Speaker
Ms
ANA BELEN MARTINEZ
(ALBA SYNCHROTRON)
Description
ALBA is a 3rd generation synchrotron light facility located in Cerdanyola del Vallès (Barcelona) and it is the most important scientific infrastructure ever built in Spain.
The facility is based on a chain of accelerators which produce, accelerate and store in a synchrotron ring electron beams which emit synchrotron light ranging from infrared up to hard X-ray. Its seven operational beamlines, which allow visualization of the atomic structure of matter as well as the study of its properties, are available to academic and industrial users.
The ALBA Synchrotron initiated a communications and outreach programme in 2013 to get in contact with their different target groups: users, students and general public. The interest in the facility is very high, having more than 6,500 visitors per year (49% of them high school students) thanks to a mix of communications activities: visiting tours, Open Day, courses, etc. The communications and outreach programme also includes out-of-facility activities in order to bring science into society, including the participation of our staff in science festivals, conferences and media presence.
Our aim is to make aware the Spanish population about the cutting-edge research and technology developed in the country, showing the benefits of a science-based economy.
Primary author
Ms
ANA BELEN MARTINEZ
(ALBA SYNCHROTRON)
Co-author
Gastón García
(ALBA Synchrotron)
