Message from the Chair

The election of SPRUC’s second council took place on September 26, 2023. As the newly elected chair, I am honored by the confidence they have in me to represent our profession. I would like to inherit the foundation developed by all past chairs and will work on achieving further progress and advancement over the next two years.

The Vice Chairs, Secretaries, and Committee Chairs approved at SPRUC’s third council, which took place on January 12, 2024, are listed as follows.

The year 2024 will be a major turning point in synchrotron radiation utilization research. As the first 4th-generation synchrotron radiation facility in Japan, NanoTerasu will start operation. Furthermore, SPring-8 will be upgraded to SPring-8-II, the 4th-generation large synchrotron radiation facility. As an expert community of synchrotron radiation utilization research, we need to enrich our knowledge and technology to make the most of advanced light sources. To this end, we would like to deepen the discussion on SPring-8-II and related technologies through SPRUC activities, such as SPring-8 symposia, BLs upgrade workshops, and research group activities. In addition, we would like to contribute to human resource development and expand the base of users through SPring-8 Summer School, SPring-8 Fall School, and workshops by the research group.

Collaboration both inside and outside SPRUC is becoming more important when utilizing advanced light sources. It is expected that the improved light source performance of SPring-8-II will lead to a closer collaboration with SACLA users. In addition to cooperative and complementary use with the new facility NanoTerasu, collaborations with other facilities will become even more important as we look ahead to the construction of SPring-8-II. Furthermore, as the advanced development of SPring-8-II has entered a new stage, as a users’ community, we have a responsibility to communicate not only technical requirements to the facility but also its usefulness and necessity to the public. We would like to start this activity and contribute to accelerating the SPring-8-II project.