Unfortunately, news are not always good news. Looking back on the year 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic will certainly be ranked as worst news. It stopped our reactor operation after the first cycle and challenges are still ongoing. From today’s point of view, we plan a restart with neutrons in spring 2021.

The good news for this year include the inauguration of our two new buildings on-site, one funded and constructed by TUM, the other one by FZJ. These buildings provide more space for the technical workshop, additional laboratory rooms, and a significant number of office premises mitigating an urgent need. Looking forward to the next years, we will also increase our instrument suite in the Neutron Guide Hall East with the transfer of two of the Berlin instruments to Garching. The funding for this transfer has been granted by the BMBF recently.

Not to forget, you are reading our first electronic MLZ newsletter. If this development will turn out to be good or even better is up to you. Any feedback on the new format – being part of our new communication strategy – is more than welcome!

Prof. Dr. Peter Müller-Buschbaum
(Scientific Director FRM II/ Scientific Director MLZ)

This will be quite a big move: Two instruments will be transferred from Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin to Garching and – after reconstruction and optimization – offered to users again. We are looking forward to the experiments you will use them for!

Beam days are a valuable good and shall therefore be used wisely. At the cold neutron radiography and tomography station ANTARES, a newly designed detector box can now produce four independent high-resolution views of samples for four simultaneous CT recordings.

Despite the restriction due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been done a lot at the Neutron Guide Hall East during the last months. The most visible: The new interim level for the measuring cabins is ready – but there is so much more!

To organize events is quite challenging due to the current and often adjusted restrictions. How to deal now with a weekly seminar? And what about a neutron school? Learn more in an interview with two colleagues who mastered this task!

Meet some new colleagues at the instruments! This time: RESEDA, KWS-1, SPHERES, J-NSE – and the User Office!

The MLZ User Meeting took place on Dec. 8^th and 9^th. It was planned as a special event this time because it was linked by a joint poster session to the also by MLZ organised DN2020 (Deutsche Neutronenstreutagung) on Dec. 9^th and 10^th .

After 24 issues of our nicely printed MLZ News, we switched to a completely new format. Learn why we did this, what we are planning, and how to subscribe.

Being elected for a three year period, the mandate period of the first User Committee at MLZ is drawing to a close. The chair Adrian Rennie looks back on this period and explains the work of the User Committee.

Between Nov. 18^th and Dec. 15^th, 2020, the election of the second MLZ User Committee took place. It will be on duty for the period 2021 to 2023. Learn, who will represent the MLZ user community for the next three years!

The MLZ has honored Prof. Dr. Georg Roth of RWTH Aachen University for his distinguished long-term service to the facility. Prof. Roth’s contributions are recognized with the prize for instrumentation and scientific usage, in particular for his involvements with two diffractometers utilizing hot neutrons, HEiDi and POLI.

Every year, up to 1,200 guest scientists from all over the world come to perform measurements at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Research Neutron Source (FRM II). Technical University Munich (TUM) and Forschungszentrum Jülich are now expanding the research capacities of the world’s most versatile neutron source with two new buildings providing a total of 4,550 square meters of floor space for laboratories, offices and workshops.

The MLZ Conference 2021 will be only virtual. The topic will be Neutrons for Life Sciences and we hope to meet you online on June 08^th-11^th, 2021!