Canadian Light Source Inc. / Centre canadien de rayonnement synchrotron

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It's #TakeYourKidToWorkDay and we have the honour of hosting our staff's grade nine students at our facility today. We hope to inspire these future innovators with a behind-the-scenes look at the only synchrotron in Canada. #STEM #KidstoWork

Canadian Light Source Inc. / Centre canadien de rayonnement synchrotron is hosting a panel at #CSPC2024! Canada’s major research infrastructures (RIs) are critical enablers of the national Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) ecosystem across virtually all science sectors and disciplines and represent a massive investment of the overall STI budget. The new Major Research Facilities (MRF) policy framework is expected to address MRFs as a strategic national portfolio, offering a critical opportunity to strengthen Canada’s approach to RIs and to optimize their impacts. This interactive panel, featuring Kevin Fitzgibbons, Alannah Hallas, Natalie Harrower, Chithra Karunakaran and Art McDonald will inspire discussion on how to ensure optimal outcomes from the new MRF policy, what elements may require specific attention, and will inform key considerations for decision makers. WWW.CSPC2024.CA #CdnSci #CdnInnovation Neutrons Canada The University of British Columbia Canadian Research Data Centre Network (CRDCN) Queen's University

A new testing technique developed using synchrotron light could significantly improve how we monitor the effectiveness of remediation practices for removing selenium contamination from mining activities. Selenium is a naturally occurring nutrient that humans and animals need – in small quantities – to stay healthy. However, exposure to higher concentrations can cause neurological problems in humans and death and infertility in wildlife and cattle. Mining can result in selenium and other substances running off into nearby soil and water bodies, potentially accumulating over time – even if mitigation strategies such as manufactured wetlands or selenium-removing bacteria are in place. “We need mining to get certain resources out of the ground,” says Heather Shrimpton, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Waterloo (Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences). “We can't just rely 100 per cent on recycled materials yet. So, it's important that we have techniques that can lessen the impacts that mining has on people and the environment, and my technique can help with that.” Until now, there has been no way to determine whether selenium is likely to permanently dissipate as a result of remediation efforts, or whether it is being absorbed in nearby creeks or riverbanks. Shrimpton and colleagues found that selenium isotopes (which are the same element as selenium but have different atomic masses) can be used to determine what’s removing this contaminant from water. Changes in the isotopes signal whether selenium is being removed and whether the removal is permanent. Shrimpton’s study is published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. “We need a technique like mine to check if cleanup systems are working -- it's to test to see whether or not we need to do better,” said Shrimpton. In the lab, Shrimpton and her team replicated a well-known remediation strategy called reduction which uses sulfur-reducing bacteria to trap selenium in a solid form. In nature, reduction causes the selenium to stick to gravel and sand in water bodies. Using the CLS, Shrimpton analyzed the isotopes of these solid selenium samples. She found that adding sulfur in specific amounts to selenium prevents the contaminant from mixing with liquids again, which means that the removal from water can be permanent. The extent of the change in the isotopes, she says, confirmed it was the reduction process alone that was responsible for the change. “The Canadian Light Source let me gather extra information on the molecular scale, so I knew what was happening, and I could say, ‘That's it, that's what did it,’ ” said Shrimpton. “It's one piece in solving the puzzle.” Now that the technique has proven effective in the lab, Shrimpton and her team plan to test it at mine sites and expand their study to include other environmental mining pollutants such as mercury. https://bit.ly/4gR97yy #remediation #mining #selenium

New open access paper by Postdoctoral Researcher Dr. Ardalan Hayatifar and colleagues in Geochemical Transactions. Using reactive molecular dynamics, Ardalan simulated dynamics of interfacial processes at ferrihydrite surfaces in water. This approach simulates the physical movement of atoms and molecules, the formation and breaking of chemical bonds, and associated changes in crystal structures. Ardalan shows that this approach can reproduce empirical results, while offering additional insights into the interfacial processes that control contaminant and nutrient mobility and bioavailability in the environment. This research included collaboration among researchers from the USask Department of Geological Sciences, the Canadian Light Source Inc. / Centre canadien de rayonnement synchrotron, and the LIPhy - Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Physics. Support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the EU Horizon Europe Program, and the Digital Research Alliance of Canada | Alliance de recherche numérique du Canada is gratefully acknowledged. https://lnkd.in/eB-zkAhp

In 2022, researchers used synchrotron imaging for the first time to study both the size and spread of bullet fragments in big game shot by hunters. This study, which was conducted at the CLS by Adam Leontowich and colleagues, is being cited amid rising concerns over how lead exposure from bullets can impact scavenger animals and humans. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gQMhBGkp

Using copper to convert CO2 to methane could be game changer in mitigating climate change: Carbon in the atmosphere is a major driver of climate change. Now researchers from McGill University have designed a new catalyst for converting carbon dioxide (CO2) into methane -- a cleaner source of energy -- using tiny bits of copper called nanoclusters. While the traditional method of producing methane from fossil fuels introduces more CO2 into the atmosphere, the new process, electrocatalysis, does not. “On sunny days you can use solar power, or when it’s a windy day you can use that wind to produce renewable electricity, but as soon as you produce that electricity you need to use it,” says Mahdi Salehi, Ph.D. candidate at the Electrocatalysis Lab at McGill University. “But in our case, we can use that renewable but intermittent electricity to store the energy in chemicals like methane.” By using copper nanoclusters, says Salehi, carbon dioxide from the atmosphere can be transformed into methane and once the methane is used, any carbon dioxide released can be captured and “recycled” back into methane. This would create a closed “carbon loop” that does not emit new carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The research, published recently in the journal Applied Catalysis B: Environment and Energy, was enabled by the Canadian Light Source. “In our simulations, we used copper catalysts with different sizes, from small ones with only 19 atoms to larger ones with 1000 atoms,” says Salehi. “We then tested them in the lab, focusing on how the sizes of the clusters influenced the reaction mechanism.” “Our top finding was that extremely small copper nanoclusters are very effective at producing methane,” continues Salehi. “This was a significant discovery, indicating that the size and structure of the copper nanoclusters play a crucial role in the reaction’s outcome.” The team plans to continue refining their catalyst to make it more efficient and investigate its large-scale, industrial applications. Their hope is that their findings will open new avenues for producing clean, sustainable energy. https://lnkd.in/dv_2BiNq #climatechange #sustainability #catalyst #science #research #synchrotron Chemical Engineering Students' Society of McGill University

We are the only synchrotron in Canada and one of the largest scientific infrastructure investments in our country’s history. 🔬 5,680+ scientists from 46 countries and 57 Canadian academic institutions used data collected at the CLS for their research 📖 Our facility has enabled discoveries that led to 7,380+ published scientific papers 🌎 We have been involved in almost 1,250+ international scientific collaborations #science #research #agriculture #environment #advancedmaterials #health #synchrotron #funfacts #sciencecareers

#BehindTheLight: Since 2019 Grant Bilbrough has overseen our 10-member-strong operators group at CLS. He schedules the operators and ensures we have the right people onsite at all times when the synchrotron is running. Back during his first stint here from 2009 to 2013, we didn’t have positions focused solely on operating the machine. “Part of my job at that time was to operate the machine, as well as do some studies on the linac and some of the transfer lines.” An accelerator physicist by training, Grant moved to Ottawa in 2013 for a job with a company making small linear accelerators. Then in 2016 he went to Argonne National Labs (Chicago) to work on their heavy ion accelerator. In 2019 Grant was recruited back to CLS to head up the operators group. “I like to help people to achieve what they are setting out to do,” he says. “If that means helping scientists do their research or other staff to succeed at their jobs then I'm happy.” Grant enjoys the problem-solving that is inherent in his role at CLS. “Sometimes I may be trying to help figure out a problem with a vacuum system or why the machine is responding the way it is or I might be trying to solve an administrative problem.” He recently revamped how we train and qualify our accelerator operators, to ensure the process is not only compliant with our regulators but also provides his team members with a better understanding of how the machine works. Away from the CLS, Grant enjoys spending time with his wife and nine-year-old daughter. He also indulges his green thumb; he and his family have planted close to 700 trees on their acreage east of Saskatoon.

With carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere increasing in recent decades, there is a growing urgency to find strategies for capturing and holding carbon. Researchers from Kansas State University (Department of Agronomy) are exploring how different farming practices can affect the amount of carbon that gets stored in soil. Using the CLS and the Advanced Light Source in Berkeley, California, they analyzed soil from a cornfield in Kansas that had been farmed with no tilling for the past 22 years. During that time, the farm used a variety of different soil nitrogen management practices, including no fertilizer, chemical fertilizer, and manure/compost fertilizer. “We were trying to understand what the mechanisms are behind increasing soil carbon storage using certain management practices,” says Dr. Ganga Hettiarachchi, professor of soil and environmental chemistry at Kansas State. “We were looking at not just soil carbon, but other soil minerals that are going to help store carbon.” As has been shown in other studies, the K-state researchers found that the soil enhanced (treated) with manure or compost fertilizer stores more carbon than soil that received either chemical fertilizer or no fertilizer. More exciting though, says Hettiarachchi, the ultrabright synchrotron light enabled them to see how the carbon gets stored: they found that it was preserved in pores and some carbon had attached itself to minerals in the soil. The team also found that the soil treated with manure or compost contained more microbial carbon, an indication that these enhancements support more microorganisms and their activities in the soil. In addition, they identified special minerals in the soil, evidence Hettiarachchi says, that the treatments contribute to active chemical and biological processes. “To my knowledge, this is the first direct evidence of mechanisms through which organic enhancements improve soil health, microbial diversity, and carbon sequestration.” Because synchrotron imaging is non-destructive, the K-state researchers were able to observe what was going on in soil aggregate (clumps) without having to break up the soil; essentially, they were looking at the carbon chemistry in its natural state. “Collectively, studies like this are going to help us to move forward to more sustainable, more regenerative agriculture practices that will protect our soils and environment as well as help feed growing populations, says Hettiarachchi. “As well, understanding the role of the different minerals, chemicals, and microbes involved will help improve models for predicting how different farming practices affect soil carbon storage.” https://bit.ly/3XfuL6Q #agriculture #environment