Diamond unveils the World's largest diffraction pattern

From left to right: Prof. Venki Ramakrishnan, winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, Anne Griffiths, the textile artist who designed the final art piece, and Dr Myron Smith, from Oxfordshire-based biopharmaceutical company Evotec who achieved the featured diffraction pattern at Diamond, and Prof. Gerd Materlik, Diamond’s Chief Executive, with the newly completed World's largest diffraction pattern.

During a visit to Diamond Light Source, the UK’s national synchrotron science facility, on Friday 9th July, Prof. Venki Ramakrishnan, winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, unveiled the World’s largest diffraction pattern – an innovative textile project which has had stitches added to it by over 5000 people in the UK, Europe and America. Diffraction patterns provide scientists with information that can help them to work out the structure of biological and material samples with amazing precision. Creating a large-scale textile representation of a scientific achievement that took place at Diamond has brought science and art together, providing a platform for scientists to explain their research to the public in an engaging and imaginative way.

The unveiling was also attended by Ed Vaizey, MP for Wantage & Didcot and Minister for Culture, Communications and the Creative Industries, Anne Griffiths, the textile artist who designed the final art piece, Dr Myron Smith, from Oxfordshire-based biopharmaceutical company Evotec who achieved the featured diffraction pattern at Diamond, and Prof. Gerd Materlik, Diamond’s Chief Executive.

Prof. Gerd Materlik, the Chief Executive of Diamond, explains why they came up with this initiative. He says: “We believe that science is for everyone and we are keen to open it up to all in new and interesting ways. This project to create the World’s largest diffraction pattern has been about more than a piece of art or a scientific image – it has been an opportunity for members of the public to engage with and learn about the science happening on their doorstep. We are delighted that after 2 years of touring and gathering stitches, the pattern is complete and ready to go on display here at Diamond for our staff, visiting scientists and the public to enjoy.”

A close up of cross stitches that the public sewed on the World's largest diffraction pattern

Dr John Barker, Group Leader of X-ray crystallography at Oxfordshire-based biopharmaceutical company Evotec, and his team achieved the featured diffraction pattern during beamtime at Diamond in 2008. He says: “The information we gain from these diffraction patterns is vital to the progression of our research into serious diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and pain relief. It is fantastic that one of our diffraction patterns has been used to create this unique work of art whilst at the same time widening access to science. Evotec is delighted to have helped fund this initiative and to see that the pattern is now complete and on display.”

The World’s largest diffraction pattern can be viewed by the general public on Inside Diamond days, when the science facility opens its doors to visitors who can take a tour inside the doughnut shaped building where the experiments take place. Click here for more information about forthcoming Inside Diamond days.

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Find out more about the World's largest diffraciton pattern project.

For further information and images, please contact Sarah Bucknall, PR Officer sarah.bucknall@diamond.ac.uk T: 01235 778639; M: 07920 296957 or Silvana Westbury, PR Manager silvana.westbury@diamond.ac.uk T: 01235 778238 M: 07841 432780

Notes to Editors
Diamond Light Source • Diamond Light Source is funded by the UK Government via the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and by the Wellcome Trust. • For more information about Diamond, see www.diamond.ac.uk • Diamond generates extremely intense pin-point beams of synchrotron light of exceptional quality ranging from x-rays, ultra-violet and infrared. For example Diamond’s x-rays are around 100 billion times brighter than a standard hospital X-ray machine or 10 billion times brighter than the sun. • Many of our everyday commodities that we take for granted, from food manufacturing to cosmetics, from revolutionary drugs to surgical tools, from computers to mobile phones, have all been developed or improved using synchrotron light. • Diamond will bring benefits to: o Biology and medicine. For example, the fight against illnesses such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, osteoporosis and many cancers will benefit from the new research techniques available at Diamond. o The physical and chemical sciences. For example, in the near future, engineers will be able to image their structure down to an atomic scale, helping them to understand the way impurities and defects behave and how they can be controlled. o The Environmental and Earth sciences. For example, Diamond will help researchers to identify organisms that target specific types of contaminant in the environment which can potentially lead to identifying cheap and effective ways for cleaning polluted land.