New ILL top management team has been appointed

The Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) is delighted to announce the appointment of its new Director and Associate Directors, who will take up their duties on 1st October 2026. Regine Willumeit-Römer will become the new ILL Director, with Ken Andersen and Jacques Jestin continuing at the ILL as Associate Directors. Funded and managed by France, Germany and the United Kingdom, in partnership with 10 Scientific Member countries, the ILL is led by a Director and two Associate Directors representing the Institute’s three Associate countries in rotating roles.

The ILL is currently the world’s leading facility for neutron science. Its high-flux reactor delivers the world’s most intense neutron beams to a fully modernised and unique scientific instrument suite, as well as producing radioisotopes for cancer treatment.

The ILL enables a broad community of researchers from around the world –both academic and industrial – to advance their work in strategic fields such as health, energy, the environment, and quantum materials. It also hosts a unique research programme in nuclear and precision particle physics.

The completion of Endurance in 2024 brought to a close two decades of continuous investment in scientific infrastructures, instruments and services, bringing the ILL to its highest performance level ever. In 2025, a new Science Strategy was published, and the ILL Associates confirmed the continuation of ILL operations until the end of 2033.

The new management team will be taking over the reins of the ILL at a particularly exciting time - not only is the Institute at the peak of its performance, but its crucial role in the European neutron landscape and as a pillar of European leadership and sovereignty in science and innovation is increasingly recognised.

I am thrilled to join the ILL and contribute to one of the world’s most outstanding scientific facilities, where cutting-edge neutron research, international collaboration, and scientific excellence come together to address some of the most important challenges in science and society.” Regine Willumeit-Römer

"I am really looking forward to returning to my roots in the Science Division, supporting our world-leading science programme and helping to ensure that we build the momentum we need to continue long-term operation of the ILL." Ken Andersen

“With the completion of the Endurance programme, the ILL is entering a new phase for neutron research, supported by more than 40 high-performance instruments and 170 days of regular operation per year. The ILL’s DPT Division will play a central role in providing operational support to the experimental programme, while continuing to innovate in neutron technologies, develop new projects, and create advanced tools for data treatment and analysis. I am particularly proud and excited to continue in my role as the French Associate Director of the ILL and as the new Head of the DPT for the next five years. These years will be crucial in shaping the future European neutron landscape.” Jacques Jestin

Short bios

Regine Willumeit-Römer is currently Head of the Institute for Metallic Biomaterials at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon and is also professor at the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Kiel (Germany). She obtained her PhD in physics from the University of Hamburg for her work on the structural characterisation of ribosomes using spin-dependent neutron scattering. For the last two decades, she has been engaged in biomaterials research, with a strong focus on the development of degradable metallic implants and bridging fundamental research with innovative applications that benefit both academia and industry. From October 2024 to December 2025, she was Acting Scientific Director of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon. From 1st October 2026, she will become the ILL Director, appointed by Germany for this term of office.

Ken Andersen has been Director of the ILL since October 2023 and will now become Head of the Science Division and UK Associate Director. Previously, he was Associate Laboratory Director for Neutron Sciences at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA (2020-2023) and head of the Neutron Instruments Division at the European Spallation Source (ESS) in Lund, Sweden (2010-2019). Ken’s scientific career started and developed at the ILL, where he completed his PhD in physics (in partnership with the University of Keele, UK), worked as an instrument scientist, and led the Neutron Optics Service.

Jacques Jestin joined the ILL in May 2020 as Head of the Projects and Techniques Division (DPT). He was appointed Head of the Science Division in 2021 and French Associate Director in 2022. He will continue as Associate Director, returning to the position of Head of the DPT Division. Jacques is an expert in the application of small-angle neutron and X-ray scattering to soft matter, polymer nanocomposites and complex fluids. He completed his PhD in physics at the CEA in Saclay and previously held a CNRS Director of Research position at the CEA's Léon Brillouin Laboratory.