The Australian Synchrotron is a world-class national research facility that uses accelerator technology to produce a powerful source of light – x-rays and infrared radiation – a million times brighter than the sun.
The facility has ten different experimental stations, or beamlines, which harness that light so researchers can see the fundamental structure and composition of materials, on scales ranging from the atomic to the macroscopic – with a level of detail, speed and accuracy not possible in conventional laboratories.
The Australian Synchrotron supports a broad range of high quality research, with applications in sectors from medicine and nanotechnology to manufacturing and mineral exploration. Our highly advanced techniques and passionate staff are contributing directly and demonstrably to scientific advances and industrial innovations with medical, social and economic benefits for all Australians.
Vision
The Australian Synchrotron’s vision is to be the catalyst for the best research and innovation in Australia and New Zealand. The focus for the facility is to provide a thriving environment that is conducive to creating, inspiring and nurturing the best outcomes, enabled by scientific excellence, for users and staff of the facility.
Mission
The Australian Synchrotron’s mission is to enable science for the benefit of the community, by providing world-class synchrotron expertise and facilities.
Core values
The facility is driven by the core values of passion, respect, innovation, collaboration, and excellence.
Our research capabilities
The Australian Synchrotron’s sophisticated scientific techniques provide benefits for diverse scientific and industrial fields and purposes, including:
• Biomedicine: offering new world-class diagnostic, imaging and therapeutic techniques and high throughput structural biology capabilities.
• Defence: enabling study of the sub-atomic nature of materials, sensors and heavy metals.
• Environmental technologies and services: supporting environmental remediation work and analysing soil samples, the quality and composition of fresh and salt water, air and atmospheric samples, pollutants, toxins and contaminants.
• Food technology: analysing the composition of ingredients, assessing the effectiveness of food processes and determining the nutritional impact of foods in the body.
• Forensics: refining or developing new forensic processes, techniques and applications.
• Manufacturing: investigating the structure and characterisation of alloys, catalysts, fibres, textiles, adhesives, polymers, plastics, surfaces, interfaces and coatings; and analysing stresses in engineered components.
• Minerals: supporting all aspects of mineral exploration and mineral processing.
• Natural resources: supporting the development of exploration and fuel processes, the reduction of pipeline scale formation, and fuel cell innovations.
• Pharmaceuticals: analysing proteins, nucleic acids, viruses and biomimetic materials (such as artificial skin and organs) as well as conducting cell imaging, quality control monitoring, identification and assessment of the effectiveness of drug targets.
• Scientific instruments: developing detector technologies, measurement techniques, medical implants and delivery systems.