Scientists from The Cyprus Institute Become the First Official User Group to Use SESAME Light Source
Nicosia, Cyprus, 31 July 2018: At 7:00 am EEST on 19 July 2018 scientists from The Cyprus Institute concluded the first ever official user experiment at the SESAME[i] light source, an international state-of-the-art research facility in Allan, Jordan, of which Cyprus is a member. The scientists measured metal element content in archaeological human remains from the region, dating back 5000 and 13000 years, at SESAME’s XAFS/XRF[ii] beamline. The experiment was one of 19 selected by an international peer review committee following SESAME’s first call for proposals last year. Their beam time began at 7:00 am EEST on 17 July, and the scientists worked continuously round the clock, until 7:00 am EEST 19 July.
“I am really excited, and honoured, to have been offered this opportunity - I’ve been waiting for a long time to start using SESAME for our research,” said Kirsi Lorentz, the Principal Investigator and leader of the Cyprus Institute research team that undertook the first measurements at SESAME. “It is doubly pleasing that the first measurements we were able to make at SESAME are of the ancient people of the region, telling us about the past in this culturally rich and diverse area. Science transcends boundaries, and I look forward to continuing our research with Messaoud Harfouche, the XAFS/XRF beamline scientist, and all the team at SESAME."
“The Cyprus Institute is proud to be collaborating with the SESAME Synchrotron at many levels, and we are really excited and honoured that our researchers are the first to begin measurements at SESAME,” said Prof. Costas Papanicolas, President of The Cyprus Institute.
“We are very pleased to have this Cyprus Institute research team as our first official user group at our XAFS-XRF beamline, and honoured to have them begin the first user measurements at SESAME,“ said SESAME Scientific Director Giorgio Paolucci. “This research is also an indication of the support and investment of SESAME to archaeological sciences, allowing the exploration of our common human past.“
The results are now under analysis before submission to a peer reviewed journal. After a short summer break, user experiments at SESAME will resume in September.
Further information: www.sesame.org.jo
Kirsi Lorentz of The Cyprus Institute prepares a sample for analysis at the SESAME XAFS/XRF beamline during the laboratory’s first user experiment earlier this month.