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.
- Imaging Ellipsometry for Process Control of Thin-Film DevicesA German–Israeli research team led by Dr. Andreas Furchner has demonstrated how imaging ellipsometry enables non-destructive characterisation and quality control of microstructured MXene thin films during device fabrication. The authors used two complementary ellipsometry approaches for precise, multi-scale access to key material properties. The work positions imaging ellipsometry as a powerful platform for monitoring thin-film uniformity, device integrity, and functionality throughout processing, including critical lithographic steps. The study was published in Applied Physics Letters and selected as an Editor’s Pick.
- AI-driven Catalyst Discovery: €30 million funding for German consortiumSix partners from research and industry, including Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), the Fritz-Haber-Institute of the Max Planck Society (FHI), BASF, Dunia Innovations, Siemens Energy, and the Technical University Berlin are launching a joint project to accelerate the catalyst discovery. The German Federal Ministry for Science, Technology and Space (BMFTR) is providing €30 million in funding for ASCEND (Accelerated Solutions for Catalysis using Emerging Nanotechnology and Digital Innovation). The research initiative targets the defossilisation of energy-intensive industries while safeguarding industrial competitiveness, with a focus on the chemical sector. The five-year project will start on 1st April 2026.
- Kick-off for a new data and AI centre in BerlinBy establishing a new data and AI centre in Berlin, the Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB) and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) are laying the foundations for a scalable and sovereign data infrastructure in the capital. The project strengthens the scientific capabilities of Berlin’s research community whilst making an important contribution to research security, resilience and technological independence.