Bernd Rech elected to the BR50 Board of Directors
The new Board of Directors at BR50: (from the left) Anja Sommerfeld (Head of the office), Bernd Rech (HZB), Noa K. Ha (DeZIM), Michael Hintermüller (WIAS), Uta Bielfeldt (DRFZ), not on the picture Volker Haucke. © Berlin Research 50
The Scientific Director at Helmholt-Zentrum Berlin is the new face behind the "Natural Sciences" unit at Berlin Research 50 (BR50). Following the election in December 2025, the constituent meeting of the new BR50 Board of Directors took place on 22 January 2026.
Its members are Michael Hintermüller (Weierstrass Institute, WIAS), Noa K. Ha (German Centre for Integration and Migration Research, DeZIM), Volker Haucke (Leibniz Research Institute for Molecular Pharmacology, FMP), Uta Bielfeldt (German Rheumatism Research Centre Berlin, DRFZ) and Bernd Rech (HZB).
Each board member coordinates a specific subject area: social sciences and humanities, life sciences, technology and engineering, and natural sciences. Bernd Rech, who has been Scientific Director of HZB since 2017 and is highly regarded internationally as an expert in renewable energies and technology transfer, will coordinate the Natural Sciences Unit.
First goals for the new year
At the constituent meeting, important priorities for the new year were set. Among other things, a visit to State Secretary Henry Marx (Berlin Senate Department for Science, Health and Care) and the expansion of strategic cooperation with the Berlin University Alliance (BUA) are planned. The aim is to jointly shape science policy framework conditions for a competitive location. In addition, the board aims to strengthen networking among members and integrate them more closely into the alliance. Berlin Research 50 includes almost all non-university institutes and centres in the Berlin area. Together, they want to be a central point of contact for cooperation with Berlin's universities and facilitate exchange with society and politics. Similar to the BUA, the alliance of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, BR50 also aims to provide a dialogue platform for the participating institutions.
HZB involvement in advisory bodies
Twenty-five scientists from HZB are currently involved in scientific advisory boards, supervisory boards or similar advisory bodies. There, they contribute their latest expertise and advise on strategic direction.
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Berlin Research 50 Website
Members of the BR50 Board of Directors and their responsibilities:
*Prof. Dr. Michael Hintermüller (BR50 Executive Board Spokesperson and Coordinator of the Technology and Engineering Sciences Unit, WIAS)
* Dr Noa K. Ha (Deputy Spokesperson for the Executive Board and Coordinator of the Social Sciences Unit, DeZIM)
* Prof. Dr. Volker Haucke (Coordinator of the Life Sciences Unit, FMP)
* Prof. Dr Bernd Rech (Coordinator of the Natural Sciences Unit, HZB)
* Uta Bielfeldt (Coordinator of Administrative Management, DRFZ)
- Detailed insights at BESSY II into the oxidation processes of copperBefore pure copper oxide builds up, complex superstructures such as ‘29’CuxO, are formed. The new results on the '29' CuxO superstructure have relevance for catalyst research and corrosion protection in the development of safe copper containers for nuclear waste repositories.
- Hatice Mutlu appointed to the Helmholtz Institute HIPOLE in JenaProf. Dr Hatice Mutlu is the new professor of sustainable polymer chemistry at HIPOLE Jena, the Helmholtz Institute for Polymers in Energy Applications. On 17 August 2026, she visited the HZB campus in Berlin-Adlershof including the BESSY II lightsource and discussed future collaboration with researchers and the board of directors.
- Special prize by Jugend Forscht awarded to former school internShaoxuan Wang has won a special prize in the Jugend Forscht competition for her project ‘Smart Capsules – intelligent microcapsules for glucose-dependent insulin release’. She designed the project as a “special achievement” for her A-levels. To carry out the experimental work, Shaoxuan was able to spend a further two weeks in the laboratory at the HZB Institute for Electrochemical Energy Storage, where she had completed a school internship two years earlier.