Three days for exchange between Users of BESSY II and BER II and HZB-scientists
Usermeetings offer a platform for exchange and communication. © M-Setzpfand/HZB
The Seventh Joint BER II and BESSY II User Meeting will take place at WISTA, Berlin-Adlershof on December 9th and 10th, the neutrons session are at Berlin-Wannsee on December 11th. The Verein Freundeskreis Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin e.V. will bestow the Innovation Award and the Ernst-Eckart-Koch Prize. Public highlights are a science slam on Wednesday, 18:30 and the public lecture by David Cahen on the power of science to bridge ideological differences (“Science: Bridge over troubled water“, Thursday 17:00). The public lecture and the science slam are open for everybody.
Wednesday 9th December: WISTA-Centre, Adlershof
- The Synchrotron Day starts at 14:00: HZB scientist will present new developments at BESSY II, followed by the Young Scientists Session and for the first time:
- a HZB Science Slam (18:30).
Thursday 10th December: WISTA-Centre, Adlershof
- The Science Day starts with a keynote lecture by Petra de Jongh (University Utrecht) about the “stability of supported transition metal catalysts”.
- The next sessions are dedicated to short oral presentations about (user)-research at BESSY II, ranging from the analysis of spins in diverse materials, protein crystallography to the geology of meteorites.
- The Innovation Award and the Ernst-Eckart-Koch Prize will be awarded by the Verein Freundeskreis Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin e.V. during the afternoon.
- At 17:00 David Cahen, head of the optoelectronic materials group at Weizmann Institute of Science, will give a public lecture, sharing his thoughts on science as a bridge over huge divides such as ideologies.
- The Poster Session accompanied by the traditional “Berlin Buffet”, kindly sponsored by the companies represented in the industrial exhibition, will conclude the evening.
Friday, 11th December: LMC-Campus, Wannsee:
- The Neutron day begins with a Neutron session, where HZB scientists will give short overviews about new options and improvements, including the presentation of the High Field Magnet.
- In the Young Scientists Session and during the Poster Session, user research will be presented.
The public lecture and the science slam are open for everybody.
More Information on the User meeting:
Download the detailed programme here.
- Peat as a sustainable precursor for fuel cell catalyst materialsIron-nitrogen-carbon catalysts have the potential to replace the more expensive platinum catalysts currently used in fuel cells. This is shown by a study conducted by researchers from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) and universities in Tartu and Tallinn, Estonia. At BESSY II, the team observed the formation of complex microstructures within various samples. They then analysed which structural parameters were particularly important for fostering the preferred electrochemical reactions. The raw material for such catalysts is well decomposed peat.
- Susanne Nies appointed to EU advisory group on Green DealDr. Susanne Nies heads the Green Deal Ukraina project at HZB, which aims to support the development of a sustainable energy system in Ukraine. The energy expert has now also been appointed to the European Commission's scientific advisory group to comment on regulatory burdens in connection with the net-zero target (DG GROW).
- Electrocatalysis with dual functionality – an overviewHybrid electrocatalysts can produce green hydrogen, for example, and valuable organic compounds simultaneously. This promises economically viable applications. However, the complex catalytic reactions involved in producing organic compounds are not yet fully understood. Modern X-ray methods at synchrotron sources such as BESSY II, enable catalyst materials and the reactions occurring on their surfaces to be analysed in real time, in situ and under real operating conditions. This provides insights that can be used for targeted optimisation. A team has now published an overview of the current state of knowledge in Nature Reviews Chemistry.