Update: Royal diamond
28 November 2007
The Oxfordshire synchrotron - whose intense X-rays can reveal the structure of atoms and molecules - was built by a partnership between the Wellcome Trust and the UK Government’s Science and Technology Facilities Council.
The new doughnut-shaped building, which covers the area of five football pitches, is the largest UK-funded scientific facility to be built for more than 40 years. Construction started in March 2003, and user testing began in February 2007.
The Trust contributed 14 per cent of the £263 million cost for the first phase of construction, and will continue to contribute 14 per cent of the operating costs.
