Publication Date:
2023-08-29
Description:
Understanding earth materials is critical to foster technological and environmental development, as well as to advance in Earth-science disciplines, like mineral- and rock-physics, as well as material-oriented (bio)geochemistry. EXCITE, a large-scale infrastructure project supported by the European Union’s Horizon-2020 program comprising 15 European institutions for electron and X-ray microscopy, enables free-of-charge Trans-National Access (TNA) to high-end microscopy and microanalysis facilities to develop community-driven technological advancements on Earth materials. The WP5 of EXCITE aims to facilitate mechanisms and procedures to provide TNA to world-class facilities, specifically addressing new, non-expert or early career users worldwide. By definition, TNA involves a researcher conducting science at a research facility located in a country different from the one in which they are working. The EXCITE TNA programme provides access to 24 imaging facilities in 9 countries. Access is provided on a per-call basis, and is granted following a proposal review process. During the first two TNA calls, almost 150 scientific projects have been supported. Two more calls from both academia and industry users will allow access to facilities until April 2024. Analytical techniques and scientific expertise offered include X-ray micro- to nano-tomography, EPMA, FIB-SEM, TEM, as well as SEM-based imaging, element mapping, EBSD, cathodoluminescence and other specialized imaging tools. Our contribution will present the architecture of the EXCITE-TNA programme and outcomes of the user evaluations, which clearly demonstrate the success of Excellence-driven TNA programmes as a strategic asset of the European research scenario, allowing networking and collaboration and favoring education & outreach in geosciences.
Language:
English
Type:
info:eu-repo/semantics/conferenceObject
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