Major science investment in Germany

In autumn 2000, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research requested the German Science Council to submit expert assessments and science policy appraisals of nine large-scale facilities proposed by institutions of the Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren (HGF), the Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (WGL) and the Max Planck Society (MPG), partly in collaboration with universities and European and overseas partners. The projects for the facilities span broad areas of physics, the material sciences, environmental and geo-science research as well as fields of life science.

The Science Council has placed the proposals for each individual facility in the context of the national and international development of the research fields concerned and considered their overall importance in terms of science policy. As a result, the projects have been divided into three different categories.

The facilities in the first group, which, when implemented, will provide research infrastructures of a new quality, will contribute significantly to the development of the field of research concerned and are expected to lead to new scientific knowledge, are considered by the Science Council to merit unconditional support. Convincing scientific programmes and technical design reports have been presented for these projects. This first group includes the following facilities.

High Field Laboratory Dresden (HLD), proposed by the Forschungszentrum Rossendorf (FZR) and the Institut für Festkörper- für Werkstofforschung Dresden (IFW). The investment costs total Euro2 million. The planned laboratory for long pulsed, extremely high magnetic fields of up to 100 Tesla allows completely new experiments to be conducted in condensed matter physics and the material sciences.

High Altitude and Long Range Research Aircraft (HALO), proposed by the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR—German Aerospace Centre) and the Max Planck Society (MPG). The investment costs total Euro97 million. HALO offers enhanced capabilities compared to the current research aircraft and is expected to contribute significantly to international research on global change as well as to geo-physical research.

In the case of the second group of facilities, which, when implemented, will also provide research infrastructures of a new quality, there are certain questions which still require clarification. For this reason, the Science Council feels this group of facilities can be supported when certain conditions have been fulfilled. The Science Council requests the Federal Government to submit the project proposals again subsequent to revision in accordance with the requirements. This group includes the following facilities.

TeV-Energy Superconducting Linear Accelerator (TESLA), which under the supervision of the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) is being planned as a global cooperation project. The investment costs total Euro3.45 billion. TESLA will provide answers to fundamentally important questions in elementary particle physics and cosmology.

TESLA X-ray Free Electron Laser (TESLA X-FEL), proposed as part of the international TESLA project supervised by DESY. According to the current plans, the investment costs for the X-FEL amount to Euro673 million. Owing to the high luminosity and time resolution of the X-FEL, a completely new quality of experiments can be expected for many areas of research in the natural, life, geo- and material sciences.

International Accelerator Facility for Beams of Ions and Antiprotons, proposed by the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt (GSI). The investment costs total Euro675 million. The proposed facility opens up new avenues in basic and applied research, above all in the fields of nuclear, hadron, atomic and plasma physics.

For the third group of facilities, the Science Council is submitting specific statements for various reasons. Should continuation of the work on the scientific programme and on the technical design report for these facilities lead to further knowledge and to a new project proposal, it will be necessary to carry out a new assessment. This group includes the following facilities:

Soft X-ray Free Electron Laser (Soft X-ray-FEL), proposed by the Berliner Elektronenspeicherring-Gesellschaft für Synchrotronstrahlung mbH (BESSY).

European Spallation Source (ESS), planned as part of a European cooperation project with the participation of the Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ) and the Hahn-Meitner-Institut (HMI).

High Magnetic Field Facility for Neutron Scattering Research, proposed by the Hahn-Meitner-Institut (HMI).

The statement on the facilities for basic scientific research (Drs. 5363/02) will be published on the Internet in unabridged form (www.wissenschaftsrat.de). Alternatively, it can be requested per e-mail from the Science Council Secretariat (post@wissenschaftsrat.de). www.wissenschaftsrat.de.

Time-resolved Raman

A team from CLRC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Central Laser Facility (Didcot, UK), led by Dr Anthony Parker, has developed a new high-speed “shutter” for use in picosecond time-resolved resonance Raman spectroscopy. This device overcomes the problems associated with making Raman measurements from samples that fluoresce, where the fluorescence swamps the smaller Raman signal.

The shutter is a specially-developed Optical Kerr Gate device, which is triggered by a laser flash to open for just 4 ps. While the gate is open, another laser beam irradiates the sample and the resulting Raman spectrum is measured. The system makes use of the fact that the Raman scattering occurs much faster than the fluorescence process. The fluorescence suppression ratio achievable depends on the fluorescence lifetime and can be approximately 10⁵ for long-lived fluorescence species (>1 µs) and around 10²–10⁴ for lifetimes in the range of 1–100 ns.

By combining the method with a second technique, shifted excitation Raman difference spectroscopy (SERDS), an even stronger fluorescence background removal effect can be obtained. The SERDS technique relies on exciting the sample with two slightly shifted probe excitation wavelengths. The difference in wavelength means that two Raman spectra are generated but shifted by the difference in the two probe wavelengths used. However, the fluorescence profile remains the same and this background can be eliminated by subtracting the two spectra from each other. The combined technique allows Raman spectra to be recovered from an intense fluorescence background with a signal-to-noise ratio at least 10 times higher than is achievable with either technique individually.

The new Kerr gate can operate over a wavelength range of 300–700 nm and has 40% transmission. www.clrc.ac.uk.

PROBA images

PROBA (Project for On Board Autonomy) is a small satellite (97 kg, 60 × 60 × 60 cm) developed by the European Space Agency (ESA), which operates with limited intervention from the ground. It carries six payloads, all dedicated to research. One of these is the Compact High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (CHRIS) produced by Sira Electro-Optics (UK). This instrument will provide measurement of directional spectral reflectance of land areas, enabling new land surface biophysical and biochemical information to be derived and multiple imaging of the same target area under different viewing and illumination geometries. Some of the first images produced by CHRIS are now available on the ESA web site: www.esa.int/estec/proba/motion.htm.

The Ardennes as seen by the CHRIS on ESA’s PROBA satellite. Photo: ESA.

Bacterial contamination of meat

Researchers at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth (UWA) have developed a new rapid procedure, based on FT-IR spectroscopy, to detect the bacterial contamination of meat products. Dr Roy Goodacre and Mr David Ellis in the Institute of Biological Sciences use horizontal ATR FT-IR spectroscopy coupled with machine learning algorithms to estimate the bacterial total viable count directly off the surface of muscle foods. The effectiveness of this technique has been established through a detailed investigation of the natural spoilage process on chicken breast muscle. The speed of the technique is a great improvement on conventional means.

Philips sells x-ray business

Royal Philips Electronics and Spectris plc (Egham, UK) have reached a preliminary agreement that Philips will sell its x-ray analytical business to Spectris for a total amount of Euro150 million. Spectris produces precision instrumentation and controls, employing 5000 people worldwide and producing annual sales of £540 million in 2001.

Philips have been focusing on their main activities and are “reviewing our options with respect to the remaining parts; opto-acoustic and ellipsometry” of the analytical business. Hans Nilsson, Chief Executive of Spectris, commented: “This acquisition is in line with our strategy. Philips Analytical’s x-ray-based technologies complement our existing instrumentation business and enable us to enter new markets such as materials research and life sciences.”

The new business will be renamed PANalytical and will form part of Spectris’ Process Technology sector. www.philips.com, www.spectris.com.

PT accreditation

The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) hosted a Proficieincy Testing certificate presentation event on 4 July. Eight laboratories were accredited against ISO Guide 43. These are: LGC, Public Health Laboratory Service (Food and Water Schemes), Veterinary Laboratory Agency, Forensic Science Service, Quality Management, Central Science Laboratories and Randox. info@ukas.com, www.ukas.org.

Science & Public Affairs

The June issue of the British Association for the Advancement of Science’s (BA) bimonthly magazine Science & Public Affairs offers some interesting views from UK scientists. Professor Norman Sheppard, Chemical Sciences, University of East Anglia, proposes a solution for maintaining public faith in the impartiality of scientific advice despite more funding from industry. Sheppard suggests a new Research and Monitoring Unit working as a “think-tank” within the office of the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister. The Unit would carry out scientific assessment of evidence, independent of commercial or Government departmental considerations, to put before regulatory committees. It would also have the option of inspecting laboratory records as part of scientific journals’ refereeing system.

Professor Richard Joyner, Chair of Save British Science, believes the European Union’s FP6 gives small signs for optimism, but the approach to research seems to be the opposite of that which is needed for success. It remains too confused about its raison d’etre and too politicised in its resource allocation mechanisms. Joyner adds that its investment is siphoning off funds intended for other purposes, since it never pays the full costs of the work that it supports. He believes that the EU’s structure probably makes it impossible to implement a successful research and science policy and that a fundamental rethink is likely to be needed. www.the-ba.net..