The SOLARIS National Synchrotron Radiation Centre will soon be the site of a joint project by Jagiellonian University and Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan. In the hall of only Poland's synchrotron will house a beamline for research into viruses, drug and vaccine carriers and nanomaterials.

The Ministry of Education and Science, in the framework of the investment grant 'Construction of a measurement line for small-angle X-ray scattering research', has decided to award funding for the construction of a new beamline at the SOLARIS National Synchrotron Radiation Centre, operating within the structures of the Jagiellonian University. This will be the first line in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe dedicated to the study of biological molecules, polymers and their composites, viruses, drug carriers and nanomaterials. Its creation will be possible thanks to the cooperation of scientists from two leading Polish academic communities, from the Jagiellonian University and Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan.

The rectors of the two universities met on 13 July at the NSRC to discuss collaborative spaces, and plans to develop new experimental techniques and learn about the specifics of shared research centres such as SOLARIS.

- The persistence of scientists from our universities in achieving the success of the joint project is an excellent example of exemplary relations between two powerful academic centres in Poland. I am delighted that, after so many months of perturbations to obtain ministerial approval, we have been able to obtain approval for this project. I wish that in three years' time, we will all have the opportunity to meet here and together open a new line of research that will enable us to make breakthrough discoveries. - said Prof. Jacek Popiel, Jagiellonian University Rector.

- Science always has two dimensions: the present - the local - but also the global. Projects such as the joint research line project take us to this higher dimension of science.  I am a firm believer that global science does not succeed without collaboration. Our two universities have shown that such cooperation has yielded excellent results for many years. - said Professor Bogumiła Kaniewska, PhD, Rector of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan.

The authors of the project, which will result in the creation of a new experimental line, were a team of scientists consisting of specialists from the Department of Biomedical Physics, Institute of Physics, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, and the SOLARIS National Synchrotron Radiation Centre, Jagiellonian University, working under the direction of Professor Maciej Kozak, PhD.  

- The Jagiellonian University's SOLARIS Centre is proof that the scientific community can share research infrastructure and effectively consolidate the potential of many academic centres. We are delighted that SOLARIS is becoming a living centre for cooperation between Jagiellonian University and Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan. - said Jakub Szlachetko, PhD, Professor of the Jagiellonian University, acting Director of the Jagiellonian University SOLARIS Centre, during the meeting.

The construction of the new beamline will take approximately three years and will consist of a series of stages: assembly of the equipment at the front end, construction of the optics and installation of the final station. The first scientists conducting their experiments should arrive at the SOLARIS Centre as early as the second half of 2026.