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The Synchrotron Soleil non-trading company was founded on Tuesday October
16, 2001, by Geneviève Berger, Director General of the CNRS, and
Pascal Colombani, Chairman of the CEA (French Atomic Energy Commission).
The CNRS currently holds a 72% stake in the company, and the CEA a 28%
stake. The shareholding could be enlarged to include other French or foreign
partners.
At a meeting of the company
Board, Phillipe Gillet (CNRS) was elected to the position of Chairman,
and Irène Nenner (CEA) was elected as Vice Chairwoman. The Board
also appointed Denis Raoux, a CNRS research director, to the position
of President and Director General.
The Synchotron Soleil non-trading company is located at the Saclay site
near Paris. It is responsible for building and operating the third-generation
synchrotron radiation facility, a project announced by the French government
on September 11, 2000.
Construction will be undertaken from 2002 to 2005, and in early 2006 this
major scientific facility will be operational, producing its first beam
lines.
Le Synchrotron Soleil is designed to eventually accommodate some 2,000
researchers carrying out basic research in the physics of matter, chemistry
and material sciences, material sciences, life sciences, Earth and atmospheric
sciences, and applied research in pharmaceutics, medicine, nuclear studies,
new materials, chemical and petroleum industries, micro-electronics, nano-technologies
and micro-production.
This third-generation synchrotron is being built with substantial support
from the administration of the Ile-de-France Region and the Essonne County
Council, who together are contributing a total of FRF 1,200 million (EUR
183 million) towards the FRF 1,800 million (EUR 272 million) needed for
the project.
CNRS Press
contact :
Martine Hasler
Tel : +33 1 44 96 46 35
e-mail : martine.hasler@cnrs-dir.fr
CEA Press contact
:
Anne Guichard
Tel: +33 1 40 56 21 56
e-mail : GUICHARD@aramis.cea.fr
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