XMaS: The UK Materials Science Facility at the ESRF
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Warwick
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
People |
ORCID iD |
Thomas Hase (Principal Investigator) | |
Malcolm Cooper (Co-Investigator) |
Publications
Treacy JPW
(2019)
Structure of a Superhydrophilic Surface: Wet Chemically Prepared Rutile-TiO2(110)(1 × 1).
in The journal of physical chemistry. C, Nanomaterials and interfaces
Tripathy A
(2018)
Facile Fabrication of Multifunctional ZnO Urchins on Surfaces
in Colloids and Interfaces
Vita F
(2019)
Liquid crystal thermosets. A new class of high-performance materials
in Liquid Crystals
Weigel T
(2024)
Picometer atomic displacements behind ferroelectricity in the commensurate low-temperature phase in multiferroic YMn 2 O 5
in Physical Review B
Winokur M
(2020)
Modeling of Grazing-Incidence X-ray Diffraction from Naphthyl End-Capped Oligothiophenes in Organic Field-Effect Transistors
in Crystal Growth & Design
Wlodek M
(2020)
Structural evolution of supported lipid bilayers intercalated with quantum dots.
in Journal of colloid and interface science
Xia T
(2023)
Effective and Fast-Screening Route to Evaluate Dynamic Elastomer-Filler Network Reversibility for Sustainable Rubber Composite Design
in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
Zeng X
(2023)
A columnar liquid quasicrystal with a honeycomb structure that consists of triangular, square and trapezoidal cells.
in Nature chemistry
Zhao B
(2018)
High-efficiency perovskite-polymer bulk heterostructure light-emitting diodes
in Nature Photonics
Zhou L
(2019)
Graphene surface structure in aqueous media: Evidence for an air-bubble layer and ion adsorption
in Carbon
Description | Collaborative research with 4-ID-D at the APS |
Organisation | Argonne National Laboratory |
Department | Advanced Photon Source |
Country | United States |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Development of new magnetic scattering protocols for SR metrologies. Alignment and control of x-ray phase plates. Access to beamtime |
Collaborator Contribution | Transfer of expertise and knowledge. Access to beamtime |
Impact | New experimental strategies implemented on XMaS beamline |
Start Year | 2007 |
Description | XMaS Scientist Experience |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | The XMaS Scientist Experience is a nationwide competition aimed at encouraging young women to consider careers in science, by showing them some opportunities available to them and introducing them to inspirational role models, all within the international setting of the EPN campus. The applicants are required to write about a famous female scientist, her contribution to promoting the cause of women in science, and their own motivation for entering the competition. The prize for the competition winners is a 5 day trip to Grenoble, France. The group of up to 16 year-12 female students visits the ESRF, including XMaS, as well as nearby laboratories. A major part of the trip is to take part in the Synchrotron@school programme run by the ESRF. The winners also share a lunch with women scientists, engineers, technicians and students who work there with one woman available for every 2 girls, which allows for in-depth conversations. After the trip, the girls share their experiences with family and friends and their peers, further influencing the views of the students' support groups. Both winners and their families have been full of praise for the initiative. The XMaS Scientist Experience has allowed its winners to experience what life as a scientist could be, far from the clichés that still exist. As females students, many stressed how empowered they felt after the trip. Charlotte, a participant in one trip declared: "This whole experience has been absolutely incredible- it has shown me the whole world of opportunities there are out there for women in science, and that a career in physics isn't out of my reach". The winners we have managed to follow over the years went on to study STEMM (Science, Technology Engineering Mathematics and Medicine) at university, with two currently studying Physics at the University of Warwick. Winners are keen to act as ambassadors and advertise the competition amongst their peers, often with winners writing a piece in their schools' newsletters. The programme has received a lot of attention on social media (XMaSScientist, @XMaSBeam) as well as recently in more main-stream media, including BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire as part of their morning radio show. The winners are also an integral part of the annual Warwick Science Gala, which is an evening for school pupils of all ages promoting STEMM in an interactive environment and will run again in 2023. The XMaS Scientist Experience has now been running for 6 years, allowing us to reflect on the outcomes of the trips. The enthusiasm of the participants afterwards is remarkably positive and they all comment that it is an eye-opener to the roles that they could play as future women in science. The first few years' entrants came only from schools located near the XMaS hubs of Liverpool and Coventry (Warwick) areas. Applicants come now from schools located as far away as Londonderry, Exeter and Lancashire. We have actively started to target students from Widening Participation backgrounds. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017,2018,2019,2020,2022,2023 |
URL | http://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/xmas/impact/outreach/xmas_scientist_experienceb/ |