Ernst Eckhard Koch Prize and Synchrotron Radiation Innovation Award
From left to right: Prof. Gerard Meijer, Fritz Haber Institute, Berlin, Dr. Manfred Faubel, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen, Dr. Bernd Winter, Fritz Haber Institute, Berlin, Dr. Franziska Emmerling, Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing. © M. Setzpfandt / HZB
From left to right: Dr. Michael Krumrey, PTB, Dr. Dieter Skroblin, PTB, Dr. Franziska Emmerling, BAM. © M. Setzpfandt / HZB
This year, the Friends of Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (Freundeskreis des HZB e. V.) awarded the Ernst Eckhard Koch Prize to Dr. Dieter Skroblin of the Technische Universität Berlin for his outstanding doctoral thesis. The European Innovation Award Synchrotron Radiation went to Dr. Manfred Faubel from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in Göttingen and Dr. Bernd Winter from the Fritz Haber Institute in Berlin. The award ceremony took place at this year's HZB user meeting.
The 2024 Synchrotron Radiation Innovation Prize was awarded to Dr. Manfred Faubel of the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in Göttingen and Dr. Bernd Winter of the Fritz Haber Institute in Berlin. They received the prize for their groundbreaking development and application of liquid jet photoelectron spectroscopy (LJ-PES). The method is widely used to study surface phenomena, biochemical reactions and atmospheric chemistry. Prof. Gerard Meijer from the Fritz Haber Institute in Berlin gave the laudatory speech at the award ceremony on December 11, 2024 in Berlin-Adlershof.
The Ernst-Eckhard-Koch Prize 2024 was awarded to Dr. Dieter Skroblin from the Technical University of Berlin. His dissertation “Application of X-ray Characterization Tools for ordered Nanostructures: Hybrid Detectors, Magnetic Sample Environment & Computational Simulations” was carried out at PTB and combines innovative X-ray scattering and spectrometry methods to study nanomaterials. Dr. Skroblin made significant progress in experimental setups and data interpretation, including the calibration of a hybrid pixel detector and the development of a device for aligning nanoparticles in a magnetic field. The award committee recognized the importance of his work for future research priorities at the planned synchrotron radiation source BESSY III.
Friends of Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin e.V.
The "Friends of Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin e. V." is dedicated to promoting science and research with synchrotron radiation, and in particular young scientists. It aims to be a link between the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the public, and to cultivate cooperation between the HZB, its friends and supporters, and other institutions in Germany and abroad. The association's main activities include the annual awarding of the Ernst Eckhard Koch Dissertation Prize and the Synchrotron Radiation Innovation P
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- Innovative battery electrode made from tin foamMetal-based electrodes in lithium-ion batteries promise significantly higher capacities than conventional graphite electrodes. Unfortunately, they degrade due to mechanical stress during charging and discharging cycles. A team at HZB has now shown that a highly porous tin foam is much better at absorbing mechanical stress during charging cycles. This makes tin foam an interesting material for lithium batteries.
- BESSY II: Building block of the catalyst for oxygen formation in photosynthesis reproducedIn a small manganese oxide cluster, teams from HZB and HU Berlin have discovered a particularly exciting compound: two high spin manganese centres in two very different oxidation states and. This complex is the simplest model of a catalyst that occurs as a slightly larger cluster in natural photosynthesis, where it enables the formation of molecular oxygen. The discovery is considered an important step towards a complete understanding of photosynthesis.