Steve Albrecht is one of the “Highly Cited Researchers 2023”
Only a few researchers manage to become internationally recognised in their field. Perovskite researcher Steve Albrecht is one of them, in particular because his team did contribute to several world records for silicon perovskite tandem solar cells. © M. Setzpfandt / HZB
Every year, countless articles are published in specialist journals. The information service provider Clarivate uses a recognised method to measure the influence of the published articles on the respective subject area. According to this year's evaluation, HZB researcher Steve Albrecht is one of the most "highly cited researchers" having a significant influence on his field. Albrecht and his team have been involved in several world records for tandem solar cells in recent years and have published the results in high-ranking scientific journals.
Only one in 1000 active researchers belongs to the circle of “Highly Cited Researchers”. Over the past ten years, those selected have produced a number of excellent publications that other work can build on and which are therefore frequently cited. However, citation activity is not the only selection indicator, writes Clarivate, a company that analyses the Web of Science: For example, publications that show evidence of citation cartels or self-citations have been weeded out. This year, 6,849 researchers from 68 countries and regions were honoured.
From the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Prof. Dr Steve Albrecht was identified as a “Highly Cited Researcher”. Albrecht leads a team researching perovskite materials for solar cells. Together with other groups at HZB and partner institutions, he has set several world records for the efficiency of tandem solar cells. His research is widely recognised, as evidenced by the “Highly Cited Researchers” award, and is making a significant contribution to the advancement of research in solar energy.
Note: HZB researcher Antonio Abate is also one of the "Highly Cited Researchers 2023", albeit not as an HZB researcher, but with an affiliation to one of his previous academic stations. Abate is also researching perovskite solar cells, which makes HZB perovskite research visible worldwide.
- 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.
- New department at HZB: ‘AI and Biomolecular Structures’Since 1 July 2025, Dr. Andrea Thorn has been setting up the new AI and Biomolecular Structures department at HZB. A biophysicist with many years of experience in AI-based tools for structural biology, she is looking forward to collaborating closely with the macromolecular crystallography team at the MX beamlines of BESSY II.
- New Helmholtz Young Investigator Group at HZB on perovskite solar cellsSilvia Mariotti starts building up the new Helmholtz Young Investigator Group ‘Perovskite-based multi-junction solar cells’. The perovskite expert, who was previously based at Okinawa University in Japan, aims to advance the development of multi-junction solar cells made from different perovskite layers.