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0=-- Annual Report 2007-2008 •rNCH.O'F.ON -.Afiii&T'ION o• Aa'FM.Nr Science &. Technology 0 Faci lities Council Contents Chapter 1 Executive summary 3 Chapter 2 Introduction 11 Chapter 3 Economic impact methodology 15 Chapter 4 SRS introduction & background 23 The global impact of the SRS Chapter 5 Impacting the world’s synchrotron community 31 Chapter 6 Addressing global challenges 39 Chapter 7 Pushing the boundaries of technology 57 Indirect impacts Chapter 8 The generation of skills from the SRS 65 Chapter 9 Public understanding of science 75 Chapter 10 Growing UK industry 79 Chapter 11 Helping to solve industrial problems 85 Chapter 12 Exchanging knowledge with industry 97 Direct local impacts Chapter 13 Local financial impact of the SRS 115 Seeding future impacts Chapter 14 Providing the next generation of impact 123 Chapter 15 Shaping the future of science and innovation 131 Chapter 16 Conclusions 139 Chapter 17 Methodological issues 147 Appendices 151 Glossary 203 Acknowledgements 211 1 4 Chapter 1 Executive summary 4 Chapter 1 Executive summary Cleaner fuel, safer aircraft and new improved competitiveness of industry, the medicines, not to mention two Nobel prizes, commercialisation of technology, financial effects great tasting chocolate and iPods - all of and the creation of jobs. these things have been influenced or made possible by world leading scientific research Global impacts carried out on the Synchrotron Radiation Source (SRS). Located at the Science and The impact of the SRS has been felt on a number of Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) different levels. The most significant impacts are Daresbury Laboratory, the SRS was the global and long term impacts both from the world’s first 2nd generation multi user X-ray research carried out at the SRS and from the synchrotron radiation facility. The facility proliferation of synchrotron radiation sources and their resulting impact around the world. ceased operations in 2008 after 28 years of operation and two million hours of science Fuelling the impact of the world’s synchrotrons The which was undertaken by a wide-ranging, SRS was the world’s first 2nd generation multi user cross-discipline, national and international X-ray synchrotron radiation facility and as such user base. provided an exemplar for Synchrotron Radiation facilities across the globe. The SRS pioneered the way for the development of 70 similar machines; this worldwide synchrotron community is providing ‘‘The SRS was one of the world’s most impact on a global scale. Staff from the SRS played pioneering scientific inventions and Daresbury a significant role in the establishment of these can be very proud of its outstanding facilities, having formal collaborations with 40% achievements.1’’ and informal collaborations with the majority. SRS staff played a key role in training, advising and transferring key skills and technology to these facilities. This report is the first complete study in the world The world’s synchrotron radiation facilities are used which explores the social and economic impact of a large science facility over its whole lifetime. This to conduct scientific research which explores the world through a detailed knowledge of the impact has been vast and will continue years after structure of matter. These facilities are used in a the closure of the facility. This report highlights the variety of scientific fields and science carried out on many ways in which the SRS has impacted at the Synchrotron Radiation facilities makes a variety of regional, national and international level. The SRS has not only impacted the scientific, industrial and contributions to society. Examples include, addressing global challenges such as research into skill base of the UK but has also produced impact the environment and energy. Synchrotrons around on a world wide scale. Impacts from the SRS include the world have ensured the development of new the creation of knowledge, improved quality of life drugs, medicines, technologies; products and in the UK, the generation and transfer of skills, materials. 1 Professor Colin Whitehouse, STFC’s Director of Campus Strategy, speaking at the closing ceremony of the SRS in August 2008 5 One example area in which the world wide 1200 protein structures which have been deposited synchrotron community has had a global impact is in the worldwide Protein Data Bank database the area of bioscience. Pharmaceutical and repository. The contribution to the global pool of bioscience companies have recognised the huge research knowledge is another example of commercial potential that lies behind understanding significant, yet unquantifiable impact of the facility. the multitude of processes that take place within living organisms at a molecular level. Advances in Quality of life impacts Structural Biology have accelerated greatly as a The SRS has improved the quality of our lives in a result of access to the synchrotron facilities that remarkable number of ways. Examples include the have been developed around the world. development of new medicines and medical research such as control of host-graft rejection and Sophisticated analysis methods and software HIV/AIDS. In addition, the SRS has facilitated the packages involving new scientific fields on the SRS production of new materials for use in electronics were developed and distributed and used all over and clothing and it has led to the development of the world. For example, one of the major impacts of new detergents. It has even played a role in the facility has been the emergence of techniques improving the taste of chocolate and the safety of to facilitate structural biology, in particular protein aircraft by looking at the crystal formations in crystallography (PX). This technique was pioneered chocolate and metal. Recent research on the SRS at the SRS, making the UK a world leader in this even paved the way for bigger iPod memories. area. This strength has supported the skills base and Another famous example is the crystal structure of R&D competitiveness of the world’s pharmaceutical the Foot and Mouth Disease Virus, which created and biotechnology industries. This was one of many large media impact and recognition in the public impacts which were not envisaged at the outset of domain. the facility. This highlights the somewhat serendipitous nature of basic science meaning that Whilst these examples directly impact on people’s certain high impact developments cannot always be quality of life, they also have a financial impact on predicted. the Government, industry and ultimately the tax payer. For example the Foot & Mouth outbreak in Although the overall impact of the worldwide 2001 cost the Government and industry £8.4 synchrotron community is impossible to quantify it billion2. The structure of the Foot & Mouth Disease has been significant. With numbers of facilities Virus was solved at the SRS for the first time and growing every year, the impact of the SRS will this research has allowed vaccines to be developed. continue to be felt many years into the future. Foot & Mouth disease is endemic in many countries around the world and this vaccine may defray some Creation of knowledge of the negative economical and social impacts The SRS played a key role in enabling and performing which the disease produces. cutting edge research in many areas of UK and international science. During its lifetime, the SRS has collaborated with almost every country active in Indirect impacts scientific research. The SRS produced beams of light so intense that they revealed the structure of atoms Innovation was a constant factor throughout the and molecules inside a wide range of different lifetime of the facility. This continued from the birth materials. Over the lifetime of the SRS, synchrotron of the facility using a particle physics experiment to light supported cutting-edge the innovative use of equipment after its closure. research in biology, chemistry, materials science and This produced indirect medium to long term impacts physics and opened up many new areas of research on the UK, which are continuing after the closure of in fields such as medicine, earth sciences (including the facility – both geological and environmental studies) and Improving the performance of UK industry archaeology. The SRS has contributed to the publication of over 5000 papers and solved over The SRS impacted UK industry in several ways, the first being usage of the facility by industry to 2 http://www.archive.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/fmd/fmd_report/report/index.htm 6 investigate the properties of materials including Creating new companies in the UK structures of pharmaceuticals and their protein Skills, technology and knowledge gained on the SRS targets. Over its lifetime, the SRS had approximately have helped in the creation of 9 new companies 200 proprietary customers including government and one commercial service provider. These new departments, industry, hospitals, museums, companies are in a range of areas which include universities and other Synchrotron Radiation scientific instrumentation, detectors, cholesterol sources. The industry sectors which benefited the monitoring, software, cryogenics, mechanical most from the use of the facility are instrumentation and drug discovery. These pharmaceutical, chemical and healthcare industries. companies are creating impact through the Industrial users of the facility included large stimulation of the UK’s economy and the impact to multinational companies and SMEs: customers people’s daily lives that these activities will included ICI, BP, Unilever, Shell, GSK, AstraZeneca produce. and Pfizer. Indeed 48% of the companies represented in the top 25 of the 2008 R&D Delivering highly skilled people to the labour Scoreboard3 were users of the SRS. For example, the market SRS was used to characterise the molecular A critical mass of highly skilled engineers, structure of blockers to reduce the effects of drugs technicians and instrumentation developers was given during operations. This allowed Organon to built up over the lifetime of the SRS, with staff develop a drug to reduce the recovery time of numbers peaking at 325 in 1998/99.