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In memory of our colleague Dr Roland Steitz

We mourn the loss of our former colleague Roland Steitz who passed away far too soon on 7 October 2026 at the age of 66, following a long battle with a treacherous illness. He was an internationally renowned expert in neutron research and was deeply committed to fostering connections within the neutron community worldwide. 

Roland Steitz’s humorous, friendly manner was exceptional; his consistently respectful demeanour was a pleasure to everyone. At the same time, he radiated an unyielding optimism that also helped him get through the difficult last years. In the scientific community and later on the Management Staff team, everyone knew that they could rely on him at all times. Therefore, it was only natural that the neutron community elected him to the Committee for Neutron Scattering, representing their interests vis-à-vis the Ministry of Research. His colleagues at HZB also placed their trust in him, electing him as the staff representative on the Supervisory Board.

Roland Steitz was born on 1 March 1960 in Alsenz near Bad Kreuznach. His scientific career began with a degree in chemistry at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, where he also obtained his PhD in 1993 under the supervision of Prof. Helmuth Möhwald. Following a year abroad at the University of Queensland, Australia, he joined the Neutron Reflectometry team at the Hahn-Meitner Institute (HMI) in 1995, which was based in Prof. Ferenc Mezei’s department. There, at the BER II research reactor, he supervised the V6 instrument during user operations and also used it for his own research, particularly in the field of soft matter. Visiting researchers and scientific partners could rely on him to provide excellent support and to ensure that their experiments were successful, yielding meaningful data. Initially, he took on responsibility for this specialist area and the associated instrumentation as a visiting researcher – first whilst affiliated with Prof. Findenegg’s group at the Technical University of Berlin and later again with Prof. Möhwald at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Golm. From 2004 onwards, he was finally entrusted with this role as a permanent member of staff at the HMI.

Drawing on his expertise, the V18-BioRef time-of-flight reflectometer at BER II was designed and built in collaboration with the University of Heidelberg. His design was so successful and advanced that the V18-BioRef was among the first instruments to resume user operations following the decommissioning of BER II – now known as ‘Spatz’ at ANSTO near Sydney.

Roland Steitz enriched the neutron school run at the HMI/HZB over many years with hands-on experiments and lectures. Following the establishment of the Institute for Soft Functional Matter at HZB, he set up an interface research group, where his even-tempered nature always ensured an excellent team atmosphere. He quickly earned the trust to act as deputy head of the institute until he joined the Management Staff in 2015.

There, he took on the task - crucial to the centre - of setting up and overseeing the transfer programme for the subsequent use of the neutron scattering instruments at BER II. He maintained contacts with the neutron sources and facilities far beyond the conclusion of the contracts. Consequently, the success of this project is largely based on his work, which he was unfortunately unable to see through to the end due to his serious illness. 

We are all indebted to him beyond measure for a wonderful, vibrant and successful period of scientific and collegial collaboration. We always worked excellent together.

We wish his family, all his relatives and friends the strength they need during this difficult time. We share in their grief at the loss of a unique person and friend.

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