From September 24 to 26, El-Eulmi Bendeif, scientist on the CRISTAL beamline, welcomed five African researchers, along with Emmanuel Wenger and Yohann Vuillemard, respectively engineer and technician, technical managers of the PMD2X X-ray diffraction platform at the CRM2 Laboratory, University of Lorraine.
This visit, already organized in 2023 and 2024, took place as part of the AFRAMED project, an International Research Network (IRN) financially supported and coordinated by CNRS, UNESCO, the IUCr (International Union of Crystallography), and the CRM2 Laboratory.
The project aims to train researchers from African countries in structural analysis techniques using X-ray diffraction, enabling them to become autonomous both in performing measurements and in analyzing data.
To compensate for the lack of measurement instruments in their home countries, they were also trained in remote use of diffractometers on the PMD2X platform at CRM2.
In September this year, these researchers from Ivory Coast, Togo, Burundi, Cameroon, and Sudan, after spending four weeks at the CRM2 Laboratory in Lorraine, concluded their stay with a visit to the SOLEIL Synchrotron. This visit allowed them to discover a major research infrastructure and learn about its operation.
In addition to the core installations of SOLEIL—the LINAC, Booster, and Control Room—they visited five beamlines (CRISTAL, NANOSCOPIUM, SIXS, DIFFABS, and PROXIMA-1) and met the beamline staff, who shared their enthusiasm for their work.
Visit of the CRISTAL beamline.
The stay of our African colleagues was covered by SOLEIL's general management and scientific management.
This visit was a wonderful opportunity for these researchers to explore high-level scientific and technical instruments and to appreciate the immense potential of SOLEIL’s synchrotron radiation for a wide range of research fields.
Participants of the 2025 AFRAMED project session during the visit, September 24–26, 2025.
From left to right: Yves Mbiangue (Cameroon), Lébé Prisca Kouakou (Ivory Coast), Nessreen Abdoun (Sudan), Emmanuel Wenger (PMD2X@CRM2), El-Eulmi Bendeif (SOLEIL), Donatien Ngendabanyikwa (Burundi), Yohann Vuillemard (PMD2X@CRM2), Pakidame Boundja (Togo).
1 - AFRAMED : Appui à la Formation Doctorale et à la Recherche en Afrique par des MEsures à Distance.