A one-of-a-kind chemical imaging instrument used for breast cancer research, Alzheimer’s disease research and paint degradation research, will soon find its home at the University.
The InfraRed ENvironmental Imaging instrument, or IRENI, was invented at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee by Carol Hirschmugl with National          Science Foundation funding.
The IRENI will be housed indefinitely at the Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices, where construction will be completed to compensate for the instrument. NSF is funding its installation with a $250,000 grant.
“It’s the only infrared 3-D imaging beamline of its kind in the world, so it’s a really                           special device,” College of Science Associate Dean Richard Kurtz said.
The instrument is made up of 24 mirrors and 12 beams, all of which are focused down to a single spot. IRENI’s application can be extended to research in the fields of physics, chemistry, neuroscience and biology, Kurtz said.
The instrument’s special resolution is much higher than that of a commercial instrument, making it invaluable for looking at biological systems, he said.
The beamline used for        IRENI will take up an eighth of the CAMD facility, where 14 other beamlines are already            operating.
“For one beamline to get an eighth of it is a large commitment,” Kurtz said.
The instrument functions similar to a CT scan, but each pixel gets a full spectrum of light, making a 3-D image, he said.
The resource will be                 available to faculty for research and for collaborations with other universities, allowing the             University to access other campus’ technology and for other universities to use the IRENI.
The instrument is awaiting installation at CAMD while the facility is prepared. It will take about a year for the IRENI to be installed, Kurtz said.
The research projects previously started with the use of IRENI will continue while the instrument is housed at the         University. During the last year of its operation in Wisconsin, 100 users came in, meaning a new project started nearly every three days. 
“It’s a very busy beamline,” Kurtz said.
While the beamline is in  high demand, University researchers will have priority since it is housed here, Kurtz said.
Hirschmugl, who Kurtz has known for almost 30 years, was looking for a facility to place her instrument after the synchrotron in Wisconsin shut down. Kurtz said Hirschmugl looked all over the world for a facility to house her instrument and chose the University because the           instrument fits its synchrotron  better than those at other facilities.
Other synchrotrons in the nation are typically expensive and in high demand, meaning there is little opportunity for student training, Kurtz said. However, students from the University and across the nation will have access to IRENI and                                        synchrotron training while the instrument is housed at CAMD.
“To look at a device like this, and to be able to get your hands on it and align it and change it – to do it the way you want to do a new experiment – that’s what’s valuable about LSU and CAMD,” Kurtz said. “We’ve got students out there all the time. That’s a big part of our mission, to educate students.”