We are pleased to invite you to a symposium celebrating Dr Gwyndaf Evans and his contributions to synchrotron science in the life sciences, as he prepares to leave Diamond Light Source in February.
Gwyndaf earned his PhD in Physics from the University of Warwick in 1994, focusing on the application of anomalous scattering using synchrotron radiation at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Hamburg. His postdoctoral work took him to the Advanced Photon Source (Chicago), the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, and Global Phasing Ltd in Cambridge.
Joining Diamond in 2004 as a Beamline Scientist on I04/MX, Gwyndaf went on to design and build the microfocus crystallography beamline I24, followed by the nanofocus crystallography beamline VMXm. More recently, he has led the development of the flagship High‑energy Electron X‑ray Crystallography Instrument (HeXI), integrating X‑ray crystallography expertise into a high‑energy electron diffractometer.
Alongside his instrumental role in advancing crystallography technologies and methodologies, Gwyndaf has been deeply involved in data‑analysis pipelines and leads the DIALS (Diffraction Integration for Advanced Light Sources) software project. Since 2020, he has served as Deputy Director of Life Sciences at Diamond, shaping strategy and supporting world‑class structural biology at the synchrotron. His work has helped enable cutting‑edge experiments, equip the community with robust tools, and strengthen Diamond’s reputation for innovation and impact.
The symposium will feature talks from colleagues, collaborators, and friends, reflecting the breadth of Gwyndaf’s work—from macromolecular crystallography and advanced X‑ray methods to experiment design and next‑generation data analysis. These sessions will showcase the ideas and infrastructure he has championed throughout his career.
We look forward to celebrating Gwyndaf’s many contributions and to bringing the community together to discuss the science he has inspired and enabled.
