A synchrotron is an intense light source that is used to probe the structure of matter. One of its principal applications is in the determination of molecular crystal structure using X-ray diffraction spectroscopy. These data are used to determine the structures of biological complexes in order to study, for example, the role of the proteins identified in the Human Genome Project or in the design of improved pharmaceutical s [1].

Synchrotron radiation is used to monitor chemical reactions as they progress in real time using EXAFS spectroscopy, which reflects the chemical environment of the absorbing atom, enabling detailed analysis of catalysis and chemical surface phenomena. The extremely narrow width of a soft X-ray synchrotron beam enables the construction of nanoscale images of materials by focusing and detecting ejected photoelectrons. Infra-red synchrotron radiation is also used to follow complex processes in biological systems, such as protein assembly or denaturation, by measuring the circular dichroism of the system.

The technological impact of synchrotron studies is immense, leading to the design and manufacture of new materials used in textiles, medicines, plastics, and catalysts, and to significant advances in the automotive, aerospace, construction, microelectronics and pharmaceutical industries. Our group is closely connected with the establishment of the Australian Synchrotron facility which is to be built in Melbourne and which will be fully operational by 2007 [2]. This new facility will place local researchers at the forefront of these exciting research areas, which lie at the interface of the traditional domains of chemistry, physics, engineering and biology.

Our research employs theoretical and computational methods to model the electronic structures of materials studied using synchrotron radiation. The Victorian Partnership for Advanced Computing (VPAC) has supported Dr Harry Quiney within the group to develop computational software to model these processes using high-performance computational resources [3]. These programs model the electronic structures of atoms and molecules containing heavy elements using the "first principles" application of

In collaboration with Dr Quiney, we are able to offer a number of theoretical and computational projects in this area. These include the calculation of photoionization cross-sections in metallic compounds to support spectroscopic EXAFS studies, modeling inner-shell X-ray emission and Auger processes in heavy element systems, and the determination of the electronic structures and optical properties of molecules and small coinage metal clusters.