Current information - Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf
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Uranium-immobilizing bacteria in clay rock: Microbial reduction reduces mobility of uranium compounds
Press Release of 16.04.2024
When designing repositories for high-level radioactive waste in deep geological layers, various factors must be carefully considered to ensure their long-term safety. Among other things, natural communities of microorganisms can influence the behavior of the waste, especially when it comes into contact with water. The microorganisms interact with released radionuclides and influence their mobility. Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) have taken a closer look at a microorganism that occurs in the vicinity of a potential repository.
New Materials for Energy-Efficient AI: HZDR materials scientist receives prestigious ERC Advanced Grant
Press Release of 11.04.2024
Dr. Denys Makarov from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) has been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant in the amount of 2.5 million euros. Over the next five years, this funding will enable him and his team to investigate a promising class of materials known as multiferroics. The aim is to develop novel materials on the basis of which computer chips could work with much higher energy efficiency in particular for artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
Nanocubes as interpreters: German-French project aims to manipulate tiny magnets with light
Press Release of 10.04.2024
Spintronics is considered a seminal research field in physics. It promises faster electronic components, more delicate sensors, and new approaches for quantum computing. Nevertheless, fundamental questions remain to be answered. For example: How can spintronic components be easily and selectively manipulated with light? Starting in April, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden Rossendorf (HZDR) and the Interdisciplinary Center of Nanoscience of Marseille (CINaM) will be looking for answers to these questions in their joint research project Nano-PLASMAG. The focus is on nanometer-sized, regularly shaped cubes of pure gold. They are intended to serve as "interpreters" and couple light as effectively as possible to nanomagnets in order to influence their state. The project is being funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the French National Research Agency (ANR) with half a million euros over three years.
Keeping power in the cycle: Tests confirm quality of purified graphite from used lithium-ion batteries
Press Release of 08.04.2024
Lithium-ion batteries have become an integral part of everyday life. The number of used batteries is correspondingly high. They contain considerable amounts of important raw materials such as graphite. Recycling this mineral for being reused for new batteries with the same performance is an important goal. Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute Ulm and the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) have now demonstrated that a graphite recycling technology is successful as intended. In tests, the purified graphite showed excellent capacity retention comparable to pristine commercial anode-grade graphite.
3D tour through the magnetic labyrinth: Virtual tour offers insights into the Dresden High Magnetic Field Laboratory
News of 05.04.2024
The Dresden High Magnetic Field Laboratory (HLD) at the HZDR is the place to be for anyone who wants to explore the secrets and potential of the highest magnetic fields, which are used, for example, in the development of innovative materials or the investigation of exotic states of matter. However, physical access for visitors is limited due to its function as an experimental laboratory. Now there is an opportunity to get up close and personal without even having to set foot outside the own door.
How to keep data safe on the long run
Press Release of 04.04.2024
With the development of the internet, social media or cloud computing, the amount of data created worldwide on a daily basis is sky-rocketing. This calls for new technologies which could provide higher storage densities combined with secure long-term data archiving far beyond the capabilities of traditional data storage devices. An international research team led by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) now proposes a new concept of long-term data storage based on atomic-scale defects in silicon carbide, a semiconducting material. These defects are created by a focused ion beam, providing high spatial resolution, fast writing speed and low energy for storing a single bit.
EU project RIANA launched: A hub for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
News of 02.04.2024
More than 100 participants gathered on a hybrid meeting at DESY on March 14 and 15 to officially kick-off the new EU project RIANA. RIANA (standing for Research Infrastructure Access in Nanoscience & Nanotechnology) has officially been launched on March 1, 2024. The project aims to offer access to Europe’s leading facilities in nanoscience and nanotechnology that are at the heart of the development of new materials for prosperity and sustainability – including the Ion Beam Center (IBC) at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR).
Artificial intelligence boosts super-resolution microscopy
Press Release of 28.03.2024
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) might be best known from text or image-creating applications like ChatGPT or Stable Diffusion. But its usefulness beyond that is being shown in more and more different scientific fields. In their recent work, to be presented at the upcoming International Conference on Learning Representations (ICLR), researchers from the Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS) at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) in collaboration with colleagues from Imperial College London and University College London have provided a new open-source algorithm called Conditional Variational Diffusion Model (CVDM, doi: 10.48550/arXiv.2312.02246).
In memoriam Eckart Grosse
News of 26.03.2024
Mit dem Tod von Professor Dr. Eckart Grosse verliert die Wissenschafts- und Forschungsgemeinschaft einen herausragenden Kernphysiker und engagierten Wissenschaftler. Eckart Grosse wurde am 1. März 1942 in Berlin geboren. Im Jahr 1996 übernahm er die Leitung des Instituts für Kern- und Hadronenphysik am Forschungszentrum Rossendorf, dem heutigen HZDR. Am 9. Februar 2024 ist Eckart Grosse nach langer Krankheit in Paderborn verstorben.
Forscherinnen am HZDR (3): „Die ökologische und soziale Perspektive ist mir besonders wichtig“
News of 22.03.2024
Wie kann modernste Sensorik dabei helfen, Bodenschätze zu erkunden und mehr über die Geologie der Erdgeschichte zu erfahren? Um diese Frage dreht sich die Forschung von Dr. Margret Fuchs, Leiterin der Forschungsgruppe Sensoren am Helmholtz-Institut Freiberg für Ressourcentechnologie (HIF). Zusammen mit ihrem Team entwickelt sie fortschrittliche Methoden für die Charakterisierung von Materialien, die sie anschließend mit Industriepartnern erprobt. Im nächsten HZDR-Forscherinnen-Interview erzählt die Postdoktorandin, was sie an dieser Tätigkeit fasziniert und wie sie ihren Karriereweg in die Wissenschaft gefunden hat.
Quantum Talk with Magnetic Disks: HZDR team develops new method for addressing qubits
Press Release of 20.03.2024
Quantum computers promise to tackle some of the most challenging problems facing humanity today. While much attention has been directed towards the computation of quantum information, the transduction of information within quantum networks is equally crucial in materializing the potential of this new technology. Addressing this need, a research team at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) is now introducing a new approach for transducing quantum information: the team has manipulated quantum bits, so called qubits, by harnessing the magnetic field of magnons – wave-like excitations in a magnetic material – that occur within microscopic magnetic disks. The researchers presented their results in the journal Science Advances (DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi2042).
Structural transition project strives to bring laser fusion closer to application
Press Release of 18.03.2024
A promising option for creating a productive and sustainable energy source on Earth is the fusion of hydrogen nuclei. The problem? Extremely high pressures and temperatures are required to set the nuclear fusion process off. Technologically, this could be achieved using laser flashes (“laser fusion” or “inertial confinement fusion”). By drafting the “X-ray laser optimization of laser fusion” project (Röntgenlaser-Optimierung der Laserfusion, ROLF) Dr. Tobias Dornheim from the Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS) at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden Rossendorf (HZDR) now intends to improve the theoretical understanding of hydrogen compression. Instead of the “trial and error” method, laser fusion experiments could be designed and carried out in a more targeted manner in the future – an essential prerequisite for a commercial fusion power plant. In addition to the EU via the “Just Transition Fund”, the Free State of Saxony also contributes directly to the funding of the project.
Besondere Anerkennung für herausragende Forschung
Press Release of 15.03.2024
Zwei HZDR-Forscherinnen haben parallel den wohl wichtigsten Schritt in ihren akademischen Karrieren geschafft: Die Physikerinnen Prof. Kristina Kvashnina und Dr. Larysa Baraban sind von ihren jeweiligen Partnerhochschulen in Kooperation mit dem HZDR auf Professuren berufen worden.
Radioaktivität rettet Leben
News of 13.03.2024
Ein neues HZDR-Video zeigt den Weg von der Grundlagenforschung bis zur Krebstherapie am Menschen
A 3D view into chaos: Researchers visualize temperature-driven turbulence in liquid metal for the first time
Press Release of 11.03.2024
Experiments with liquid metals could not only lead to exciting insights into geophysical and astrophysical flow phenomena, such as atmospheric disturbances at the rim of the sun or the flow in the Earth's outer core, but also foster industrial applications, for example the casting of liquid steel. However, as liquid metals are non-transparent, suitable measurement techniques to visualize the flow in the entire volume are still lacking. A team at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) has now for the first time obtained a detailed three-dimensional image of a turbulent temperature-driven liquid metal flow using a self-developed method. In the Journal of Fluid Mechanics (https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2023.794), they report on the challenges they had to overcome on the way to get there.
Die Entdecker*innen der Kernspaltung: Längste Straße auf dem Rossendorfer Campus erhält neuen Namen
News of 08.03.2024
Anlässlich des Internationalen Frauentags hat der Vorstand des HZDR am 8. März 2024 die Otto-Hahn- offiziell in Meitner-Hahn-Straße umbenannt. Die Forschungseinrichtung will auf diese Weise die Leistung von Lise Meitner hervorheben, die mit Otto Hahn und Fritz Straßmann die Kernspaltung entdeckt hat.
Der Weg nach Europa führte die ersten Menschen vor 1,4 Millionen Jahren in die heutige Ukraine
Press Release of 06.03.2024
Die älteste menschliche Besiedlung Europas liegt nach heutigem Wissensstand in der Nähe der Stadt Korolevo in der Westukraine. Neue Erkenntnisse eines internationalen Teams unter Leitung des Instituts für Kernphysik der Tschechischen Akademie der Wissenschaften und maßgeblicher Beteiligung des Helmholtz-Zentrums Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) bestätigen, dass Steinwerkzeuge, die in der untersten und damit ältesten Ausgrabungsschicht in Korolevo gefunden wurden, 1,4 Millionen Jahre alt sind. Bisher ging man davon aus, dass der früheste bewohnte Ort Atapuerca in Spanien sei, doch die Korolevo-Funde sind etwa zwei- bis dreihunderttausend Jahre älter. Die heute in der Fachzeitschrift Nature (DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07151-3) veröffentlichten Ergebnisse zeigen auch, dass die frühen Hominiden die warmen Zwischeneiszeiten nutzten, um Europa von Osten oder Südosten her zu besiedeln.
Forschungsland Sachsen - HZDR präsentiert sich beim Wissenschaftsfestival SPIN2030
Press Release of 04.03.2024
Am 8. und 9. März 2024 können wissensbegierige Dresdner*innen in die Welt der Forschung eintauchen und spannende Einblicke in das Wissenschaftsland Sachsen gewinnen. Das Sächsische Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft, Kultur und Tourismus (SMWK) organisiert ein Wissenschaftsfestival als Teil der Kampagne SPIN2030. Neben einer Ausstellung sieht das Programm vielfältige Mitmach-Formate vor. Das Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) hat für die Veranstaltung verschiedene Angebote für alle Altersgruppen konzipiert. Das Festival in den Technischen Sammlungen Dresden richtet sich an die breite Öffentlichkeit und ist kostenfrei zugänglich.
Internationales Projekt EVERSE startet
Press Release of 01.03.2024
Forschungsgemeinschaften weltweit entwickeln eine Vielzahl von Softwareanwendungen, die als unerlässliche Werkzeuge für den wissenschaftlichen Fortschritt dienen. Ein gemeinsames Anliegen besteht darin, die Zuverlässigkeit dieser Anwendungen sicherzustellen und gleichzeitig Fragen zur effektiven Wiederverwendbarkeit sowie ihrer langfristigen Nachhaltigkeit zu klären.
Quantum films on plastic
Press Release of 28.02.2024
A research team from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the University of Salerno in Italy has discovered that thin films of elemental bismuth exhibit the so-called non-linear Hall effect, which could be applied in technologies for the controlled use of terahertz high-frequency signals on electronic chips. Bismuth combines several advantageous properties not found in other systems to date, as the team reports in Nature Electronics (DOI: 10.1038/s41928-024-01118-y). Particularly: the quantum effect is observed at room temperature. The thin-layer films can be applied even on plastic substrates and could therefore be suitable for modern high-frequency technology applications.
New Approach to Real-Time Monitoring after Pancreatic Surgery
Press Release of 26.02.2024
Complications after pancreatic surgery are common and can be life-threatening. One of the most serious yet common complications is postoperative pancreatic fistula. This condition is diagnosed based on increased concentrations of the pancreatic enzyme alpha-amylase in drainage secretions. Currently, the analysis of these enzymes is routinely conducted on the first and third postoperative day. Scientists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the University Hospital Dresden (UKD) now report in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics (DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2024.116034) on the development of a portable device that can carry out the enzyme determination continuously and in real time.
For Solidarity and Respect – against Exclusion: HZDR supports civil society's call for democracy
News of 22.02.2024
Excellent science thrives on an open and tolerant society. It is only within such a society that we can explore innovative solutions to the major challenges of our time. For this reason, the HZDR supports the call of the non-partisan alliance "Wir sind die Brandmauer" for a large rally for democracy on February 25, 2024, starting at 3 p.m. at the Neumarkt in Dresden.
Einblicke ins HZDR: BMBF-Abteilungsleiter informiert sich über die Forschung in den Bereichen Energie, Gesundheit, Materie
News of 23.02.2024
Rund vier Stunden lang informierte sich der Abteilungsleiter „Zukunftsvorsorge – Forschung für Grundlagen und nachhaltige Entwicklung" des Bundesministeriums für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF), Stefan Müller, am 23. Februar 2024 über die aktuelle Forschung und Zukunftsprojekte des Helmholtz-Zentrums Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR). Begleitet wurde er von Dr. Babett Gläser, Leiterin der Abteilung 4 „Forschung“ im Sächsischen Wissenschaftsministeriums (SMWK) und Stellvertretende Kuratoriumsvorsitzende des HZDR.
Krebs von innen bestrahlen: HZDR und DKFZ gründen Helmholtz-Verbund für Radiopharmazeutische Wissenschaften
News of 19.02.2024
Krebs mit radioaktiven Arzneimitteln besser zu bekämpfen und präziser aufzuspüren, ist das Ziel eines neu gegründeten Verbunds von Wissenschaftler*innen des Helmholtz-Zentrums Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) und des Deutschen Krebsforschungszentrums (DKFZ).
Neuer Ansatz bei schweren Verläufen von Prostatakrebs
Press Release of 15.02.2024
Prostatakrebs ist bei Männern in Deutschland die häufigste Krebsart und die zweithäufigste Todesursache bei einer Krebserkrankung. Vor allem ältere Männer sind von der Krankheit betroffen, bei der sich ein bösartiger Tumor in der Vorsteherdrüse, der Prostata, bildet. Früh erkannt, sind die Aussichten auf eine erfolgreiche Therapie gut. Im späteren Stadium kann sich der Krebs jedoch ausbreiten. Über die Prostata wächst er dann in umliegendes Gewebe ein oder bildet Tochtergeschwülste, sogenannte Metastasen. Für metastasierenden Prostatakrebs gibt es bisher nur begrenzte Behandlungsmöglichkeiten. Wissenschaftler*innen am OncoRay – Nationales Zentrum für Strahlenforschung in der Onkologie haben nun eine Möglichkeit gefunden, um das Anspre-chen des Patienten auf die Strahlentherapie und deren Erfolg vorherzusagen. Dafür schauten sie sich besondere Gene an, wie sie im Fachjournal Theranostics berichten (DOI: 10.7150/thno.88057).
Registration opens for the International Science Conference "Building Bridges for the Next Generations"
News of 13.02.2024
Building on last year's success, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), on behalf of the Saxon State Chancellery, is once again organizing the science conference Building Bridges for the Next Generations. This year's conference, focusing on the "Net Zero" theme, will be held on May 27 and 28, 2024, at the International Congress Center in Dresden.
United in vigilance
News of 12.02.2024
On Tuesday, February 13, people in and around Dresden commemorate the destruction of the city in 1945 and the millions of victims of National Socialist tyranny with its misanthropy, anti-semitism and intolerance. A human chain will form at 6 p.m. under the slogan "United in vigilance". Several thousand people will then surround the entire city center of Dresden, hand in hand. The opening event will start at 5:15 p.m. at the "Goldene Pforte" (Rathausplatz 1, Dresden). At 6 p.m., the human chain will close for ten minutes.
„Ich will die nächste Generation mit meiner Begeisterung anstecken“
News of 09.02.2024
Anlässlich des Internationalen Tags der Frauen und Mädchen in der Wissenschaft am 11. Februar stellen sich HZDR-Mitarbeiterinnen in Forschungsberufen vor: In Teil eins der Serie erzählt Stefanie Sonntag, Technikerin und Ausbilderin am HZDR, was sie an ihrem vielseitigen Beruf begeistert und warum sie ihre Sturheit zur persönlichen Superkraft auserkoren hat.
HZDR Team develops a new approach for fast and cost-effective pathogen detection
Press Release of 07.02.2024
The ability to detect diseases at an early stage or even predict their onset would be of tremendous benefit to doctors and patients alike. A research team led by Dr. Larysa Baraban at the at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) develops intelligent, miniaturized biosensor devices and systems using nanomaterials to determine biomolecules and cells as well as biochemical reactions or processes as disease markers. The team’s current publication in Biosensors and Bioelectronics (DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2023.115701) describes the development of a portable, palm-sized test system that can simultaneously carry out up to thirty-two analyses of one sample.
Für mehr Wissenschaft und Forschung im Unterricht: HZDR schreibt Lehrkräftepreis aus
Press Release of 05.02.2024
Um Schüler*innen für Naturwissenschaften zu begeistern, braucht es qualitativ anspruchsvollen Unterricht und damit auch engagierte Lehrkräfte. Um entsprechende Initiativen und Ideen zu fördern, vergibt das Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) in diesem Jahr zum zweiten Mal den HZDR-Lehrkräftepreis. Die Schirmherrschaft hat diesmal der Sächsische Kultusminister Christian Piwarz übernommen. Die Preisverleihung wird am 6. Juni 2024 stattfinden.
Tracking unconventional superconductivity: Research team presents heavyweight champion
Press Release of 31.01.2024
At low enough temperatures, certain metals lose their electrical resistance and they conduct electricity without loss. This effect of superconductivity is known for more than hundred years and is well understood for so-called conventional superconductors. More recent, however, are unconventional superconductors, for which it is unclear yet how they work. A team from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), together with colleagues from the French research institution CEA (Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives), from Tohoku University in Japan, and the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids in Dresden, has now gained new insights. The researchers report their recent findings in the journal Nature Communications (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44183-1).
Innovative computational method unveils high-performance ceramics for extreme environments
Press Release of 29.01.2024
An international research team has developed a method for rapidly discovering new types of materials that function at extremely high temperatures of several thousand degrees Celsius. These high-performance ceramics could one day form the basis for more robust coatings, batteries and radiation-resistant devices.
Four more years of open access electron and x-ray microscope use for sustainability research
News of 25.01.2024
The EXCITE project (Electron and X-ray microscopy community for structural and chemical imaging techniques for Earth materials) has been bringing together the most important national and regional electron and X-ray microscopy facilities with European researchers from academia and industry at European level for four years in order to ensure their optimal use and joint development. Funding for the EXCITE network, in which the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) of the HZDR also provides its equipment, has now been extended under the name EXCITE² for four years by the European Union (EU). With a clear focus on the EU's sustainability goals, the microscopy equipment will now be available to researchers from all disciplines from April 2024 instead of just geoscientists.
Plenty of Innovation at HZDR Transfer Day: Awarding the winners of the 7th HZDR Innovation Contest
News of 23.01.2024
A project from the Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS) has emerged victorious in the HZDR Innovation Contest 2023. With their idea "XR-microscopy" Dr. Ulrik Günther and Jan Tiemann prevailed among 15 submissions and received a prize money of 1,500 euros.
A “gold standard” for computational materials science codes
Press Release of 18.01.2024
Physicists and materials scientists can choose from a whole family of computer codes that simulate the behavior of materials and predict their properties. The accuracy of the results obtained by these codes depends on the employed approximations and chosen numerical parameters. To verify that the results from different codes are comparable, consistent with each other, and reproducible, a large group of scientists did the most comprehensive verification study so far. Published in the first 2024 issue of Nature Reviews Physics (DOI: 10.1038/s42254-023-00655-3), it provides a reference dataset and a set of guidelines for assessing and improving existing and future codes.
HZDR-Schülerlabor schaltet live zur Neumayer Station am Südpol
Press Release of 16.01.2024
Eisig und spannend zugleich wird es am Mittwoch, 17. Januar 2024, wenn das Schülerlabor DeltaX am Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf bei der nächsten Experimentiersafari zur Neumayer Station des Alfred-Wegener-Instituts in die Antarktis schaltet. In der Safari geht es diesmal um „Forschung im Eis“.
Von Grund auf neu denken: Mit CITADEL sollen energieintensive Industrien grün werden
Press Release of 15.01.2024
Unter Leitung des Instituts für Fluiddynamik am Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) sucht ein internationales Team nach Möglichkeiten, energieintensive Industriezweige auf regenerativen Strom umzustellen. Insgesamt 14 Forschungseinrichtungen und Unternehmen aus sieben europäischen Ländern fokussieren sich dabei auf die Produktion von feuerfesten Materialien, Glas, Stahl, Kupfer sowie auf das Betonrecycling. Das von der Europäischen Union mit 13,5 Millionen Euro geförderte Projekt startet im Januar 2024, ist auf vier Jahre angelegt und soll in den Bau von fünf Demonstrationsanlagen münden.
Focused ion beam technology: a single tool for a wide range of applications
Press Release of 11.01.2024
Processing materials on the nanoscale, producing prototypes for microelectronics or analyzing biological samples: The range of applications for finely focused ion beams is huge. Experts from the EU collaboration FIT4NANO have now reviewed the many options and developed a roadmap for the future. The article, published in “Applied Physics Review” (DOI: 10.1063/5.0162597), is aimed at students, users from industry and science as well as research policy makers.
The world’s first Prototype for High-Contrast Live Imaging in Proton Therapy
Press Release of 09.01.2024
On January 9th, 2024, a scientific prototype for MRI-guided proton therapy was inaugurated in Dresden. With this installation, experts from the fields of medicine, medical physics, biology and engineering are embarking on the scientific testing of a new form of radiotherapy for treating cancer. For the first time globally, a full-body MRI device for real-time imaging is combined with a proton therapy system in the form of a prototype. The inauguration ceremony was held at OncoRay – National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology with Saxony’s Minister-President Michael Kretschmer present. After demonstrating the technical feasibility using a compact MRI device without real-time imaging with a predecessor prototype financed by the Sächsische Aufbaubank in 2019, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) has now financed the development of a pioneering full-body MRI device with real-time imaging. The infrastructure as well as a number of the personnel are provided by the Dresden University Medical Center.
How to capture water from air: Researchers decipher the underlying adsorption mechanism of special microporous material
Press Release of 05.01.2024
Researchers from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and Dresden University of Technology (TUD) have unraveled the water adsorption mechanism in certain microporous materials – so-called hierarchical metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) – while probing them on the atomic scale. Discovered only about 25 years ago, their special properties quickly led to a reputation as “miracle materials” – which, as it turned out, can even harvest water from air. In the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c10974), the researchers describe how the material achieves this.
Using satellite data to improve mining safety: EU research project MOSMIN to monitor and secure mining-related deposits launches
Press Release of 02.01.2024
Mining remains essential to meet the growing demand for raw materials. But there are potential environmental risks associated with mining, such as the instability of tailings dams or the contamination of soil and water. In order to prevent these risks and optimize the efficiency of resource extraction, twelve international partners within the framework of the European research project MOSMIN have set themselves the task of using Copernicus satellite and ground-based data to geotechnically and environmentally monitor mine waste deposits and evaluate their potential as ore deposits. Coordinated by the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology at the Helmholtz Center Dresden-Rossendorf, the project partners will develop and test Earth observation (EO)-based techniques over the next three years. The European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) funds the project with almost three million euros.
