Renske van der Veen heads new department "Atomic Dynamics in Light-Energy Conversion"
Renske van der Veen has a lot of experience with ultrafast x-ray measurements. © Irene Böttcher-Gajweski/MPIBC
From June 2021, Dr. Renske van der Veen is setting up a new research group at HZB. The chemist is an expert in time-resolved X-ray spectroscopy and electron microscopy and studies catalytic processes that enable the conversion of solar energy into chemical energy.
Dr. Renske van der Veen successfully obtained a Helmholtz Funding of first-time professorial appointments of excellent women scientists (W2/W3), whereupon the HZB has already initiated an S-W2 appointment procedure at TU Berlin. She has 14 years of experience in the field of ultrafast X-ray methods. "At BESSY II, I can apply and expand this experience in my research project," says van der Veen, emphasising, "The results could also contribute to the scientific case for BESSY III."
Renske van der Veen studied at ETH Zurich, received her PhD from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and conducted research at the California Institute of Technology, the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, and the University of Illinois, where she held an assistant professorship. Her research was honoured with the Sofja Kovalevskaja Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering.
At HZB, Renske van der Veen is now looking forward to exchange with research groups working on related topics, from modelling ultrafast energy transfer, developing ultrafast techniques at BESSY II, to developing photoelectrodes and heterogeneous photocatalysts at the Institute for Solar Fuels.
- A duo for BESSY III light sourceSince 1 March 2026, Renske van der Veen and Andreas Jankowiak have formed the leadership team of BESSY III. Together, they will drive forward HZB’s central project: the planning and realisation of BESSY III light source in Berlin-Adlershof. Here, they talk about their motivation, the next steps, and why BESSY III is a a cross-generational project.
- Catalysis research at HZB gets new facilityAs part of the CatLab project, HZB has acquired a unique facility for measuring the catalytic performance of thin-film catalysts. Built by ILS in Adlershof, it has now been delivered. The facility consists of a total of eight chemical reactors in which catalytic systems can be tested. At over €2.5 million, this is the largest single investment in the CatLab project.
- Protein crystallography at BESSY II: faster, better and more and more automaticMany diseases are linked to malfunctions of proteins in the organism. The three-dimensional architecture of these molecules is often highly complex, but it can provide valuable insights into biological processes and the development of drugs. X-ray diffraction at the MX beamlines of BESSY II can be used to decipher the 3D structure of proteins. To date, more than 5000 structures have been solved at the three MX beamlines. Here, we present a review and an outlook with Manfred Weiss, head of the research group for macromolecular crystallography.