The last few weeks have seen some big announcements about the future of the Australian Synchrotron. After eight months of negotiations, we can confirm that the AS will be operated by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) from 1 January 2013. 

Another important announcement is that our synchrotron board Chair, Mrs Catherine Walter AM, has concluded her five-year term. I thank Mrs Walter for her guidance and hard work on our behalf, and welcome her successor, Professor Richard Larkins AO.

It is time also for me to move on. I will step down as Director on 13 January 2013 when I take up a new position at La Trobe University. La Trobe is the third largest university user of the AS, so this is not an end to my relationship with the synchrotron but simply a new phase.

I have been involved with the synchrotron since the very beginning, contributing to the early discussions that led to Australia’s participation with the Photon Factory in Japan, the bid for the Australian Synchrotron Research Program, and discussions around the Victorian Industrial Synchrotron Roundtable and its conversion to the Australian Synchrotron. I have served on the Scientific Advisory Committee and the ASCO Board, and my directorship of the Australian Synchrotron has been a real privilege and a career highlight.

During the course of my involvement with the AS, I have seen Australia’s engagement with synchrotrons deliver great science and I have seen a world-class facility delivered on time and on budget. To this I can add the satisfaction gained from events such as the open day on 14 October 2012, which was a great opportunity for me to hear firsthand the value that the community places on our work.

AS staff do a fantastically good job at what they are asked to deliver. We have a great culture, and I strongly believe that our new arrangements with ANSTO will help secure the health of the AS well into the future. I am proud to have been able to help that happen.

In a recent address to AS staff in Clayton, ANSTO chief executive officer Adi Paterson said he was very impressed by the capabilities and ethos of the AS. We share the same three objectives: excellent operations, great science and happy users.

Keith Nugent
Director, Australian Synchrotron