Helmholtz Doctoral Award for Hanna Trzesniowski
Helmholtz president Otmar D. Wiestler presented Hanna Trzesniowski with the Helmholtz Doctoral Prize on 8 July 2025. © Oliver Walterscheid
The Helmholtz President surrounded by the doctoral prize winners (from left to right): Marvin Carl May, Clara Vázquez García, Stephan Hilpmann, Lars Grundhöfer, Otmar D. Wiestler, Laura Helleckes, Monica Keszler, Benedikt Wagner, Hanna Trzesniowski, Celia Dobersalske, Tim Ziegler, and Vanessa Stenvers. © Oliver Walterscheid
During 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.
Almost 9,000 doctoral students are conducting research at Helmholtz. Eleven of them have now been honoured – one of them is Hanna Trzesniowski, who wrote her doctoral thesis at HZB and now works in Berkeley in the USA. On 8 July, she received the Helmholtz Doctoral Prize in the ‘Matter’ category from the President of Helmholtz, Prof. Otmar D. Wiestler.
“Cutting-edge research thrives on outstanding young talent from all over the world. That is why we at Helmholtz do everything we can to provide them with an environment in which they can fully develop their potential,” said Otmar D. Wiestler. “This year's award winners are shining examples of scientific excellence and innovation at the highest level.”
About the award-winning work
Hydrogen is considered an important building block for the energy system of the future and is also needed in large quantities as a raw material for the chemical industry. With the help of catalysts, water can be split electrolytically to produce hydrogen.
As part of her doctoral research, Hanna Trzesniowski investigated nickel-based electrocatalysts for water splitting. Under alkaline conditions, these represent a promising alternative to rare materials such as iridium for hydrogen production. A key finding of her research was the elucidation of the electronic structure of nickel-iron oxide catalysts in their catalytically active state. In addition, she succeeded for the first time in spectroscopically observing the processes at the electrochemical interface – i.e. exactly where water splitting takes place. Hanna Trzesniowski's work contributes to deepening our understanding of alkaline water electrolysis and paving the way for the development of more efficient and stable catalysts.
- What Zinc concentration in teeth revealsTeeth are composites of mineral and protein, with a bulk of bony dentin that is highly porous. This structure is allows teeth to be both strong and sensitive. Besides calcium and phosphate, teeth contain trace elements such as zinc. Using complementary microscopy imaging techniques, a team from Charité Berlin, TU Berlin and HZB has quantified the distribution of natural zinc along and across teeth in 3 dimensions. The team found that, as porosity in dentine increases towards the pulp, zinc concentration increases 5~10 fold. These results help to understand the influence of widely-used zinc-containing biomaterials (e.g. filling) and could inspire improvements in dental medicine.
- Fascinating archaeological find becomes a source of knowledgeThe Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments (BLfD) has sent a rare artefact from the Middle Bronze Age to Berlin for examination using cutting-edge, non-destructive methods. It is a 3,400-year-old bronze sword, unearthed during archaeological excavations in Nördlingen, Swabia, in 2023. Experts have been able to determine how the hilt and blade are connected, as well as how the rare and well-preserved decorations on the pommel were made. This has provided valuable insight into the craft techniques employed in southern Germany during the Bronze Age. The BLfD used 3D computed tomography and X-ray diffraction to analyse internal stresses at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), as well as X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy at a BESSY II beamline supervised by the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM).
- Element cobalt exhibits surprising propertiesThe element cobalt is considered a typical ferromagnet with no further secrets. However, an international team led by HZB researcher Dr. Jaime Sánchez-Barriga has now uncovered complex topological features in its electronic structure. Spin-resolved measurements of the band structure (spin-ARPES) at BESSY II revealed entangled energy bands that cross each other along extended paths in specific crystallographic directions, even at room temperature. As a result, cobalt can be considered as a highly tunable and unexpectedly rich topological platform, opening new perspectives for exploiting magnetic topological states in future information technologies.