Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste is a proud partner of the Horizon Europe project NEPHEWS, which provides Transnational Access support and innovative Training Programmes, including the Twinning Programme.
Within this framework, we had the pleasure of welcoming Kalliopi Tsampa, a PhD student at the Institute of Nuclear and Particle Physics of the National Center for Scientific Research “Demokritos” in Athens, to join the Elettra team at the XRF beamline, led by Dr. Giuliana Aquilanti.
Together, they exploited the full capabilities of the XRF beamline to obtain accurate data on the X-ray fundamental parameters of Lead and Gold, essential for various applications, including elemental analysis using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry.
“The Twinning offered by the NEPHEWS programme represents an excellent opportunity for young researchers to fully immerse themselves in an experiment at a large-scale facility,” said Dr. Giuliana Aquilanti, Kalliopi’s tutor.
“It not only provides the chance to conduct a real experiment — with all the practical challenges that may arise — but also fosters the development of professional connections with users and staff. I am confident that for Kalliopi this has been an experience that has inspired her and will positively influence the future development of her scientific career.”
“Participating in the experiment ‘Measurement of Gold and Lead M-shell Fundamental Parameters’ at the Elettra XRF beamline was an exceptionally rewarding experience,” shared Kalliopi Tsampa. “It provided a unique opportunity to explore fundamental atomic data within a highly collaborative and stimulating research environment. The characteristics of synchrotron radiation — its energy tunability, polarization, and monochromaticity — together with the advanced capabilities of the XRF beamline at Elettra, were key in achieving high-quality results.”
Kalliopi expressed her deep gratitude to the NEPHEWS Twinning Programme for making her participation possible. She explained that “the results obtained will enable a valuable comparison between experimentally determined parameters and those listed in widely used databases, ultimately enhancing the accuracy of XRF analyses when gold and lead are identified through their M-shell fluorescence lines.”
Author: Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste