo Wii, as well as
in car engines.
Microvisk has just announced that it has successfully raised a
further £2.5M from its current investors by way of a rights issue. The
offer was significantly oversubscribed reflecting the shareholders
confidence in the progress of the company towards a marketable
product.
Microvisk’s ‘SmartStrip ®’ uses sensors to work out the clotting
speed of blood from a finger prick sample, which is particularly
relevant for diagnosing and monitoring people with blood disorders.
The results are displayed on a hand-held reader. Trials of the
prototype are progressing well and Microvisk will use the new capital
to finalise product development and start the necessary testing to
secure regulatory approval in Europe and the US. The company is also
on track to launch the SmartStrip ® system on to the market in 2011.
Hand-held SmartStrip
Daresbury scientist in £2.4m project
for research into global challenges
Professor David Emerson of Daresbury Laboratory’s
Computational Science and Engineering Department is to play
a major role in a collaborative research project to investigate
how engineering flow systems can help respond to global
health, transportation, energy and climate challenges over
the next 40 years.
The United Nations estimates that by 2050 four billion people
in 48 countries will lack sufficient water. But 97 percent of the
water on the planet is saltwater, and much of the remaining
freshwater is frozen in glaciers or the polar ice caps. Technologies
for large-scale purification of seawater or other contaminated
water to make it drinkable are therefore urgently needed.
The £2.4m project, led by Professor Jason Reese at the
University of Strathclyde and which also includes Dr Duncan
Lockerby at the University of Warwick, is funded by the
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council alongside
support from nine partners which include Jaguar and Land Rover,
the Health Protection Agency and EDF. This multi-disciplinary
team will deliver new techniques for simulating fluid dynamics - a
critical area of research that is key to unlocking these precious
water resources.

Space Weather
forecasters predict turbulent times ahead
Malfunctioning satellites and GPS systems, shutdown of power grids,
and problems with aircraft communication and navigational systems
are all potential impacts of a predicted turbulent space weather
forecast over the next few years.
Space weather - changes in the near-Earth space
environment caused by changing conditions in the Sun’s
atmosphere is studied by scientists to understand the effects
these fluctuations have on Earth. The Sun has an 11 year
solar cycle. Following a prolonged period of inactivity,
with minimal space weather, the Sun is now embarking on
a new solar cycle. For example, a huge eruption (a coronal
mass ejection, CME) occurred in early August and was seen
clearly in images taken by cameras developed by STFC on
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory and STEREO missions.
Fortunately, most of the CME missed the Earth and only
modest space weather disturbances occurred. This new
cycle is expected to see a more active Sun with many more
events like this and some will undoubtly impact directly
on Earth’s magnetic shield (the magnetosphere) and cause
strong space weather events. These events are expected to
peak during the ‘solar maximum’, between 2012 and 2015.

This predicted turbulent space weather will have the
potential to cause disruption to businesses reliant on
modern technologies. Sectors particularly at risk are
those using satellites and telecommunications, including
wireless communications, although disruption to air
travel, especially on transpolar and transoceanic routes
should also be expected. There is also a threat to national
power systems as highlighted during the recent Electrical
Infrastructure Security Summit in London on 20 September
and, in particular, in a keynote speech by Dr Liam Fox, the
UK Defence Secretary. This threat is being studied very
seriously in the USA (where legislation now in Congress will
give federal regulators the power to raise grid protection
standards against space weather). It is also being taken
seriously in the UK where the National Grid is working with
Government and space weather experts to assess the most
realistic worst case threat to the UK.
STFC’s RAL Space has been looking at the impact this
increased solar activity could have on society. Professor
Mike Hapgood, Head of the RAL Space Environment Group, is
chairing a group of experts who are advising government risk
managers on the inclusion of space weather in the National
Risk Assessment. He was also invited to give evidence to
the House of Commons’ Science and Technology Select
Committee, along with other space weather experts and
officials from Government, the National Grid and the Met
Office. This was a further demonstration that the risks from
space weather are being taken seriously at the highest level .
Professor Hapgood has also produced a report with Lloyd’s
360° Risk Insight, entitled ‘Space weather: its impact on Earth
and implications for business’. The report assesses practical
recommendations to businesses focussing on the day-to-day
effects of space weather that are of concern to business
(rather than the extreme events that concern Government).
The good news is that in all of these areas, there are the
means to mitigate the effects of space weather, but they
need to be properly identified and put into practice. These
need a mix of good engineering to harden systems against
space weather and ‘situational awareness’ of conditions in
space. The report shows that there are business opportunities
to create specialist services that help other business mitigate
the effects of space weather and to exploit the market
fluctuations (e.g. on power grids) that arise from space
weather.
Professor Hapgood has been receiving a range of positive
feedback on the report from contacts in the UK and North
America. One interesting piece of feedback suggested
that readers of the report appreciate having an accessible
document.
For more information on the report please visit the RAL
Space website: http://www.stfc.ac.uk/RALSPACE/20023.aspx

Grant Funding Mechanism Review Report
Between May and September 2010 STFC reviewed its mechanisms
for funding the exploitation of facilities and experiments in
particle physics, astronomy, space and nuclear physics (including
associated theoretical activity) in universities and other research
groups. The Review Panel has produced a final report containing a
number of recommendations to the STFC Executive and Council.
The Panel recommends that the existing standard and rolling
grant mechanisms are replaced by a single consolidated grant
scheme containing core and non-core staff post funding. Core
staff posts would be identified by the grants panel as being crucial
for long term support of research activities. The Panel made
a number of other recommendations regarding grants issues
identified during the Review.
Details on the key features of a consolidated scheme and the
other Panel recommendations can be found in the full report:
http://www.stfc.ac.uk/resources/pdf/GFMRPRep.pdf
The Panel recommendations were considered by the STFC
Particle Physics, Astronomy and Nuclear Physics Science
Committee on 29 September 2010 and Science Board on 12
October 2010. The Panel Report was considered by STFC Council
on 28 October 2010.
The next generation of
supercomputer
Petascale computers are capable of quickly performing largescale
and advanced computations that cannot be solved using
normal computers. They are vital tools for understanding
issues facing the world today, such as climate prediction as
well as in the medical and manufacturing fields. To maximise
the performance of petascale computers it is necessary
to develop applications and software that can cope with
the millions of simultaneous computations, and seamlessly
perform these on parallel computers.
The computational science expertise at STFC’s Daresbury
Laboratory is to play a key role in the development of
advanced numerical software and applications for the
next generation of supercomputers that will be necessary
for tackling the world’s health, energy and environment
challenges. STFC is part of a worldwide initiative, led by
Fujitsu Limited and Fujitsu Laboratories of Europe Ltd.
Fujitsu’s Open Petascale Libraries Project (OPL) is a global
collaborative initiative created to develop a publicly available
mathematical library that will facilitate the development
of the software and hardware required to run on next
generation petascale supercomputers.
Working on some of Fujitsu’s next generation
supercomputing kit currently in development,
which is based at Daresbury Laboratory,
computational scientists will be using their
expertise in parallel algorithms and high
performance computing to aid the delivery
of a unique numerical toolkit to advance
scientific computational simulation.
The output of the project will help accelerate
application development for Fujitsu’s Next Generation KEI
supercomputer, scheduled to begin operations in 2012. It
is capable of performing 10 petaflops, or 10 quadrillion
calculations, per second.
Fujitsu’s OPL project is being established by eleven initial
participating organisations, which include universities and
research institutions from Europe, the US, Asia and Oceania,
such as Japan’s Institute of Physical and Chemical Research
(RIKEN), The Society of Scientific Systems, The Australian
National University, The Innovative Computing Laboratory
at The University of Tennessee (US), Oxford University
e-Research Centre, Imperial College London, The National
Algorithm Group (NAG) and STFC.
OPL Project Website: http://www.openpetascale.org/
Target DNA (pink and black chains)
bound by PFV integrase (orange, green
and blue molecules). The viral DNA is
visible in the background (yellow and
brown chains).

e-VAL
Recognising the need to have a robust, repeatable method
of collecting outputs arising from grant funding, STFC has
recently commissioned a bespoke version of MRC’s e-Val on
line data collection system.
Each Principal Investigator will have to respond to a set
of questions that have been amended to reflect the different
nature of STFC’s business, while keeping as closely as possible
to the original to ensure comparability in areas of common
interest. Questions included publications, collaborations and
partnerships, further funding for the research group, next
destination and recruitment, dissemination to non-academic
audiences, technology development, Intellectual Property and
licensing, spin-outs, awards and recognition.
Following a successful pilot of the system with a group of
around 70 Principal Investigators, it is planned to roll this out to
all grant holders during the latter part of 2010 - 2011. STFC will
be in a position to use the data for reporting purposes covering
the financial year 2010 - 2011.
Feedback from the pilot group was positive, and included
many helpful comments. Comments are being analysed with a
view to incorporating suggested changes into the system.
Looking to the longer term, ways are being explored in
which STFC e-Val can be adapted and further extended to
meet the reporting needs of the UK facilities and international
subscriptions.
Technology Breakthrough:
ALICE shines its way to a European first
A light source of unprecedented brilliance, the technology of
which is poised to be responsible for significant advancements
in fields such as healthcare, materials science and sustainable
energy and to open up vast new areas for scientific exploration
that have previously been inaccessible, has been achieved at
STFC’s Daresbury Laboratory.
Scientists working on ALICE (Accelerators and Lasers
In Combined Experiments), an R&D prototype for the next
generation of accelerator based light sources, have successfully
demonstrated Europe’s first Free Electron Laser to be operated on
an energy recovery particle accelerator.
A Free Electron Laser (FEL) is unparalleled in its capability as a
light source. Acting like a conventional laser incorporated into a
particle accelerator, the light bounces backwards and forwards
between mirrors and can be controlled and manipulated much
more precisely than conventional lasers to produce intense,
powerful light with extreme precision.
FELs can be used to help us better understand the fundamental
processes of life itself as they allow scientists to study chemical
reactions in real time, examine how catalysts behave, and
increase their understanding of biological processes, such as the
behaviour of a virus or the location of a drug on the surface of a
molecule.
Particle accelerators themselves normally consume huge
amounts of energy and can therefore be very expensive to run.
However, as an energy recovery particle accelerator, ALICE is able
to recover and re-use a proportion of its energy, making it more
efficient and using significantly less energy. Minimum energy is
used to create the best possible beams of light.
Science Breakthrough:
X-rays illuminate the mechanism used by
HIV to attack human DNA
Scientists from Imperial College London have used
data collected at Diamond Light Source to advance the
understanding of how HIV and other retroviruses infect
human or animal cells. The research, which is funded by the
Medical Research Council, was published in Nature.
Using Diamond’s finely tuned pinpoint X-ray beams, the
researchers were able to determine 3D structures of the key
molecular machine used by viruses, such as HIV, to insert
copies of their genetic material into host DNA.
This fundamental knowledge will not only facilitate
design of better drugs for fighting AIDS, but may also have
an impact on pioneering treatments such as gene therapy;
an experimental technique using tamed versions of viruses
to treat genetic disorders, such as ‘bubble boy’ disease – a
condition where a defective gene results in its sufferers
having little or no immune system making them extremely
vulnerable to infectious diseases and in some cases having to
permanently live inside a sterile environment.

Scottish Space School
120 pupils from more than 70 high
schools in Scotland attended the Scottish
Space School at Strathclyde University
for five days in the summer. They took
part in activities giving them a unique
insight into the career and educational
opportunities available through studying
science, engineering, technology and
maths (STEM). From these students 36
pupils were selected as finalists and 12
were then chosen to go to NASA’s Space
Centre in Houston. The remaining 24 were
given the opportunity to visit the UK ATC
to find out more about the scientists and
engineers working in this field. Their visit
was one of the first events arranged by
a Scottish ESA funded initiative aiming
to promote the use of space to enhance
and support the learning of STEM subjects
throughout the UK.
During their visit, the students enjoyed
a tour of the laboratory facilities, where
they met one of the engineers working
on K-MOS, a multi-object spectrometer
for the European Southern Observatory’s
Very Large Telescope. The students
also enjoyed some infrared camera
demonstrations and observed Jupiter and
the Galilean moons.
Photography captures the striking beauty of science
2 December 2010 – 9 January 2011
This year, STFC’s ISIS neutron source in Oxfordshire celebrates 25
years of world leading science.
To mark this anniversary, fantastic photographs, stunning data
images and beautiful molecular visualisations are now on show in
a new exhibition open to all at Didcot’s Cornerstone Arts Centre in
Oxfordshire, up until 9 January 2011.
The exhibition ‘ISIS: Super Microscope’, which features striking
photography taken over the last 25 years at ISIS, includes images
created from data collected during neutron experiments, some of
which reveal the inner world of magnets and materials such
as glass.
Finding answers to challenges
in health, energy and security
The exhibition aims to raise awareness of ISIS and its research
in the local community and also highlights the new possibilities
offered by ISIS’ second target station, one of the biggest UK
science projects to be completed in recent years.
The exhibition showcases photographs taken by STFC’s
photographer, Stephen Kill, who has spent many years
photographing science in action around the research centre,
documenting some unique experiments and the development of
ISIS’ second target station.
Front cover shows a visualisation of a magnetic material at the
atomic level.
UK Engineering and
Technology Centre
open for business
The ETC building at Daresbury Laboratory
A UK centre of excellence specialising in pioneering
technology to address global challenges such as health and
security was opened on 22 October 2010. STFC’s Engineering
Technology Centre (ETC), helps businesses, industry and
academia find cost effective solutions to complex and often
unique technical challenges, from accelerator technology for
medical applications to custom made technology for airport
security systems, each bringing valuable investment to the
UK economy.
The ETC is based at two locations, the Daresbury Science
and Innovation Campus in Cheshire and the Harwell Science
and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire, where highly skilled
staff use some of the world’s leading science and engineering
facilities for large and small scale projects.

Daresbury partnership
approved
Daresbury Laboratory
The Government has given
the go ahead for a major
development in science
and innovation with its
endorsement of a publicprivate
Joint Venture that
will firmly establish the
award winning Daresbury
Science and Innovation
Campus as one of the world’s
principal locations for
scientific research, innovative
technology development and
entrepreneurial collaboration.
Minister of State for
Universities and Science,
David Willetts, announced
the Government’s approval
for the new public-private
partnership comprising the
Science and Technology
Facilities Council Halton
Borough Council, the North
West Development Agency
and investment development
company, Langtree.
Once contracts are signed,
the 20-year joint venture will
create a 50:50 partnership
between the public and
private sectors and aims to
bring more than 6,000 jobs to
the area during its lifetime,
attracting further domestic
and international positive
inward investment in world
class scientific research and
innovation.
The Daresbury Science and
Innovation Campus is one
of two national science and
innovation campuses, the
other is the Harwell Science
and Innovation Campus in
Oxfordshire.
Two Brand New Space Centres
The social and economic benefits to the UK of the rapidly
growing space sector were highlighted at a Campus
Information Day at the Harwell Science and Innovation
Campus (HSIC) on 2 December, which showcased two
brand new space centres.
The event heralded the STFC-led International Space
Innovation Centre’s (ISIC) place as the UK centre of a
major cluster of international space activities and saw the
European Space Agency (ESA) sign a contract with STFC to
create a Business Incubation Centre (BIC) at Harwell.
ISIC brings together industry, national laboratories,
academia, space agencies and government to maximise and
exploit space research and technology, reinforcing the UK’s
competitiveness and spearheading national growth in the
global space market.
Initially ISIC will focus on understanding and countering
climate change and ensuring the security of space systems.
ESA BIC will complement the work of ISIC by offering a
unique and intensive package of technical expertise and
business support for up to 10 new businesses a year.
ISIC electron building

RAL Space set sail
An instrument developed by RAL Space for the validation
of satellite based measurements of sea surface temperature
measurements, has just been deployed on the Queen Mary
2(QM2), the flagship of the Cunard line. This is the culmination
of a partnership between STFC and the Carnival Group UK
(Cunard’s parent company). SISTeR (Scanning Infrared Sea Surface
Temperature Radiometer), has been fitted to the QM2 in a project
aimed at validating satellite measurements and improving climate
records.
Sea surface temperature (SST) is considered one of the
essential climate variables and is critical in the understanding of
how oceans exchange energy with the atmosphere. SST’s are also
used as input parameters to the meteorological models which are
in turn used to generate accurate weather forecasts.
Global measurements of SST are performed by satellite borne
radiometers that detect the thermal radiation emitted from
the ‘skin’ of the sea. To ensure that the satellite measurements
are accurate, SISTeR is used to provide a calibrated validation.
The ground truthing is provided when the satellite and SISTeR
measurements coincide and the SST is recorded at the same
location by both instruments.
The QM2 is the largest ocean liner in the world and provides
the ideal platform from which to perform these measurements.
SISTeR is positioned at the prominent vantage point, high on
the starboard bridge wing, giving a perfect view of unbroken
water. The mixture of transatlantic crossing (from Southampton
to New York) and tropical round the world cruises give an ideal
combination of hot and cold water measurements which can be
used to validate satellites over the wide variety of SSTs.
Contacts
Science and Technology Facilities Council,
Polaris House, North Star Avenue, Swindon,
SN2 1SZ
Tel: +44 (0)1793 442000
Fax: +44 (0)1793 442002
e-mail: fascination@stfc.ac.uk
web: www.stfc.ac.uk
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