Scientist for the MAIA (Materials Imaging and Analysis) beamline at Elettra

Beamline / Project / Activity description

The SYRMEP beamline at Elettra has been operating since more than 20 years applying advanced hard X-ray imaging techniques in the field of biomedicine, preclinical studies and materials science. In the field of material science, the main research activities include the study of bio- and geo-materials and cultural heritage applications. Innovative materials are investigated in situ and in real-time under specific environmental conditions (high temperature, controlled atmosphere, mechanical testing, etc…) or in operando. Absorption and phase-contrast X-ray microtomography are the most used techniques in the field of hard X-ray imaging at third generation synchrotron radiation sources. See http://www.elettra.eu/elettra-beamlines/syrmep.html for more information. In order to meet the requests of the hard X ray imaging materials science, geosciences and cultural heritage user groups Elettra is planning an upgrade of the existing facilities and the construction of a new beamline that will be optimized to fulfil the requirements of these communities. The new beamline will operate with a super bending magnet source giving optimized performances.

Job description

The successful candidate will work closely with the beamline coordinator and the staff of the SYRMEP beamline, as well as with the staff of the Scientific Computing group at Elettra, in order to achieve the planned upgrades of the existing facilities and a reliable and efficient user operation of the new MAIA beamline. She/he will contribute to the design, construction and optimization of the experimental stations of the MAIA beamline in order to meet the requirements the scientific users community related to material science imaging. New standardized imaging protocols will be developed to facilitate the use of the micro-CT facilities by non-expert users as well as tutorials for beamline operation, image acquisition, data reconstruction processing and analysis. He/she will participate in the design and implementation of the technical developments of the beamline as well as in the scientific activities involving hard X-ray imaging techniques at Elettra. She/he is also expected to establish new research collaborations and to be involved in submitting proposals to suitable funding agencies.