Stefano Deledda elected as new vice-chair

Stefano Deledda
Stefano Deledda, Senior Scientist at IFE, Norway

At the ENSA meeting held during the ECNS2023, Dr. Stefano Deledda was elected ENSA vice-chair. Dr Stefano Deledda is a senior scientist at the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) in Norway and takes over the vice-chair role after Dr. Lambert van Eijck.

The ENSA board would like to thank Lambert for his invaluable contribution as vice-chair to ENSA activities. Lambert has been instrumental in mapping the future needs of the European neutron user community within the Horizon 2020 Project BrightnESS2. He was also crucial in drafting the Horizon Europe proposal NEPHEWS, a joint effort of the European Synchrotron User Organization (ESUO), the League of Advanced European Neutron Sources (LENS), the League of European Accelerator-based Photon Sources (LEAPS), and ENSA, which aims at promoting transnational access to both photos and neutron sources.

We are grateful to Lambert for all his work and look forward to his further contributions as ENSA delegate for the Netherlands.

Laureate of the 2023 Erwin Félix Lewy Bertaut Prize is Dr Matilde Saura-Múzquiz

The laureate of the 2023 Erwin Félix Lewy Bertaut Prize is Dr Matilde Saura-Múzquiz, for her impressive early career contributions to the field of crystallography of functional materials, in particular those related to the studies of magnetic and non-magnetic complex oxide structures (scheelites, fergusonites, perovskites, pyrochlores, …) and studies on nanoparticle morphology, nuclear and magnetic texture and magnetic performance of sintered materials, while combining neutron and X-ray diffraction methods.

Besides her multifaceted crystallogaphic work, Dr. Saura-Múzquiz has equally contributed to patenting a new method for preparing permanent magnetic materials. Already at this early stage, Dr Matilde Saura-Múzquiz shows clearly scientific originality and independence in her research. She currently holds an individual fellowship at the University of Madrid, where she develops hew own research, on top of various supervision and undergraduate teaching activities.

The Erwin Felix Lewy Bertaut prize is awarded jointly by the European Neutron Scattering Association (ENSA) and the European Crystallography Association (ECA) in memory of the scientific achievements of Erwin Felix Lewy Bertaut, a pioneer in crystallography and neutron scattering. The prize is sponsored by Mirrotron.

Tribute to Prof. Dr. Michael Steiner

ENSA joins the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin in the tribute to Prof. Dr. Michael Steiner, who passed away on the 5th of November 2022 at the age of 79, in Berlin. In addition to his many scientific contributions and his efforts for neutron scattering at the Hahn Meitner Institut and its evolution into the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Michael worked for our community as chair of ENSA during the period 2009-2014.

In Prof. Michael Steiner we have lost a brilliant researcher and a special person to whom we owe a lot. Our thoughts are with his family and relatives. The  Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin had paid tribute to his work in an obituary.

He shall be greatly missed.