Bente Lebech was one of the pioneers in the Danish neutron scattering community. She joined the physics department at the Danish Atomic Energy Commission Research Establishment Risø (later Risø National Laboratory) in 1962 after graduating with a Master of Science from the Technical University in Copenhagen. The 10 MW heavy water moderated DR3 reactor became operational in 1960. The reactor, equipped with four tangential beam tube, which made it particularly well suited for neutron beam experiments, became the main working environment for Bente until it was closed in 2001. Neutron diffraction experiments at Risø originally had been started at the DR2 reactor in 1957 and were gradually transferred to DR3.
Bente was given the responsibility for building a neutron time-of-flight spectrometer for structural studies in collaboration with a group from the Swierk Institute in Poland, where such an instrument had been designed and developed by Bronislaw Buras. This instrument could be used for both single crystal and powder diffraction experiments. It led Bente to a research career with focus on structural studies using the unique properties of neutron beams. During the 1970s the DR3 reactor became fully equipped with a cold source and a fleet of eight different spectrometers. The experimental possibilities also grew with development of a wide range of auxiliary equipment like very low temperature cryostats, superconducting magnets, and pressure cells. At the same time the number of visiting scientists grew.
Bente Lebech used her base at Risø to develop a global network of collaborators in studies of magnetic ordering and phase transitions, two- and three-dimensional structures, and heavy Fermion materials. These collaborations led to notable work on the magnetic structure of Praseodymium and Neodymium together with Brian Rainford, observations of triple-q ordering in Neodymium with Jens Als-Nielsen, Per Bak, and Keith McEwen, and studies of localized magnetic excitations in Ho2Co17 and Ho2Fe17.
Bente was a team player and cherished host for her many visiting collaborators, as well as a thoughtful teacher for students in the art of neutron scattering. She was co-author of more than 200 scientific articles, and for many years she was the editor of the annual report from the Physics Department at Risø. She chaired the Danish IUPAP National Committee for Crystallography from 1982 to 1991, and also represented the Danish community in the European Neutron Scattering Association.
In 1983 she was awarded the Silver Medal from the Royal Danish Academy of Science and Letters for her pioneering effort in neutron scattering studies of magnetic structures and phase transitions.
In 2007 Risø National Laboratory was merged with the Danish Technical University, DTU, and Bente continued her work using neutron scattering facilities at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland and at the Institute Laue Langevin, until her retirement in 2013. From 2013–2017, Bente continued lecturing on neutron scattering at the DTU. She was also an eager proponent for the establishment of the European Spallation Source, ESS, in Lund.
Together with her husband, Jens, she enjoyed travelling and hiking the Himalayas, and they brought home remarkable photographs of the mountainous scenery.
Bente will be remembered for her warmth, mentorship, and collaborative spirit as well as for her scientific legacy to the global scientific community.
