Participants of the IMI-SEE workshop at Shanghai University were given a tour of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility.

Sometimes a trip across the world is exactly what needs to happen in order for materials science researchers to collaborate on cutting-edge technology.

That’s what transpired when 30 participants attended the China-U.S. Workshop on Energy and Environment Materials at the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSFR) Nov. 1-2, 2011, in China.

“I really appreciated the chance to meet with Chinese researchers and to discuss future collaborations with them,” said John Cerne, of University of Buffalo-SUNY, who presented “Polarization-Sensitive Infrared Magneto-Optical Studies of New Materials” at the workshop. “Having the meeting at the SSRF was a great idea, and I really appreciated the chance to see firsthand and learn more about this remarkable facility.”

The event was organized by the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics and the NSF-funded International Materials Institute on Solar Energy and Environment (IMI-SEE). One of the aims of IMI-SEE is foster collaborations between America and China in the areas of solar energy conversion and environmental protection.

Graduate students Lodricks Wangatia, from left to right, Wilson Lelei, Sylvia Lou, Wenju Xu and Xinyi Chen share their research during the poster session at the IMI-SEE workshop at Shanghai University in November 2011.

Apisak Meesrisom, a student at Columbia University, appreciated the opportunity to network with research groups from both continents. He and other researchers discussed using one of the beamlines at the Shanghai Synchrotron to measure the structure change for different particle sizes of ceria oxide nanoparticles at high pressure. The workshop also will benefit his future research in the field.

“The workshop gave me many resources to adapt many techniques for material characterizations such as IR and new generation of Synchrotron light source,” he said.

Besides research lectures and group discussion, the two-day workshop included a poster session and tour of the lab. Following the workshop, American participants went on a tour of the city that included the Bund, Shanghai Municipal History Museum, the City God Temple, and a traditional tea ceremony.

Chase Ellis, a student of the University at Buffalo-SUNY, enjoyed sight-seeing and networking. He said that he will collaborate with researchers at the SSRF to develop a high intensity, multi-plexed, broadband infrared magneto-optics beamline.

“This is a rare opportunity since Synchrotrons with open beamline positions are not available for development often,” he said. “This work would be revolutionary, since one of our greatest struggles is finding a high intensity, coherent, infrared, broadband source.”