X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) has become a powerful technique for structural determination of materials, being employed in various research areas (for examples, chemistry, catalysis, material science, biology, environmental science, geology, and archeology). Synchrotron Light Research Institute (SLRI) is one of synchrotron facilities that welcomes scientists from around the world, providing them beamtime and technical assistance in both experimental and analytical aspects. Moreover, SLRI has annually hosted several training courses for the users to strengthen their experimental and analytical skills, so they can learn how to obtain good quality data and get publishable results.

For this year, the ASEAN Workshop on X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (AWX2020) will be held during 6-8 May 2020 at SLRI. Submission of applications for the workshop is now available online. The goal of the AWX2020 workshop is to provide basic and essential knowledge to well understand XAS techniques and able to fully apply this technique in research problems. Furthermore, AWX2020 will bring together national and international experienced synchrotron users of different scientific backgrounds, particularly new users from the neighboring countries of Thailand to promote XAS research in ASEAN scientific community.

AWX2020 will combine invited talks with extensive tutorials on XAS data analyses (IFEFFIT - Athena and Artemis), given by Dr. Bruce Ravel from National Institute of Standards and Technology, Dr. Shelly Kelly from UOP LLC, A Honeywell Company and Dr. Wantana Klysubun from SLRI. A tour of the synchrotron-radiation beamlines and experimental stations will be organized, allowing participants to take a close look and to discuss potential applications with the beamline scientists.

All participants are required to bring their own laptops to the workshop for use in workshop tutorial sessions. The number of participants is limited; a maximum of 30 participants will be accepted. Limited financial supports are available for graduate students from Thailand (4 grants) and young researchers and graduate students from worldwide (4 grants, with priorities to applicants from ASEAN countries).