Synchrotron now even faster, say planners

Australia's first synchrotron would be twice as powerful as originally proposed, the Victorian state government announced yesterday.

The new design, known as Boomerang 20, would not impact on the planned completion date for the facility, which is expected to be up and running in March 2007.

Speaking yesterday at the opening of the Australian Synchrotron Workshop being held in Melbourne this week, Innovation Minister John Brumby said the Victorian government had adopted new funding arrangements for the synchrotron, to accommodate the new design and boost investor confidence.

The government will now provide $AUD157.2 million for the building and the machine. A further $AUD49.1 million required for setting up the beamlines would be funded by consortia consisting of universities and research institutions, other governments and the private sector.

The University of Melbourne has already come on board with a commitment to financial and in-kind support for the project. According to Vice-Chancellor Alan Gilbert, the university will support the cost and development of one or more beamlines, although the details of the commitment are still to be worked out.

According to the synchrotron project's technical director, Dr Alan Jackson, the Boomerang 20 design has evolved from the original design spearheaded by John Boldeman, professor of synchrotron science at the University of Queensland, with the input of the International Machine Advisory Committee, a team of experts in synchrotron physics.

Jackson is responsible for the design and construction of the machine and its beamlines.

The synchrotron's storage ring will now be 216m in circumference, and it will have a capacity of 30 beamlines instead of 24, generating light twice as bright as the original design. It is estimated that it will meet 95 per cent of the needs of Australian scientists.

Its new design also puts it into a world-leading position as an intermediate energy synchrotron radiation source, Jackson said. "The Australian Synchrotron will be a world-class facility that will enable forefront exploration over a broad range of scientific disciplines."

Construction of the new facility will commence mid-year, with commissioning and testing of the machine expected to begin at the end of 2005, project director Garry Seaborne told Australian Synchrotron Workshop participants yesterday.

The workshop has attracted around 350 participants from around Australia as well as leading international synchrotron experts. The main function of the workshop over the next few days will be to discuss beamlines and come up with a picture of what is required for research and commercial needs.