Scientists Welcome Appointment of New ILL Director

The announcement of Paul Langan as director from October 2021 at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) based in Grenoble, France, has been welcomed by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the UK science community. The world-class facility is managed by France, Germany and the UK in partnership with 11 different countries. Subscriptions through STFC enable UK scientists to access ILL’s neutron scattering facilities for fundamental research in fields such as condensed matter physics, chemistry, biology, nuclear physics and materials science.

Paul said, “The ILL is one of the most prestigious science research institutes in the world. As a user facility, it provides visiting researchers with access to forefront neutron scattering capabilities for developing a deeper understanding of materials and their properties. 

“The ILL has a stellar record of scientific achievements and I am excited to have the opportunity to work with ILL staff and users to help to continue to lead the way forward to further scientific discoveries. By doing so, I believe that we can help lay the foundation for future new technologies and applications that will drive economic growth and improve societal well-being for everyone.”

STFC Executive Chair Mark Thomson said: “The appointment of Paul Langan is welcome news, he brings great expertise and years of experience to the role. I look forward to seeing further exciting discoveries and pioneering research coming out of ILL in the years to come under Paul’s leadership.”

Thanks were expressed by the UK science community to the outgoing ILL director Helmut Schober for his hard work and dedication.

Director Helmut Schober added: “The appointment of Paul is excellent news and demonstrates the unbroken attractiveness of the ILL. Paul has an impressive track record of achievements. In particular, during the last years he successfully steered the final transformation of SNS from a project into a scientifically highly productive neutron facility. The experience he has acquired during his career will be a great asset for the many challenging tasks that are lying ahead of us and assure ILL’s continued leadership in the field of neutron science.”

Born in Edinburgh, Paul studied physics at the city’s university and then at the University of Keele. He spent a brief period as a scientist at the ILL before moving to Los Alamos National Laboratory and then Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

At Los Alamos, he helped build the first time-of-flight neutron protein crystallography station and led several research teams in various areas of science including computational methods, neutron scattering methods and technologies, structural biology and bioenergy.