Posted by: Peter Willendrup in software, simulation, Scandinavia, open source, neutron, Monte Carlo, McStas, Internet, denmark, computer on
Jul 18, 2010
The McStas developer team is happy to report that the 1.12b release of our software is finally out.
You can get the installer packages from our download page
McStas 1.12b is mostly a bugfix release, but some new components and example instruments have been included. McStas 1.12b will be the VERY last release in the 1.x series.
Part of the reason for McStas 1.12b and its late arrival is our delay in releasing the next major version, McStas 2.0.
McStas 2.0 will be released late 2010 / early 2011 and will introduce new features that could break ceartain backward compatibility, hence we move from the 1.x series. We are also considering a replacement of the GUI and plotting tools for McStas 2.0.
For a complete list of changes in McStas 1.12b, see our CHANGES document.
The new relase was tested on these platforms:
- Mac OS 10.5 Leopard and 10.6 Snow Leopard (but should work on 10.4 and 10.3 also). Both 32 and 64 bit, Intel and PPC systems are supported.
- Ubuntu Linux 9.10 Karmic Koala and 10.04 Lucid Lynx, 32 and 64 bit .deb's are provided. Note: Do not expect these debs to work on earlier releases or other distributions, e.g. Debian
- Windows XP, Vista and 7, 32 and 64 bit. We only provide 32bit executables, but they are tested to run OK on 64 bit
- On other systems, feel free to try our source distributions
The McStas and VITESS teams are happy to announce the joint
*** McStas / VITESS user training workshop 2010 ***
To take place at Backafallsbyn in the Swedish island of Ven, May 17th-21st.
The workshop is a school in order to train technical staff and instrument scientists in using Monte-Carlo code to design better neutron devices and instruments. The programme is split into sessions dedicated to different parts (optics, sample environment, detectors, ...). If you work in one of these areas, and feel like simulating it, then this school is for you, especially if you've never done so before.
Posted by: Christian Vettier in workshop, tennessee, simulation, science, Scandinavia, research, neutron scattering, McStas, knoxville, it, ill, icns, ess scandinavia, energy, conference on
May 26, 2009
Scandinavia was highly represented at the ICNS meeting in Knoxville, Tennessee. Scandinavian scientists gave three invited talks and several (8) oral contributions, not counting many posters. In total, 30 contributions were presented by scientists affiliated in Scandinavia, which is a very large number compared to other countries, but reflects the expertise and experience of Scandinavia in the field of neutron research. Moreover, a parallel one-day workshop on neutron instrument simulation was organised by McStas experts from Copenhagen and Risø (and ILL!) where neutron scientists could get some training in instrument modeling.
This does not come as a surprise since the neutron community in Scandinavia has developed neutron science for decades through the research carried out at the facilities for neutron scattering in Denmark, Sweden and Norway.
- In Denmark, Risø National Laboratory (now Risø DTU) has an outstanding international reputation in neutron diffraction and neutron scattering research and has been developed over the years thanks to their reactor-based neutron facility. Risø has had a seminal role in neutron methods and has had an impact on all neutron instruments. All the expertise acquired there has been passed on to other neutron centres in the world, in particular SINQ at PSI, Switzerland, where Danish scientists are operating several instruments.
- In Sweden, scientists are using neutron scattering methods in soft condensed matter, in physics and chemistry in engineering sciences; they work at the ILL, Grenoble, at ISIS in UK, at PSI in Switzerland, but also in Germany. In Sweden, experiments were performed at the Swedish research reactor R2 in Studsvik. The NFL - Studsvik Neutron Research Laboratory was a leading institute for neutron sciences. As a company, Studsvik operates not only in Sweden, but also in UK, Germany or USA and has a further company segment for Global Services.
- In Norway, the research reactor JEEP II at Kjeller (Institute for Energy Technology, IFE, near Oslo) is a national resource for material physics research and neutron irradiation technology. The availability of this multi-purpose reactor is kept very high to content the many user-groups.
All these centres have joined forces to develop modeling tools to optimise various neutron instruments, which explains why the Copenhagen / Roskilde group is acquired such high repute in neutron instrument modeling and virtual experiments run on computers.
As a complement to the international organisation now being built up by ESS Scandinavia for designing and developing the accelerator driven, next generation neutron source in Sweden; the 273 neutron users in Scandinavia will provide us with a solid base of supporting expertise right in the neighbourhoods of Lund!
If you are an attendee of the ICNS in Knoxville from next monday and interested in software and/or instrumentation, these conference sessions might be of specific interest to yo:
(direct links to relevant pages at the conference website)
- I for one am going to those sessions! :)
Also remember that the McStas team is giving a workshop on sunday - participation is completely free.
See you in Knoxville,
- Peter Willendrup
The McStas team is happy to announce that a McStas event has been arranged in connection with ICNS 2009 in Knoxville, TN.
The event will take place
May 3rd 2009, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM, room 300 c/d, Knoxville convention centre.
The preliminary program is
Morning session:
| 9:00-9:05 | Welcome by the McStas team |
| 9:05-9:15 | Overview of new features expected in McStas 2.0 |
| 9:15-9:25 | Overview of recent virtual experiment studies performed |
| 9:25-10:35 | 7 x 10-minute talk/feedback inputs from McStas users |
| 10:35-10:50 | Coffee break |
| 10:50-12:00 | 7 x 10-minute talk/feedback inputs from McStas users |
Afternoon session:
| 14:00-14:10 | Brief McStas introduction for new users |
| 14:10-17:00 | Hands on session / installation help for new users |
Registration
For more information and registration for the event, see the event page.
