04.05.2020 - #Corona: HZB resumes operation step by step
A novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is spreading worldwide and can cause severe respiratory symptoms (COVID-19). © CDC/Wikimedia commons
After a careful assessment of the situation, the management decided that operations at HZB would be resumed step by step from 4 May onwards. Strict security regulations apply. BESSY II will be available again for in-house research from 11 May. For Sars-CoV-2-relevant measurements a fast access to BESSY II has been established.
We will continuously update the information on this page. We follow the current recommendations of the Robert Koch Institute, the Federal Ministry of Health and the Senate Chancellery and ask all parties involved for their understanding.
Gradual resumption of operations at HZB
The HZB gradually resumes operations - under permanent observation of the situation and strict security regulations.
The BESSY II accelerator will be put back into operation, but will initially only be available to HZB researchers. In the next few weeks, the laboratories will again be able to operate in a restricted manner, in accordance with safety regulations. Please contact the laboratory managers for further details.
User operation at BESSY II will be suspended until 31 May 2020. Exception: Sars-CoV-2 relevant measurements on the MX-Beamlines can be performed. For research groups we have established a fast-track access.
The patient operation in the proton therapy takes place according to plan. Should changes become necessary due to developments, all those affected will be informed.
Furthermore these measures apply:
Immediate cancellation of all events and visitor groups until 20.07.2020 in accordance with the notification of the Senate Chancellery, e.g.:
- The Long Night of Science on 6 June 2020
- Physics for breakfast on 8 July 2020 is cancelled.
- Groups of visitors cannot visit our facilities.
- School lab groups are cancelled.
- Workshops and scientific events are cancelled.
- all trainings offered by HZB company sports are cancelled.
Access for external companies: In order to ensure effective containment of the corona virus, employees of external companies may only enter HZB if they have had no contact with an infected person within the last three weeks (neither privately nor professionally). This must be confirmed in a written form (see download box). Further information can be obtained from your respective contact person at HZB.
HZB staff will get fresh information via the intranet.
- BESSY II: High-resolution insights into individual biomolecules and catalystsVery small biological samples and even individual biomolecules can now be examined under near-physiological conditions with high confidence at the BESSY II infrared beamline with a newly validated and improved technique: The nanoscale infrared spectroscopy (s-SNOM) with ultra-thin silicon-based membranes. An international team demonstrated after an initial proof of concept, that high-resolution (a few tens of nanometres) nano-IR measurements reliably match expected far-field IR spectra in an aqueous environment. This methodological advance provides a solid foundation for studying biomaterials or observing catalytic processes in a liquid environment.
- New method shows how molecular switches are influenced by their neighborsResearchers at Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the Helmholtz Centre Berlin (HZB) have, for the first time, been able to directly observe how the environment surrounding a molecular switch influences its electronic structure. Molecular switches are molecules that can be switched between two states by external influences such as changes in temperature—similar to a switch with the positions »On« and »Off«. Such molecules are being investigated as potential building blocks for future data storage devices or sensor materials. Using magnetic-field-dependent terahertz spectroscopy, the researchers have now, for the first time, been able to distinguish whether neighbouring molecules in a material are in the same or different states. The results have been published in the journal »Angewandte Chemie International Edition«.
- BESSY II is back in operation after maintenance shutdownOn 7 September 2026, BESSY II was set into operation after a four-week shutdown. BESSY II is scheduled to resume full user operation on 22 September.