Joint graduate school for data science sponsors its first projects
The Helmholtz Association, the Einstein Center Digital Future (ECDF) and the universities of Berlin are creating a new PhD programme in Berlin for the field of data science. Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin is involved in several of the projects. The first training positions are already advertised.
The international graduate school HEIBRiDS is being funded with six million euros. It aims at training PhD students who are researching matters that demand not only great expertise in computer science but also specialised knowledge in other disciplines. The PhD students will acquire a deep understanding of the complex relationships between specialised knowledge, algorithmic skills and application-oriented methodologies.
The graduate school will offer at least 25 doctoral students four years of training. Being organised across several locations, the PhD students can benefit from joint educational offerings and a networked research environment. The interdisciplinary subjects are overseen by supervisor teams comprising one researcher from the Helmholtz Association and one from the Einstein Center ECDF. This year, HZB offers at least two doctoral positions.
The graduate school will draw on the participating institutions’ scientific expertise. Within the Helmholtz centres of the capital region, this expertise spans the fields of medicine, energy research, transportation, geosciences and climatology. The Einstein Center Digital Future researches the core technologies of digitalisation, from digital health and digital industry to the digital humanities.
Application
Click here to see the advertised PhD projects of HEIBRiDS (central recruitment for all Helmholtz-Centers will be managed through the MDC website). Please apply by March 3, 2018.
- SpinMagIC: 'EPR on a chip' ensures quality of olive oil and beerThe first sign of spoilage in many food products is the formation of free radicals, which reduces the shelf-life and the overall quality of the food. Until now, the detection of these molecules has been very costly for the food companies. Researchers at HZB and the University of Stuttgart have developed a portable, small and inexpensive 'EPR on a chip' sensor that can detect free radicals even at very low concentrations. They are now working to set up a spin-off company, supported by the EXIST research transfer programme of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection. The EPRoC sensor will initially be used in the production of olive oil and beer to ensure the quality of these products.
- Green hydrogen: ‘Artificial leaf’ becomes better under pressureHydrogen can be produced via the electrolytic splitting of water. One option here is the use of photoelectrodes that convert sunlight into voltage for electrolysis in so called photoelectrochemical cells (PEC cells). A research team at HZB has now shown that the efficiency of PEC cells can be significantly increased under pressure.
- Green hydrogen from direct seawater electrolysis- experts warn against hypeAt first glance, the plan sounds compelling: invent and develop future electrolysers capable of producing hydrogen directly from unpurified seawater. But a closer look reveals that such direct seawater electrolysers would require years of high-end research. And what is more: DSE electrolyzers are not even necessary - a simple desalination process is sufficient to prepare seawater for conventional electrolyzers. In a commentary in Joule, international experts compare the costs and benefits of the different approaches and come to a clear recommendation.