discovered_01_2013

discovered 01.13 FOCUS WWW.Hzdr.DE Physicist with every fiber of her being No, she honestly didn’t know a single word of German when she first arrived at Rossendorf, promises Elizabeth Green, laughing. She enrolled in an HZDR language course but ended up dropping it because there simply weren’t enough hours in the day. Liz doesn’t worry about it too much though, since communicating is getting easier with each passing day. With hands and feet, if necessary, and most importantly with that heartfelt laughter the people she interacts with get to enjoy often – a testament to her perpetual good mood. But can you honestly be in a good mood when you’re all alone in a foreign country where you don’t really know the language, with ten- hour work days and a pile of scientific papers waiting for you when you get home? "Yea, but then that really is the job of a scientist," says Liz. "Since physics is my passion, I don’t really mind having so little time to spare." The search for materials of the future Cedomir Petrovic of Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York also came to Rossendorf to study innovative materials in high magnetic fields. In 2012, Petrovic spent six months conducting research at the Dresden High Field Magnetic Laboratory (HLD). The Humboldt Fellow is an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. What is it you are working on these days? My focus is on new superconducting materials and their properties in high magnetic fields. Some of these materials are potential candidates for application in things like energy transport or wind power plants. My colleagues and I are trying to understand the microscopic mechanisms underlying unconventional superconductivity and improving the properties of superconducting materials. We are looking for new superconductors capable of improving the power grid’s capacity, efficiency, and reliability. What are some of the materials you are studying? Many of them I produce myself – like, for instance, heavy fermion superconductors such as cerium cobalt indium, a superconductor with the highest known transition temperature of its kind, and the recently discovered family of iron-based superconductors with very high critical fields. What are you using these high magnetic fields for at the HLD? Very high magnetic fields are a perfect way for looking at the inner life of these newly synthesized materials in order to better understand and continue to develop them. How did you like your research stay in Dresden? I’ve been to a lot of different research sites and can honestly say that the Dresden laboratory is one of the more comfortable and well-organized research facilities. They have a highly competent support infrastructure in place and are always ready to lend a helping hand, which is nice. There is a plethora of different techniques and instruments available – and everything runs smoothly. I plan on spending another six months in Dresden in 2014 but until then I am certain there will be many more joint projects to work on with my Dresden colleagues. UNDER OBSERVATION: From the control room, the scientists guide and supervise experiments that have to be performed behind thick walls for security reasons. Photo: Oliver Killig

discovered_01_2013

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