Guest researcher at HZB: Bessel Prize Winner Benjamin Rotenberg

Benjamin Rotenberg is a guest researcher at the HZB-Institute for Solar Fuels in 2018.

Benjamin Rotenberg is a guest researcher at the HZB-Institute for Solar Fuels in 2018. © CNRS/Cyril Fresillon

Prof. Benjamin Rotenberg has received a Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Prize from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for 2018 and will be spending time regularly as a guest researcher at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin. Rotenberg is a researcher of the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and heads a research group in Sorbonne Université in Paris. He works in an interdisciplinary area spanning physics and chemistry for modelling transport processes in materials, at interfaces, and in electrolytes.

Rotenberg heads a theory group at the PHENIX laboratory of the (CNRS) and Sorbonne Université in Paris. He has previously worked at research establishments in Amsterdam, Berkeley, Barcelona, and Cambridge. The models developed by him can be applied to many problems, especially to those in the environmental field and energy research.

Currently, Rotenberg is concentrating on processes in complex material systems that are of interest for energy storage and conversion. It was for this reason that Prof. Joe Dzubiella, who heads a theory group at the HZB, nominated him for the Bessel Research Prize. During his time at the HZB-Institute for Solar Fuels, Rotenberg will work closely with colleagues from experimentation groups investigating complex electrolytes and catalysts that facilitate production of hydrogen from sunlight.

About the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Prize

Nominees for the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Prize must be internationally recognised scientists from abroad who have completed their doctorates no more than 18 years ago. This funding enables them to carry out research of their own choosing in collaboration with colleagues in Germany over a period of up to one year. The prize is endowed with 45,000 euros.

For further information: https://www.humboldt-foundation.de/web/bessel-award.html

 

arö

  • Copy link

You might also be interested in

  • The Enabler - portrait of Saskia Vormfelde
    Portrait
    17.09.2025
    The Enabler - portrait of Saskia Vormfelde
    Saskia Vormfelde takes on her new role as Administrative Director in September – and she is bringing more to the table than just a knack for accounting.
  • Porous Radical Organic framework improves lithium-sulphur batteries
    Science Highlight
    15.09.2025
    Porous Radical Organic framework improves lithium-sulphur batteries
    A team led by Prof. Yan Lu, HZB, and Prof. Arne Thomas, Technical University of Berlin, has developed a material that enhances the capacity and stability of lithium-sulphur batteries. The material is based on polymers that form a framework with open pores (known as radical-cationic covalent organic frameworks or COFs). Catalytically accelerated reactions take place in these pores, firmly trapping polysulphides, which would shorten the battery life. Some of the experimental analyses were conducted at the BAMline at BESSY II.
  • Metallic nanocatalysts: what really happens during catalysis
    Science Highlight
    10.09.2025
    Metallic nanocatalysts: what really happens during catalysis
    Using a combination of spectromicroscopy at BESSY II and microscopic analyses at DESY's NanoLab, a team has gained new insights into the chemical behaviour of nanocatalysts during catalysis. The nanoparticles consisted of a platinum core with a rhodium shell. This configuration allows a better understanding of structural changes in, for example, rhodium-platinum catalysts for emission control. The results show that under typical catalytic conditions, some of the rhodium in the shell can diffuse into the interior of the nanoparticles. However, most of it remains on the surface and oxidises. This process is strongly dependent on the surface orientation of the nanoparticle facets.