Ombudspersons for good scientific practise appointed
The new ombudspersons at HZB have been appointed. from right to left, top: Manfred Weiss, Annette Pietzsch, bottom: Sebastian Fiechter and Michael Tovar. They will be happy to advise you on all questions regarding good scientific practice and the supervision of young researchers. Just get in touch with them!
Manfred Weiss, Sebastian Fiechter, Annette Pietzsch and Michael Tovar have been available to you as ombudspersons since 1 January 2023. They will be happy to advise you on all questions regarding good scientific practice at the HZB.
For Manfred Weiss and Sebastian Fiechter, this is their second term as ombudspersons. Annette Pietzsch and Michael Tovar have taken on the role of ombudsperson for the first time. All four have many years of experience in academic work. This mix of new and existing ombudspersons is intended to allow for both continuity and the change in ombudsperson ships required by the German Research Foundation (DFG).
The Scientific and Technical Council at HZB (WTR) recommended the four ombudspersons for appointment to the HZB management after carefully evaluating all proposals. The term of office of the ombudspersons begins on 1 January 2023 and ends on 31 December 2025.
Iver Lauermann and Yvonne Tomm retired as ombudspersons at the end of 2022 after their term of appointment ended. The HZB management and the WTR would like to thank the previous team for their dedicated and excellent work and wish the new ombudspersons a good start and much success!
The team of ombudspersons will introduce themselves to the staff in the coming weeks.
Rules of good scientific practice at HZB
In 2021, the HZB revised its rules of good scientific practice based on the recommendations of the DFG (see News). The catalogue of rules not only contains statements on what careful scientific work should look like, but also addresses the responsible supervision and education of young scientists.
What are the ombudspersons for?
The ombudspersons are the first point of contact for dealing with possible scientific misconduct. They also advise on questions regarding the supervision of young academics. The ombudspersons act with the greatest possible confidentiality. To avoid bias, persons from different scientific areas of the HZB have been appointed for this purpose.
- Helmholtz Doctoral Award for Hanna TrzesniowskiDuring her doctoral studies at the Helmholtz Centre Berlin, Hanna Trzesniowski conducted research on nickel-based electrocatalysts for water splitting. Her work contributes to a deeper understanding of alkaline water electrolysis and paves the way for the development of more efficient and stable catalysts. On 8 July 2025, she received the Helmholtz Doctoral Prize, which honours the best and most original doctoral theses in the Helmholtz Association.
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- Almost 4,000 People at the Long Night of the Sciences at HZBHelmholtz-Zentrum Berlin was delighted to welcome nearly 4,000 visitors to its Adlershof campus for the Long Night of the Sciences. It was a fantastic celebration of science, and we thank all our guests for their great interest.