In an attempt to engage more with and call out research policymakers on the grim reality of researchers, a petition is set up for allocating, within the Horizon FP9 program, a minimum and significant amount of money to research. It is “promoted by the European Academy of Science to support “Horizon Europe” and strengthen research and Innovation as the main pillars for a better Europe.”

Please find details of the petition at www.supportforhorizoneurope.com.

In recognition of outstanding contributions in the field of X-ray Spectrometry, EXSA will bestow two Young Scientist Awards, one for a Ph.D., and the other one for a Young Scientist (Post-Doc).

The EXSA awards will be presented and handed over to the winners during the European Conference on X-Ray Spectrometry 2018 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, June 24-29, 2018.

Each prize consists of a 500 Euro grant, and, for the Young Scientist Award, in cooperation with the EXRS scientific and local organizing committees, an invitation to present his/her work as an oral contribution at the next EXRS conference.

Please note that the participation at EXRS 2018 in Ljubljana is a prerequisite for a successful application.

Submission of Applications (including documents):

by email to ysa2018(at)exsa.hu   deadline: February 28^th, 2018

Candidates should submit their applications and documents (pdf) themselves, not via third persons (nominations are not eligible). Documents will be not returned. All communication should be made in English.

After a check of the eligibility criteria, the documents will be sent to the award committee, which consists of randomly selected former awardees. The committee will judge the applications based on objective criteria such as presentations, publications list, and on subjective criteria taking into account personal impression and impact value for the X-ray Spectrometry community.

Ph.D. Award:

Criteria:

1. Excellent recent doctoral thesis which has focused on new theoretical aspects, instrumentation, experimental methods, and/or applications of X-ray Spectrometry, in line with the EXSA topics.
2. Related doctoral degree received from a European institution by January 2016 or later for a thesis in a major European language; the application for this award is limited to 1 (one) time.
3. The age of the applicant at the time when the degree was received must not exceed 35 years. Well-grounded personal time-outs, e.g. maternity/paternity leave, will allow for an extension of the age limit (subject to the decision of the executive committee).
4. The research shall have been performed mainly within European countries.

Please submit

• Your Curriculum (typically 1 page, maximum 2 pages, in English).
• A copy of the thesis (pdf) and of the official Ph.D. certificate.
• A summary description of the research undertaken of typically 1 page (3 pages maximum, in English). Highlight main purposes, methods and results, and the impact of your work. This document should be different from the usual summary of the thesis and should include also a short description of the circumstances under which the work was performed (e.g. individually, as a team member at a university, as an international scientific exchange visitor, etc.). In case of team work please identify and describe your own contributions.
• A list of publications related to the Ph.D. thesis (published or in print). Please include pdf copies of the 2 most important publications in English and justify this choice with a short paragraph (max. 10 lines per paper).
• Valid contact coordinates (email and postal addresses, etc.).

Young Scientist (Post Doctoral) Award:

Criteria:

1. The candidate should have a doctorate.
2. Excellent scientific contribution(s) to X-ray Spectrometry.
3. Most of the work presented in the application should have been carried out within Europe and published in a major European language.
4. Maximum age limit at the time of the EXRS 2018 conference: 35 years. Well-grounded personal time-outs, e.g. maternity/paternity leave, will allow for an extension of the age limit (subject to decision of the executive committee).

Please submit

• Your Curriculum (typically 1 page, maximum 2 pages, in English).
• Copies of your 5 most important publications in English (pdf) and justify this choice with a short paragraph (max. 10 lines per paper).
• A summary description of the research undertaken within typically 2-3 pages. Please highlight the main purposes, methods and results, and impact of your work. Please describe also the circumstances under which the work was performed (individual scientist, as a team member/leader at a university or research institution, etc.). In case of team work please identify and describe your own contributions.
• A list of publications (published or in print).
• Valid contact coordinates (email and postal addresses, etc.).

Please find a copy of the announcement as pdf here.

Contact:

Diane Eichert (ysa2018(at)exsa.hu), secretary of EXSA and speaker of the award committee

In the second week of October, the first Autumn School of the European X-ray Spectrometry Association coorganized by EXSA, PTB and TU Berlin took place in combination with a workshop and a meeting of the Fundamental Parameter Initiative. Around 75 colleagues, 25 students among them, participated in a week of vivid debate and scientific exchange on the subject of “Quantitative Methods in X-ray Spectrometry”. Two days of lectures introduced the students to the subject while the workshop comprised talks about related current research and two lively discussions, one on Fundamental Parameters and the other on micro-XRF imaging.

Bestowal of the poster prize to Malte Wansleben (left) by EXSA president Michael Kolbe (right)

Additionally, the time dedicated to the posters presentation has encountered a great success and has provided an excellent platform for the attendees to showcase scientific research that complemented oral sessions running during the workshop. A poster prize has been organized to recognize a Ph.D. student who demonstrated high-quality research presented in a poster format and highlighted the scientific perspectives of the work. It was awarded to Malte L. Wansleben, Ph.D. student in PTB’s X-ray spectrometry group, for his work on “A compact and calibratable von-Hamos X-Ray Spectrometer based on full-cylindrical HAPG mosaic crystals”.

As the response of the community, both academic and industrial, to this first EXSA event of that kind has been overwhelmingly positive, a continuation of this activity is being considered.

The Proceedings of EXRS-2016 have now been published in two issues of X-ray Spectrometry this year. The first part is published in the March/April issue and the second part in the September/October issue.

The PANalytical award 2016

With the yearly PANalytical Award one of EXSA’s major sponsors seeks to encourage and provide support for excellent young scientists who are at the beginning of their careers. The award recognizes and praises groundbreaking research that required the use of a laboratory X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence or X-ray scattering instrument as the primary analytical technique. As such, recipients will not be limited to any brand of instrument, but rather to research that utilised an X-ray source to reach their conclusions.

The Proceedings of EXRS-2014 have now been published on-line in the May/June 2015 issue of X-Ray Spectrometry.
For a short period the publisher grants free access for the whole issue.

Some of the contributions presented at EXRS 2014 in Bologna are now available online in the early-view section of X-ray spectrometry.

The Society of Friends of Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin announces the bestowal of the Innovation-Award in the field of procurement and usage of synchrotron radiation. The award is to be granted for an excellent achievement which has contributed significantly to the further development of techniques, methods or uses of synchrotron radiation. Scientists and engineers from research institutions, universities, and industrial establishments within Europe are addressed.
Further information can be found in this leaflet.

Furthermore, this society announces the ‘Ernst-Eckhard-Koch-Prize’, which is bestowed for outstanding doctoral theses in the field of research with synchrotron radiation performed at either the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) or HASYLAB at DESY, Hamburg, which were completed during the current or past year.

X-ray Spectrometry has published a special issue including the proceedings paper submitted for the European Conference on X-Ray Spectrometry 2012 in Vienna, Austria. This issue (July/August 2013, Volume 42, Issue 4) is edited by Christina Streli and Andrzej Markowicz. Following the link you can find this issue online.

The Society of Friends of Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin announces the bestowal of the Innovation-Award in the field of procurement and usage of synchrotron radiation. The award is to be granted for an excellent achievement which has contributed significantly to the further development of techniques, methods or uses of synchrotron radiation. Scientists and engineers from research institutions, universities, and industrial establishments within Europe are addressed.
Further information can be found in this leaflet.

Furthermore, this society announces the ‘Ernst-Eckhard-Koch-Prize’, which is bestowed for outstanding doctoral theses in the field of research with synchrotron radiation performed at either the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) or HASYLAB at DESY, Hamburg, which were completed during the current or past year.