Every four years, the community of European scientists, experts, and engineers gathers for a week to discuss the latest trends in neutron research and technology. The forum that brings them together, the European Conference on Neutron Scattering, was first organised more than two decades ago. Until now, LENS members have participated only as individual facilities, but this year they wore their LENS hat for the first time.

All nine LENS members from seven different countries participated in ECNS to present their latest research results and developments in the field of neutron science and technology. The LENS consortium was introduced to the audience in prime time during the opening ceremony. Vice-Chair of LENS, Robert McGreevy from ISIS Neutron and Muon Source in the United Kingdom, underlined that the neutron community has a long history of collaboration which started as a part of the European Union’sFramework Programmes in the 1980s. These programmes were extremely successful. They primarily focused on the scientific and technological developments, but also had a strong outreach component. LENS is a natural outcome of these activities.

ST. PETERSBURG – The European Conference on Neutron Scattering (ECNS) was a spree of lectures, poster sessions, and expert talks on the current trends and future possibilities in neutron science. The programme spread over six days and covered a magnitude of topics. If among the 570 ECNS 2019 participants, you could hear how neutron research contributes to studies on gas turbines and batteries, food processing, ancient artefacts, protein structures and more. The variety of presentations demonstrated that neutrons are unique to be applied across numerous science and technology disciplines. Read more on the LENS pages.

"The cooperation among the neutron community has been good in the past and we'll take every opportunity to make it successful in the future" - concluded Robert McGreevy, LENS Vice-Chair.