Celebrating 22 years of Diamond Light Source
Mar 27, 2024
An accelerated view of our science, construction, and more
Today marks a milestone in Diamond’s annual calendar as on the 27th March, 2002, Wellcome Trust and the UK Government signed the Joint Venture agreement that underpins the company and marked the beginning of Diamond Light Source. This year, for Diamond’s 22nd birthday, we looked into our photography archive to uncover some of the memories over that period.
Prof Gianluigi Botton, CEO of Diamond Light Source comments;
These images take on a special significance for us at Diamond, as we undergo out transformative Diamond-II upgrade programme. Once again, we are breaking ground for new facilities, with the construction of the Diamond Extension Building (DEB), which will house our girder assembly and engineering works for the new machine. We look fondly back at the past as we are set to welcome future scientific advancements.
The image gallery below shows choice moments through our 22-year history. Explore the memories below:
Aerial of view of Diamond at the foundation phase of its construction phase. Taken June 2003.
The link bridge under construction between Diamond House and the synchrotron building. September 2004.
Installation of the first girder into the storage ring. April 2005.
The arrival of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth to Diamond’s official launch event. 19th October 2007.
A Red Devils display to conclude the visit by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth at Diamond's launch event. 19th October 2007.
Cutting the turf to make way for our The X-ray Imaging and Coherence beamline (I13) building. July 2009.
The arrival of RASOR, the in-vacuum diffractometer first used on our IO6 beamline (I06) before installation on its current home on I10, our ...
The world's largest diffraction pattern is unveiled by Nobel Prize winner Venki Ramakrishnan – July 2010.
EU collaboration between Diamond, Tata Steel, Delft University of Technology and the University of Leicester using I12-JEEP (Joint Engineering, ...
A glass Hand-Foot-and-Mouth virus structure model, unveiled during a Diamond Science Symposium at the Royal Society to mark 2012 as “The Year of ...
Fossilised Dinosaur Egg analysed on I12 Beamline. 2014
Lego take over day – In December 2014, staff and their children came together to successfully construct a replica of the synchrotron machine using ...
Harwell Campus Open Week – A fantastic day that saw 15,000 members of the public visit site to experience science up close. 2015.
Whipping up a batch of liquid nitrogen ice-cream at our “Meet a Scientist” Family Open Day. July 2017.
A special cake to mark the official opening of our Electron Bio-Imaging Centre (eBIC). 12th September 2018.
Early construction progress of the Active Materials Lab taken on 1st September 2020. The building was officially opened in November 2022.
The arrival of our first prototype girder for Diamond-II, being craned into position on the experimental floor. Feb 2022.
Images on display around Diamond’s perimeter fence as part of an outdoor exhibition that ran as part of Oxford Artweeks. May 2022.
Our first prototype magnet for Diamond-II. A Dipole Quadrupole (DQ) magnet, of which there will be 48 in total in our new storage ring when ...
Receiving our Gold Armed Forces Employee Recognition Award for our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant. October 2023.
Our CEO Gianluigi Botton captured taking an impromptu selfie in the Atrium during a staff celebration event to mark our Diamond-II funding ...
A recent aerial view of Diamond, with our nearly installed solar panels now in place. 2024.
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Aerial of view of Diamond at the foundation phase of its construction phase. Taken June 2003.
The link bridge under construction between Diamond House and the synchrotron building. September 2004.
Installation of the first girder into the storage ring. April 2005.
The arrival of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth to Diamond’s official launch event. 19th October 2007.
A Red Devils display to conclude the visit by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth at Diamond's launch event. 19th October 2007.
Cutting the turf to make way for our The X-ray Imaging and Coherence beamline (I13) building. July 2009.
The arrival of RASOR, the in-vacuum diffractometer first used on our IO6 beamline (I06) before installation on its current home on I10, our advanced dichroism beamline (BLADE). 2010.
The world's largest diffraction pattern is unveiled by Nobel Prize winner Venki Ramakrishnan – July 2010.
EU collaboration between Diamond, Tata Steel, Delft University of Technology and the University of Leicester using I12-JEEP (Joint Engineering, Environmental, and Processing) to look at in-situ spot welding. 2011.
A glass Hand-Foot-and-Mouth virus structure model, unveiled during a Diamond Science Symposium at the Royal Society to mark 2012 as “The Year of Light”. 2012.
Fossilised Dinosaur Egg analysed on I12 Beamline. 2014
Lego take over day – In December 2014, staff and their children came together to successfully construct a replica of the synchrotron machine using over 11,000 pieces of Lego. 2014.
Harwell Campus Open Week – A fantastic day that saw 15,000 members of the public visit site to experience science up close. 2015.
Whipping up a batch of liquid nitrogen ice-cream at our “Meet a Scientist” Family Open Day. July 2017.
A special cake to mark the official opening of our Electron Bio-Imaging Centre (eBIC). 12th September 2018.
Early construction progress of the Active Materials Lab taken on 1st September 2020. The building was officially opened in November 2022.
The arrival of our first prototype girder for Diamond-II, being craned into position on the experimental floor. Feb 2022.
Images on display around Diamond’s perimeter fence as part of an outdoor exhibition that ran as part of Oxford Artweeks. May 2022.
Our first prototype magnet for Diamond-II. A Dipole Quadrupole (DQ) magnet, of which there will be 48 in total in our new storage ring when completed. March 2022.
Receiving our Gold Armed Forces Employee Recognition Award for our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant. October 2023.
Our CEO Gianluigi Botton captured taking an impromptu selfie in the Atrium during a staff celebration event to mark our Diamond-II funding announcement. October 2023.
A recent aerial view of Diamond, with our nearly installed solar panels now in place. 2024.
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Aerial of view of Diamond at the foundation phase of its construction phase. Taken June 2003.
The link bridge under construction between Diamond House and the synchrotron building. September 2004.
Installation of the first girder into the storage ring. April 2005.
The arrival of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth to Diamond’s official launch event. 19th October 2007.
A Red Devils display to conclude the visit by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth at Diamond's launch event. 19th October 2007.
Cutting the turf to make way for our The X-ray Imaging and Coherence beamline (I13) building. July 2009.
The arrival of RASOR, the in-vacuum diffractometer first used on our IO6 beamline (I06) before installation on its current home on I10, our advanced dichroism beamline (BLADE). 2010.
The world's largest diffraction pattern is unveiled by Nobel Prize winner Venki Ramakrishnan – July 2010.
EU collaboration between Diamond, Tata Steel, Delft University of Technology and the University of Leicester using I12-JEEP (Joint Engineering, Environmental, and Processing) to look at in-situ spot welding. 2011.
A glass Hand-Foot-and-Mouth virus structure model, unveiled during a Diamond Science Symposium at the Royal Society to mark 2012 as “The Year of Light”. 2012.
Fossilised Dinosaur Egg analysed on I12 Beamline. 2014
Lego take over day – In December 2014, staff and their children came together to successfully construct a replica of the synchrotron machine using over 11,000 pieces of Lego. 2014.
Harwell Campus Open Week – A fantastic day that saw 15,000 members of the public visit site to experience science up close. 2015.
Whipping up a batch of liquid nitrogen ice-cream at our “Meet a Scientist” Family Open Day. July 2017.
A special cake to mark the official opening of our Electron Bio-Imaging Centre (eBIC). 12th September 2018.
Early construction progress of the Active Materials Lab taken on 1st September 2020. The building was officially opened in November 2022.
The arrival of our first prototype girder for Diamond-II, being craned into position on the experimental floor. Feb 2022.
Images on display around Diamond’s perimeter fence as part of an outdoor exhibition that ran as part of Oxford Artweeks. May 2022.
Our first prototype magnet for Diamond-II. A Dipole Quadrupole (DQ) magnet, of which there will be 48 in total in our new storage ring when completed. March 2022.
Receiving our Gold Armed Forces Employee Recognition Award for our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant. October 2023.
Our CEO Gianluigi Botton captured taking an impromptu selfie in the Atrium during a staff celebration event to mark our Diamond-II funding announcement. October 2023.
A recent aerial view of Diamond, with our nearly installed solar panels now in place. 2024.
Diamond Light Source is the UK's national synchrotron science facility, located at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire.
Diamond Light Source Ltd
Diamond House
Harwell Science & Innovation Campus
Didcot
Oxfordshire
OX11 0DE
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Registered in England and Wales at Diamond House, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0DE, United Kingdom. Company number: 4375679. VAT number: 287 461 957. Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) number: GB287461957003.