Will Halcrow joined the Instrument Design team in 2015 from an industrial engineering role. Today, he leads the project to develop the LoKI instrument, building what will not only become the first neutron instrument at the
European Spallation Source (ESS), an up-and-coming neutron research facility in Sweden, but also the first instrument built on site.
Once ready, it will enable scientists to answer challenging questions we are yet to fully explore. This has the potential to change our understanding of health and aging, sustainability, and energy security.
With no prior work to benchmark against, Will and his team have found developing LoKI particularly thrilling. They have the flexibility to design everything from scratch, but are also tasked with developing the high standards needed to future-proof instruments and meet the extreme experimental environments scientists' require – such as high radiation, or vacuum conditions.
“ISIS's culture of not being afraid of not-knowing, but instead asking questions, and finding solutions has enabled us to bring something really valuable to the international collaboration at ESS. The most satisfying element is bringing simplicity to something that on the face of it appears extremely scientifically complicated." – Will Halcrow, Instrument Design Engineer.
