ESS Science Seminar in Brussels

Organised in close collaboration with the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO) and the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK-CEN), the event attracted more than 35 scientists, academics, researchers, and policy makers, who engaged in vivid dialogue with the ESS delegation. The seminar comprised a full-day program hosted at the historical building of the Palace of Academies.

"We have gathered here to get the flavour of the beautiful science that can be done at ESS," said Eric van Walle, Director-General of SCK-CEN when welcoming the participants. Belgium is a Founding Observer of the European Spallation Source ERIC and the event aimed to strengthen dialogue between ESS and Belgian researchers. "We have a long history of interactions with the Belgian scientific community," noted John Womersley, Director General of ESS.

The opening address was delivered by Jan Schonk, Vice Chief of Cabinet of State Secretary for Combating Poverty, for Equal Opportunities, for Disabled People and for Science Policy, in charge of Larger Towns, attached to the Minister of Security and Home Affairs. He introduced the audience to the Belgian science policy at the federal level and governmental R&D investments in the country.

Presentations that followed gave an update on the current status of the ESS project, general overview of the ESS instrument suite, and explored collaboration opportunities with MYRRHA (Multi-purpose hYbrid Research Reactor for High-tech Applications) and the Belgian industry.

The afternoon was fully dedicated to scientific fields which are of special interest to Belgium and included fundamental physics, soft matter and structural biology. Speakers from Belgian institutes and universities presented results of their latest research and the expertise of the community in these particular areas. Their talks were complemented by presentations from instrument, neutron beam and shielding scientists at ESS, who familiarised the audience with future research possibilities unveiled by the novel ESS instrumentation. The event demonstrated that Belgian scientists have conducted excellent research and have strong competence in the scientific topics covered by ESS.

"We have seen today that the ESS instruments are slowly coming to life and that the future science at ESS is becoming more concrete. This was very enriching for our community," concluded Hamid Aït Abderrahim, Deputy Director-General of SCK-CEN and Director of the MYRRHA project.