Recently, the SHINE (Shanghai HIgh repetitioN rate XFEL and Extreme light facility) Forum 2024 concluded at the Conference Center of ShanghaiTech University. The forum was hosted by ShanghaiTech University and co-organized by the Shanghai Advanced Research Institute (SARI) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, CAS. It attracted over 350 experts and scholars from more than 60 universities, research institutes, and collaborative institutions worldwide, focusing on the key technological developments and scientific applications of X-ray free electron lasers (XFEL).
Ding Hao, Vice President of ShanghaiTech, Deputy Head of the Leading Group for SHINE, and Deputy General Manager of SHINE, attended the forum and delivered a speech. He highlighted the team’s pursuit of excellence with the spirit of unity and collaboration over the past five years, overcoming numerous difficulties and challenges to achieve significant progress during the construction of SHINE. He also emphasized that the construction groups will remain open and inclusive, maintain high-level comprehensive exchanges, and actively collaborate with counterparts to ensure the facility is among the top-tier worldwide upon completion.
The forum featured a main venue along with technical and scientific parallel sessions, inviting 23 internationally renowned scholars from 18 prestigious universities and research institutes worldwide to deliver presentations. Discussions centered around the construction and operational requirements of SHINE, as well as forefront research in relevant disciplines and technological iterations.
Experts from institutions such as SARI, the German Electron Synchrotron (DESY), the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland, the RIKEN SPring-8 Center in Japan, Pohang Accelerator Laboratory (PAL) in South Korea, Elettra Synchrotron Light Laboratory in Italy, Southern University of Science and Technology, and ShanghaiTech University presented their reports at the main venue. They shared insights into the scientific goals, research trends, and disciplinary frontiers of XFEL, as well as the operational status of major XFEL facilities.
In the parallel sessions, seven experts in the technical and scientific fields of XFEL delivered presentations covering topics such as accelerator physics, undulator technology, X-ray beamlines and diagnostic techniques, ultrafast X-ray imaging, diffraction, crystallography, and ultrafast spectroscopy. They discussed the development history, current applications, and potential future paths of key technologies, highlighting research hotspots, opportunities, and challenges in XFEL science across multiple disciplines.
The SHINE Forum 2024 promoted in-depth exchanges between SHINE and international peers and explored common issues in the scientific and technological development of photon science facilities in China. Additionally, the forum provided an excellent academic platform to foster potential domestic high-level scientific users. In the future, the SHINE Forum will be hosted annually to continuously innovate in format and content. It will certainly play a more significant role in supporting the development of XFEL core technologies, advancing transformative science, and enhancing fundamental and frontier research.
The SHINE Forum focuses on the scientific goals, applications, and construction of XFEL. It aims to address the various challenges faced in developing new FEL facilities, effectively foster potential users, and promote the development of emerging and highly challenging high-repetition-rate FEL technologies in order to fully unleash the scientific potential of these cutting-edge light sources.