ESRF-Fraunhofer workshop
On Wednesday 24 May 2023, the ESRF hosted a one-day invitation-only workshop in collaboration with Germany’s Fraunhofer Development Center for X-ray Technology (EZRT), a subsidiary of the Fraunhofer Institute of Integrated Circuits, and targeted the EZRT’s industrial partners. The main goals of this outreach and networking activity were:
♦ To present the world’s most sensitive X-ray scanner for large objects (BM18);
♦ To highlight the unique opportunity for Fraunhofer clients to access industrial tomography and state-of-the-art instrumentation at the ESRF;
♦ To give insights into the data processing capabilities and Know-how of the Fraunhofer EZRT regarding the processing of very large datasets;
♦ To foster collaboration between the ESRF and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, one of the world’s leading applied research organisations that prioritises key future-relevant technologies (by commercialising its findings in business and industry) and play a major role in the innovation process.
By bringing together some of the ESRF’s leading scientists and industry experts with the Fraunhofer-invited industrial partners, the workshop allowed participants to gain more knowledge and insights about the latest developments and advancements in CT at the European Synchrotron.
The event kicked off with a welcome and the ESRF and Fraunhofer ERZT institutional presentations, respectively held by Michael Krisch (ESRF Director of Research of Life Sciences) and Thomas Lang (Fraunhofer Big Data specialist).
The workshop continued with the ESRF scientists and expert presentations and a round-table discussion on industry challenges, and concluded with the visit of four beamlines (specifically BM05, ID31, ID19, and BM18), giving even more insights and better explanations of the potential of synchrotron microtomography imaging, interfaces and material processing, as well as hierarchical phase-contrast tomography techniques.
Athanasios Papazoglou, ESRF Business Developer commented:
“Co-organising the ESRF BM18 – Fraunhofer workshop was an incredible experience, showcasing the power of collaboration between the two institutions. It was a privilege to present the unique opportunities for industrial computed tomography at ESRF to the German industry. Our collaboration with Fraunhofer EZRT continues to drive innovation in the field of advanced X-ray imaging, as demonstrated by our joint effort at Control, the international trade fair for quality assurance which took place in Stuttgart from 9-12 May 2023.”
While Thomas Lang‘ statement, Fraunhofer EZRT Big Data Specialist, was:
“The workshop was an excellent opportunity to bring together representatives from the industry with the ESRF and the Fraunhofer EZRT, highlighting a great opportunity of how the industry may profit from the joint efforts at the interface of unique imaging capabilities of the ESRF and the data processing competencies of the Fraunhofer EZRT. It was a great pleasure getting a lot of positive feedback, especially as co-organiser of this exclusive event, and I am looking forward to a long and fruitful collaboration together with the ESRF.“
Feedback from attendees has been overwhelmingly positive and the collective efforts from ESRF and Fraunhofer aim to extend the impact of this workshop far beyond its conclusion, by keep on strengthening the already existing fruitful collaboration and welcoming new partners in the future, who will be able to benefit from the ESRF advanced techniques and business opportunities.
The event was supported by the Streamline project.
Text by Chiara Facoetti