Summer in the laboratory: 24 students from all over the world start their summer project
Group picture at arrival day at HZB. © S. Kodalle/HZB
For eight weeks the summer students are now working on a research project at the Helmholtz Centre Berlin. Experienced scientists of the HZB will support them. On Thursday, 30 August, they will present their results.
This year, 282 young people from all over the world applied to take part in the HZB's summer program. But only 24 places are available. Now the selected students can start their project. They come from 14 different countries, including Egypt, China, Cuba, Russia and Thailand, and study STEM subjects in Bachelor's or Master's programmes at their home universities. For many, the summer student program is the first step into research.
"Once again this year, many HZB researchers have signed up with project ideas for summer students and agreed to intensively support the students," says Gabriele Lampert, who coordinates the summer student program. "I know that this also means additional work, but the experience from recent years also shows that it is often worth it for both sides. Because it happens again and again that summer students come back later, for example for a doctorate, as cooperation partners or users.
Finally, the summer students will present their results on 30 August 2019 at 11:00. Three students will give a short lecture, all others will explain their project with a self-designed poster.
- 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.