Lectures > Lecture 1

Lecture 1 by Laurenz Schröer, Centre for X-ray Tomography at Ghent University, Belgium.

Title: Lab-based Micro-Computed Tomography for (Geo)sciences.

Revealing the microstructure of earth materials is essential to understanding what is happening on the macroscale. Conventional techniques such as optical and scanning electron microscopy are limited to 2D. However, micro-computed tomography (µCT) can non-destructively visualize opaque materials, including earth materials in 3D and even 4D. The technique has become more and more important and available in the field of geology and material science. It has already been numerously applied to e.g. ores, fossils, porous rocks, soils or construction materials, such as concrete.

This lecture will introduce what lab-based µCT systems mean for geological research. It will describe the principle, its strengths, but also its limitations. Significant challenges and potential solutions related to, among others, low contrast, identifying objects below resolution, and time constraints will be discussed. This lecture will also show relevant examples of (in-situ) experiments done with µCT to illustrate its capabilities and range within earth sciences. The lecture will be based on the speaker his experience and will include some practical information and tricks. Finally, the possibilities of the EXCITE network will be discussed to provide researchers free of charge access to state-of-the-art facilities spread across Europe and Australia for X-ray (and electron) imaging to move their research forward.

Biography: Laurenz Schröer (°1994, Ghent, Belgium) graduated with a Master of Science in Geology at Ghent University in 2017. Between 2017 and 2021, he performed a PhD of Science in Geology and Bioscience Engineering titled: “Microbial alteration of natural building stones: mechanisms, identification and advances in visualization.” During his PhD, he focused, among others, on imaging biofilms with micro-computed tomography. Since 2021, he has worked as a postdoctoral researcher and Facility manager for the EXCITE network for the Centre for X-ray Tomography at Ghent University (UGCT). The EXCITE network is a European Horizon 2020 Infrastructure project that aims to advance the imaging of Earth materials by electron and X-ray imaging. The project offers transnational access to the affiliated facilities for all types of researchers. Laurenz's main task is facilitating their research at UGCT, guiding them through the experimental procedures, image acquisition, data reconstruction, interpretation, etc. Thanks to this role, he gained a lot of experience in imaging all kinds of earth materials using different lab-based micro-computed tomography systems.