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.
>> Additional Information <<
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)
- Humboldt-Fellow at HZB-Institute for Solar Fuels: Alexander R. UhlAlexander R. Uhl, UBC Okanagan School of Engineering in Kelowna, Canada, aims to develop with Roel van de Krol from the HZB Institute for Solar Fuels an efficient and inexpensive photoelectrolyser for producing hydrogen using sunlight. His stay is being funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
- 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).