All BESSY II instruments reconnected to the network
© HZB / D. Laubner
Thirteen months ago, HZB fell victim to a criminal cyberattack that also took BESSY II light source and the instruments in the experimental hall out of operation. BESSY II was up and running again after just three weeks and the instruments were gradually put back into operation. Now HZB can report some good news: All experimental stations are again integrated into the new IT networks and can record data.
In a task force led by Andreas Jankowiak and Jens Viefhaus, a team led by Ruslan Ovsyannikov succeeded in implementing a new IT infrastructure and a resilient network architecture. This project is now to be firmly established and perpetuated at HZB. The aim is to achieve the full functionality of the BESSY-II user service, to establish new possibilities for remote experiments and better data management.
The project also benefits from the successes of an international cooperation that is developing a new basis for experimental data management at light sources and small labs called Bluesky. With Bluesky, a new type of experimental data acquisition system is being introduced throughout BESSY II (under the leadership of HZB employees William Smith and Simone Vadilonga). It is already in operation at several BESSY beamlines. The introduction of Bluesky at BESSY II is a milestone and has attracted much attention in the scientific community. Several European accelerators are interested in the novel data control system.
HZB is also participating in the Helmholtz project ROCK-IT (Remote, Operando Controlled, Knowledge-driven, and IT-based) to meet the future challenges of data management and the IT structures of large-scale scientific research facilities. The aim is to develop all necessary tools for the automation and remote access of in-situ and operando experiments at synchrotrons. Simplified access to the experiments is a central concern of the user community.
- Green hydrogen: MXenes shows talent as catalyst for oxygen evolutionThe MXene class of materials has many talents. An international team led by HZB chemist Michelle Browne has now demonstrated that MXenes, properly functionalised, are excellent catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction in electrolytic water splitting. They are more stable and efficient than the best metal oxide catalysts currently available. The team is now extensively characterising these MXene catalysts for water splitting at the Berlin X-ray source BESSY II and Soleil Synchrotron in France.
- Review on ocular particle therapy (OPT) by international expertsA team of leading experts in medical physics, physics and radiotherapy, including HZB physicist Prof. Andrea Denker and Charité medical physicist Dr Jens Heufelder, has published a review article on ocular particle therapy. The article appeared in the Red Journal, one of the most prestigious journals in the field. It outlines the special features of this form of eye therapy, explains the state of the art and current research priorities, provides recommendations for the delivery of radiotherapy and gives an outlook on future developments.
- "BESSY is of immense importance for Berlin"At the end of August, the Senator for Research, Health, and Long-Term Care, Dr Ina Czyborra, together with the State Secretary for Science, Dr Henry Marx, ended her summer tour with a visit to HZB in Adlershof. She publicly declared her political support for the new construction of BESSY III.