HI-SCORE international research school: Kick Off Meeting in Berlin
More than 50 participants from Israel and Berlin initiated the international research school HI-SCORE with a kick off meeting. © HZB
The international research school on solar energy promotes exchange between Germany and Israel and excellent conditions for PhD students.
With a two day kick off meeting at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) the Helmholtz International Research School HI-SCORE on solar energy research has started. To accomplish this, HZB is collaborating with the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, the Israeli Institute of Technology (Technion) in Haifa, and three Israeli universities as well as universities in Berlin and Potsdam. The project is funded by the Helmholtz Association.
The name “HI-SCORE” stands for “Hybrid Integrated Systems for Conversion of Solar Energy”. The research themes extend from novel solar cells based on metal-organic perovskites, to tandem solar cells, to complex systems of materials for generating solar fuels. These complex materials systems can convert the energy of sunlight to chemical energy so it can be easily stored in the form of fuel.
The research school HI-SCORE does offer more than 30 places for PhD students in Israel and Germany, with excellent research conditions and with internationally renowned scientists as supervisors. Additionally they benefit from the comprehensive selection of seminars and advanced training opportunities. All of the HI-SCORE doctoral students will conduct research in both countries and be advised by staff at HZB as well as by the Israeli partners.
More than 50 participants joined together in a working meeting April 23-4, 2018 to inaugurate the new HI-SCORE Research School. A total of 20 Israeli colleagues came to Berlin from the five Israeli partnering institutions. The acting Managing Director of HZB, Prof. Bernd Rech, welcomed the participants in the BESSY auditorium. After the individual projects were presented on Monday morning, the participants used the afternoon to plan the joint research work for the next few months. There was an opportunity to visit laboratories at the HZB on Tuesday.
Dr. Daniel Abou-Ras, Scientific Coordinator, explains: "All the participants got to know each other personally for the first time at this initial meeting and were able to reach concrete agreements on the projects and the distribution of tasks. We are very much looking forward to productive teamwork."
The Helmholtz Association is funding HI-SCORE as the Helmholtz International Research School beginning in 2018. The School will receive a total of 1.8 million Euros from the Initiative and Networking Fund of the President of the Helmholtz Association over a period of six years. In addition, the collaborating partners and HZB are making their own contributions, so that the total budget will be approximately 7 million Euros.
More information:
Website HI-SCORE International Research School
Interview with the speaker of Hi-SCORE Research Schhol in our Campus-Blog (in German).
General informationen about the Helmholtz International Research Schools
- Metallic nanocatalysts: what really happens during catalysisUsing 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.
- KlarText Prize for Hanna TrzesniowskiThe chemist has been awarded the prestigious KlarText Prize for Science Communication by the Klaus Tschira Foundation.
- Shedding light on insulators: how light pulses unfreeze electronsMetal oxides are abundant in nature and central to technologies such as photocatalysis and photovoltaics. Yet, many suffer from poor electrical conduction, caused by strong repulsion between electrons in neighboring metal atoms. Researchers at HZB and partner institutions have shown that light pulses can temporarily weaken these repulsive forces, lowering the energy required for electrons mobility, inducing a metal-like behavior. This discovery offers a new way to manipulate material properties with light, with high potential to more efficient light-based devices.