Monash University awards three HZB-scientist with adjunct professorships
Prof. Klaus Lips, Prof. Emad Aziz and Dr. Alexander Schnegg (f.l.t.r) have been awarded with adjunct professorships by Monash-University. © HZB
Cooperation between Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, is thriving. Now, Monash University has awarded three HZB-scientists with adjunct professorships: Prof. Klaus Lips, Dr. Alexander Schnegg and Prof. Emad Aziz have been working several years already with Prof. Leone Spiccia, an internationally renowned chemist at Monash University, on energy materials science.
Spiccia is investigating artificial photosynthesis in order to develop solutions to convert solar energy into easily storable hydrogen. In 2011 and 2014 he spend time as a guest scientist at HZB working with teams of Lips, Schnegg and Aziz. Numerous publications in high impact journals have been the result of this fruitful collaboration.
As adjunct professors the HZB-scientists are entitled to organise workshops and seminars at Monash University and to further common research projects. To do so, they are given access to the resources of ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science at Monash University.
.
- Electrocatalysts: New model for charge separation at the solid-liquid interfaceHydrogen is at the heart of the transition to carbon neutrality, as both an energy carrier and a reagent for green chemistry. However, large-scale production of hydrogen via electrolysis, as well as the production of many other chemical products, requires significantly cheaper and more efficient catalysts. A precise understanding of the electrochemical processes that take place at the interface between the solid catalyst and the liquid medium is highly useful for developing better electrocatalysts. In the journal Nature Communications, an European team has now presented a powerful model that determines charge separation at the interface, the formation of the electric double layer and local electric potential variations, and the resulting influence on the catalytic activity.
- Theory meets practice – We’re heading back to HTW Berlin!The HZB’s BIPV consultancy office (BAIP) is once again coordinating and delivering the lecture series “Building-Integrated Photovoltaics”.
- 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.