37 medals for HZB athletes at the Atomiade
From the 5th to the 8th of June, 1,200 sports enthusiasts from 36 European research centres came to Mol, Belgium, for the Atomiade. The HZB team’s trip was an outstanding success.
3rd place overall in the Games
“We were only so far from overall victory because some of the teams came with twice to three times as many members, but our performance could be seen for itself. And maybe next time, even more sports enthusiasts of the HZB will come with us,” says Martina Stephan. The President of the HZB Sports Association coordinated the HZB team’s trip to the Atomiade.
In her short travel report, she writes:
“We set off at 6 a.m. on Friday, the 5th of June. After ten hours, at around 4 p.m., we reached 35 °C sweltering Mol in Belgium safely and comfortably, thanks to the nicely air-conditioned bus. The team was still in a good mood and full of anticipation. The hosts from JRC - Geel welcomed the teams of the 36 participating centres with an opening ceremony. And then on Saturday, at 8:30 a.m., the “work” began for the 14 light athletes, 9 badminton players, 2 tennis players, 4 swimmers and 1 cyclist. This was, thank God, at an agreeable 24 °C. Then on Sunday, the 7th of June, three HZB runners took part in the 10-kilometre run and three athletes in the triathlon sprint. The day’s programme also featured the end games for badminton and tennis. On Sunday evening, the 15th Atomiade came to an end with a closing event. The next morning, we set off back home and reached Berlin at 6 p.m. We had had a terrific few days. The friendly Games were greatly enjoyed by all the participants.”
In the coming weeks, the colleagues of the HZB Sports Association want to exhibit the cups and medals at the two HZB locations and are putting together a small slide show of the best moments. Martina Stephan and colleagues hope this will promote the Atomiade and, most importantly, the singular occasion to meet with people from different countries.
The greatest moments of the Games on YouTube
- Helmholtz Doctoral Award for Hanna TrzesniowskiDuring her doctoral studies at the Helmholtz Centre Berlin, Hanna Trzesniowski conducted research on nickel-based electrocatalysts for water splitting. Her work contributes to a deeper understanding of alkaline water electrolysis and paves the way for the development of more efficient and stable catalysts. On 8 July 2025, she received the Helmholtz Doctoral Prize, which honours the best and most original doctoral theses in the Helmholtz Association.
- New department at HZB: ‘AI and Biomolecular Structures’Since 1 July 2025, Dr. Andrea Thorn has been setting up the new AI and Biomolecular Structures department at HZB. A biophysicist with many years of experience in AI-based tools for structural biology, she is looking forward to collaborating closely with the macromolecular crystallography team at the MX beamlines of BESSY II.
- Almost 4,000 People at the Long Night of the Sciences at HZBHelmholtz-Zentrum Berlin was delighted to welcome nearly 4,000 visitors to its Adlershof campus for the Long Night of the Sciences. It was a fantastic celebration of science, and we thank all our guests for their great interest.