On 19–20 May, the RIFF (Research Infrastructures for the Future of Ukraine) meeting was held at the SOLARIS National Synchrotron Radiation Centre.

Today, SOLARIS is not only an advanced research infrastructure, but also a vibrant scientific environment in which hundreds of projects are carried out annually and international collaborations are continuously developed. It is a space where cutting-edge technologies intersect with real-world challenges from fundamental research to applications of economic significance. We speak about the scientific activity conducted at the SOLARIS Centre with Prof. Marcin Sikora, Scientific Deputy Director. In turn, issues related to industrial collaboration, the economic significance of the synchrotron, as well as finance and international cooperation are discussed by Michał Młynarczyk, Deputy Director for Finance and International Cooperation.

Ten years ago, something took place in Kraków that permanently changed Polish science - the first electrons began circulating in the SOLARIS synchrotron. This moment, symbolically recognised as the beginning of the Centre’s activity, was the result of many years of effort, courage and vision on the part of numerous individuals. On this occasion, we return to the very beginning — to the time when the idea of building a synchrotron in Poland was only just emerging — and speak with Prof. Marek Stankiewicz, the first Director of SOLARIS, who helped shape its foundations and history. Today, this mission is being continued and further developed by the current Director of SOLARIS, Dr hab. Jakub Szlachetko, Prof. UJ, under whose leadership the Centre continues to strengthen its position as a modern, dynamically developing research infrastructure of international significance.

The SOLARIS National Synchrotron Radiation Centre invites researchers and users of advanced research infrastructures to take part in the Joint Meeting of PSRS Members and SOLARIS Centre Users (JMSU), which will be held on 14–16 September at the Faculty of Chemistry of the Jagiellonian University Campus in Kraków. The conference provides an international platform for the exchange of knowledge and experience in scientific research using synchrotron radiation and cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM).

The formal establishment of LEAPS AISBL in Brussels brings Europe’s leading photon science facilities into a new phase of coordination, strengthening the strategic role of research infrastructures in FP10.