DECTRIS at the virtual DXC 2020
As an innovation-driven company, we do not shy from developing and using new technologies to research, learn and communicate. So, what did we do as we heard that the Denver X-ray Conference (DXC) is going virtual? We started using the conference app with a pinch of worry and few spoons of excitement, and soon we discovered that the conference organizers have done a really good job. Here’s why.
Scientific contributions at the DXC
If we have had any doubts about listening to prerecorded presentations, the DXC has proved us wrong. Digital chat sessions allowed for a high searchability of questions and answers, and a continuous communication flow between the speakers and the audience. Here are some DXC contributions that specifically drew the audience’s attention:
Is it possible to discern the oxidation state of metals using a WD-XRF laboratory spectrometer? Yes, and not only that! Shimadzu’s new spectrometer can also be used to collect a spectrum of 2 eV in a single shot. Dr. Joel Langford has introduced the DXC audience to position sensitive WD-XRF spectrometer Xspecia and showed its use for battery research. If you don’t have access to the DXC app, you can get a glimpse of the new spectrometer on our application note.
Why is Rembrandt’s masterpiece “The Night Watch” streamed live from the Rijksmuseum? A painstaking restoration of this monumental painting (3.63 m x 4.37 m) began a year ago, with an aim to reveal artifacts caused by time and vandalistic attacks. At the DXC, Prof. Koen Janssens has presented what role a portable PXRD instrument plays in the study of pigments used in this priceless work of art. Listen to his talk at the DXC, and come back for more content on cultural heritage by joining our webinar on 2nd of October!
Laser melting in metals additive manufacturing is accompanied by rapid evolution in temperature and crystal phases in the sample. How to monitor these processes in situ? Dr. Anthony Rollett has demonstrated that the combination of a synchrotron beam and the PILATUS3 CdTe detector can reveal low-amount phases, down to a fraction of a percent. The talk is available at the DXC “Imaging session”. For more content on in situ XRD topic, see our webinar on in situ and operando XRD-CT studies.
And how about DECTRIS contributions? We had two! Dr. Dubravka Sisak Jung has presented an overview of laboratory and portable diffractomers, including a new θ-θ diffractometer from GNR, while Dr. Marcus Müller gave a talk on HPC technology at the workshop on 2D X-ray detectors. We are open for questions anytime.
Meet ups & Community
As much as we enjoy virtual chat rooms, we miss meeting our partners and users live. Although the regular exchange did not stop, we can’t help to think what a weird summer it is when we have not met five times already by August! Meeting our partners and users in a virtual room at the DXC was one of the highlights of the conference. We would like to thank our partners Bruker, GNR, Proto, Shimadzu and STOE for their support and the conference organizers for providing us with this platform for digital exchange. We are also carefully optimistic in our hope to see you all in a real space, very soon.
