All events

A selection of works by Sarah Dudley is currently exhibited in the foyer of BESSY II. In these pieces, she explores not only the buildings but also the research carried out at the Adlershof campus, as well as light and matter. How does her perspective on reality differ from the perspective we, as researchers, have trained ourselves to adopt? Come and join in this discussion!

Die Veranstaltung bietet Besucherinnen und Besuchern die Möglichkeit, sich aus erster Hand über den Rückbau des Forschungsreaktors BER II zu informieren. Fachleute des HZB stehen für Fragen bereit und erläutern den geplanten Abbau des BER II und die Aufgaben des HZB in der Entsorgung und Lagerung radioaktiver Reststoffe und Abfälle. Darüber hinaus informieren die Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung (BGE) und die Bundesgesellschaft für Zwischenlagerung (BGZ) über die Lagerung radioaktiver Abfälle in Deutschland.

Themen & Highlights:

Rückbau des BER II: Wie wird der Abbau ablaufen und welche radioaktiven Stoffe fallen an? Entsorgung radioaktiver Stoffe: Wie werden radioaktive Stoffe sicher verpackt und entsorgt? Zwischenlagerung am Wannsee: Wieso, wofür und wo wird ein Zwischenlager für den BER II gebaut und wie werden die radioaktiven Stoffe dort sicher gelagert? Zentralstelle für radioaktive Abfälle: Was für Abfälle kommen in die ZRA und was geschieht dort mit ihnen?

Zusätzlich erwartet die Gäste ein abwechslungsreiches Rahmenprogramm:

BGE und BGZ informieren: Wie funktioniert die Zwischenlagerung radioaktiver Abfälle in Deutschland und was ist für die Endlagerung geplant? Fragen Sie die Fachleute der BGE und der BGZ! Strahlenschutz hautnah erleben: Besucherinnen und Besucher können eigene Gegenstände wie Uhren oder Mineralien auf ionisierende Strahlung testen Kulinarisches Angebot: Getränke und Snacks für alle Besucherinnen und Besucher

We are living in times of social polarisation. Anti-democratic tendencies, rejection of scientific expertise and hostility towards scientists are on the rise. Many people are asking themselves: What can I actually do? And what responsibility do scientific institutions bear? We want to discuss these questions together with experts from the fields of science and science communication, as well as HZB’s scientific director.

📅 28 September 2026, 1.00–3.00 pm

📍 In person: BESSY Lecture Theatre, Helmholtz Centre Berlin, Albert-Einstein-Straße 15, 12489 Berlin

💻 Alternatively, online participation is also possible. Registered participants will receive the login details by email in good time before the event.

An event organised by HZB with the support of BR50 and IGAFA

Von der Steinzeit bis ins Plastik- und Silizium-Zeitalter - und dann? Gemeinsam erfinden wir neue Materialien für eine bessere Zukunft.

Wie wir leben, hängt davon ab, welche Materialien uns zur Verfügung stehen. Unter der Frage "Was könnten wir in Zukunft gebrauchen und wozu?" präsentieren das HZB und die Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung mit verschiedene Materialien - und entwickeln mit Euch zusammen neue Ideen (Eintritt frei, keine Anmeldung erforderlich, barrierefrei nicht zugänglich, max. 15 Personen).

Von der Steinzeit bis ins Plastik- und Silizium-Zeitalter - und dann? Gemeinsam erfinden wir neue Materialien für eine bessere Zukunft.

Wie wir leben, hängt davon ab, welche Materialien uns zur Verfügung stehen. Unter der Frage "Was könnten wir in Zukunft gebrauchen und wozu?" präsentieren das HZB und die Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung mit verschiedene Materialien - und entwickeln mit Euch zusammen neue Ideen (Eintritt frei, keine Anmeldung erforderlich, barrierefrei nicht zugänglich, max. 15 Personen).

Von der Steinzeit bis ins Plastik- und Silizium-Zeitalter - und dann? Gemeinsam erfinden wir neue Materialien für eine bessere Zukunft.

Wie wir leben, hängt davon ab, welche Materialien uns zur Verfügung stehen. Unter der Frage "Was könnten wir in Zukunft gebrauchen und wozu?" präsentieren das HZB und die Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung mit verschiedene Materialien - und entwickeln mit Euch zusammen neue Ideen (Eintritt frei, keine Anmeldung erforderlich, barrierefrei zugänglich, max. 15 Personen).

Ever wondered what the future of clean energy research look like? Meet our researchers and discover their work up close.

In this interactive session, you will get the chance to talk directly with researchers and learn how they use science, technology, and artificial intelligence to find better ways of producing cleaner energy and developing new materials.

What does a scientist’s day look like? What challenges do researchers face? How do new discoveries happen? Bring your questions and explore the stories, ideas, and experiments behind the research! (Free entry, Wheelchair accessible)

The year is 2050. The future of clean energy depends on a laboratory that has suddenly gone silent. Can you bring it back to life?

Step into the role of an emergency research team and enter a futuristic artificial intelligence-powered laboratory where scientists are developing the next generation of sustainable fuels. 

Your mission? Restart the Self-Driving Laboratory (SDL)—a smart research facility that uses automation and artificial intelligence to design and run experiments that accelerate the discovery of better catalysts.

Solve scienece-based challenges within 60 minutes. (Wheelchair accessible, Registration required (see online), Registrations open until 23 October, subject to availability, minimum age for participation 8 years old - if younger, please contact the organizer via e-mail, one person should register on behalf of a group by indicating the total number of participants in the registration form (min participants per slot 4, max 8), Please arrive 15 minutes before the start of the activity. Further instructions upon registration)

Some ideas are too early for a pitch, too open for a clear transfer pathway — and too promising to leave unexplored. So, if you have an idea connected to your research or expertise but are not yet sure where it could lead. Then Campus Club – idea2action might be for you.

idea2action is a free three-month programme for researchers who want to give an early idea the time, structure and fresh perspectives it needs to move forward.

Across three interactive co-working days in Adlershof, you will shape your idea, explore its potential, exchange with peers and experts, build useful connections and work towards a realistic next step.

No finished concept. No business plan. No predefined destination.

You bring the idea and drive its development.

Programme dates: 11 November 2026 · 9 December 2026 · 20 January 2027

We are pleased to open the call for applications for Campus Club – idea2action: A Greenhouse for Curious Minds.

Application deadline: 2 October 2026 Language: English Participation: Free of charge Applications: Individually or in teams of up to 3

International conference dedicated to revealing dynamic functional interfaces through operando and in situ characterization. Bringing together leading researchers advancing interface science through experiment, theory, and materials design, ONI provides a unique forum to advance atomic- and molecular-scale understanding of dynamic interfaces in catalysis, electrochemistry, batteries, and energy materials.

The scientific program features keynote lectures, invited and contributed talks, poster sessions, and a roundtable discussion moderated by Nature Catalysis, where leading researchers will discuss emerging scientific challenges and future directions in operando nanoscale science. Complementing the scientific program, a second high-level roundtable discussion will bring together representatives from academia, industry, and public policy to explore how science and innovation can accelerate the global energy transition. 

With the series of annual user meetings, we bring together our user community to intensify scientific exchange and stimulating new collaborations. The meetings will provide an overview of the many exciting and inspiring research results obtained at our facility in the past year and will emphasize on future developments in particular on BESSY III. Plenary talks, discussions, a public lecture, the market place of innovation and a poster session will provide vast possibilities of information and discussion. The bestowals of the 'Prizes for Young Scientists' donated by the Freundeskreis Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin e.V. (FHZB) are traditional highlights of the user meetings.

Some ideas are too early for a pitch, too open for a clear transfer pathway — and too promising to leave unexplored. So, if you have an idea connected to your research or expertise but are not yet sure where it could lead. Then Campus Club – idea2action might be for you.

idea2action is a free three-month programme for researchers who want to give an early idea the time, structure and fresh perspectives it needs to move forward.

Across three interactive co-working days in Adlershof, you will shape your idea, explore its potential, exchange with peers and experts, build useful connections and work towards a realistic next step.

No finished concept. No business plan. No predefined destination.

You bring the idea and drive its development.

Programme dates: 11 November 2026 · 9 December 2026 · 20 January 2027

We are pleased to open the call for applications for Campus Club – idea2action: A Greenhouse for Curious Minds.

Application deadline: 2 October 2026 Language: English Participation: Free of charge Applications: Individually or in teams of up to 3

Some ideas are too early for a pitch, too open for a clear transfer pathway — and too promising to leave unexplored. So, if you have an idea connected to your research or expertise but are not yet sure where it could lead. Then Campus Club – idea2action might be for you.

idea2action is a free three-month programme for researchers who want to give an early idea the time, structure and fresh perspectives it needs to move forward.

Across three interactive co-working days in Adlershof, you will shape your idea, explore its potential, exchange with peers and experts, build useful connections and work towards a realistic next step.

No finished concept. No business plan. No predefined destination.

You bring the idea and drive its development.

Programme dates: 11 November 2026 · 9 December 2026 · 20 January 2027

We are pleased to open the call for applications for Campus Club – idea2action: A Greenhouse for Curious Minds.

Application deadline: 2 October 2026 Language: English Participation: Free of charge Applications: Individually or in teams of up to 3