Diamond appoints new directors

Diamond Light Source the UK's new synchrotron, this month announces the appointments of Professor David Stuart and Professor Trevor Rayment as Directors of Life Sciences and Physical Sciences respectively. The new Directors bring with them many years experience in the use of synchrotron technology and their leadership will guide Diamond into a new era of ground-breaking scientific research.

Professor Dave Stuart

Professor Stuart takes over from Professor Dame Louise Johnson who has been Diamond's Director of Life Sciences since 2003, whilst the role of Physical Sciences Director will pass to Professor Rayment, as Professor Colin Norris steps down after a similar five-year tenure as part of the management team which has seen the realisation of the UK's new national synchrotron facility.

Professor David Stuart has a long relationship with Diamond, having been present at a number of major milestones in the synchrotron's history. In January last year he became one of Diamond's very first users when the facility opened for business. As one of the UK's leading structural biologists, Professor Stuart brings considerable expertise in the field of biological research. He is particularly interested in the study of viruses - their structure, how they interact with host cells and the mechanisms by which they elicit a response to infection in the body. During his career he has determined the structure of a number of important biological molecules including glycogen phosphorylase b which releases glucose from its stored form in muscles, plus several viruses including foot and mouth and blue tongue. He is also interested in the structure of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and to date has published the structures of several of the viral components which have led to insights into the assembly of HIV and how it replicates inside cells.

"My vision for Diamond is that we develop a research facility that becomes the place of choice for scientists to carry out cutting-edge biomedical research - not only because we are able to provide world-class technology and expertise, but also because Diamond represents a user-friendly experience no matter what your area of study. In the future I hope we will attract a range of users from both academic and industry backgrounds, so that we can expand Diamond's life science portfolio and really demonstrate how synchrotron technology can answer a diverse variety of important biological questions." Professor Stuart, new Life Science Director

Professor Trevor Rayment

Professor Trevor Rayment has also played an important part in Diamond's development over the past decade and more - including chairing the working groups responsible for the development of Diamond's first three spectroscopy research stations. Professor Rayment brings with him a wealth of experience in the use of synchrotron technology in the study of materials. His particular research interests lie in the properties of interfaces and he has spent a significant part of his career developing novel techniques for studying the chemistry occurring at surfaces using X-rays. His research has led to new insights into a diverse array of scientific fields, including the use of synchrotron technology to study working catalysts and the corrosion of important engineering materials such as stainless steel.

"Diamond is entering a new and exciting phase of its life - moving from the design and building of a cutting-edge machine to exploiting the wide range of technologies that it will enable. I see my task as supporting the outstandingly gifted team of scientists and engineers who are employed at Diamond, to deliver the best institute for users of synchrotron light in the world. I would also very much like to echo Professor Stuart's vision that we create not only a technically outstanding facility, but also one to which scientists return as their facility of first preference." Professor Trevor Rayment, new Physcial Science Director

Professor Stuart will combine his new position at Diamond Light Source with his academic role as Head of Structural Biology at the University of Oxford's Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics.

Professor Rayment meanwhile will maintain a research group at the University of Birmingham where he is Professor of Physical Chemistry - a post he took up in 2005, following an illustrious 25-year career at the University of Cambridge.

"We are delighted that two of our most eminent users are joining Diamond's management team at such an exciting time in the organisation's development. As our research capacity continues to grow and evolve, the leadership and enthusiasm of these leading academics will surely be a source of inspiration for scientists that come to Diamond, to carry out world-class research that will certainly lead to important breakthroughs in all areas of science and engineering over the years to come." Professor Gerhard Materlik, Diamond's CEO

Professor Stuart officially commenced his post on the Diamond management team on 1 April 2008 and Professor Rayment joins him on 1 July.

 

 

 

 

Notes to Editors

 

Diamond uses arrays of magnets to accelerate the electrons to nearly the speed of light and focuses them to generate extremely intense pin-point beams of synchrotron light of exceptional quality.

 

  

In contrast to the current national synchrotron light source in Cheshire, the beams generated by Diamond will be up to 10,000 times brighter - around 100 billion times brighter than a standard hospital X-ray machine or 10 billion times brighter than the sun