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.
- Peat as a sustainable precursor for fuel cell catalyst materialsIron-nitrogen-carbon catalysts have the potential to replace the more expensive platinum catalysts currently used in fuel cells. This is shown by a study conducted by researchers from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) and universities in Tartu and Tallinn, Estonia. At BESSY II, the team observed the formation of complex microstructures within various samples. They then analysed which structural parameters were particularly important for fostering the preferred electrochemical reactions. The raw material for such catalysts is well decomposed peat.
- Helmholtz Investigator Group on magnonsDr Hebatalla Elnaggar is setting up a new Helmholtz Investigator Group at HZB. At BESSY II, the materials scientist will investigate so-called magnons in magnetic perovskite thin films. The aim is to lay the foundations for future terahertz magnon technology: magnonic devices operating in the terahertz range could process data using a fraction of the energy required by the most advanced semiconductor devices, and at speeds up to a thousand times faster.
- The future of corals – what X-rays can tell usThis summer, it was all over the media. Driven by the climate crisis, the oceans have now also passed a critical point, the absorption of CO2 is making the oceans increasingly acidic. The shells of certain sea snails are already showing the first signs of damage. But also the skeleton structures of coral reefs are deteriorating in more acidic conditions. This is especially concerning given that corals are already suffering from marine heatwaves and pollution, which are leading to bleaching and finally to the death of entire reefs worldwide. But how exactly does ocean acidification affect reef structures?
Prof. Dr. Tali Mass, a marine biologist from the University of Haifa, Israel, is an expert on stony corals. Together with Prof. Dr. Paul Zaslansky, X-ray imaging expert from Charité Berlin, she investigated at BESSY II the skeleton formation in baby corals, raised under different pH conditions. Antonia Rötger spoke online with the two experts about the results of their recent study and the future of coral reefs.