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Simon Schmitt

Head Communication & Media Relations
Science Editor
Communication & Media Relations
s.schmittAthzdr.de
Phone: +49 351 260 3400

Online Annual Report 2014

Calendar of Events

  • January: Analyzing pressure container aging in nuclear plants

At an international workshop, scientists presented findings from the EU project LONGLIFE. The project, which was coordinated by the HZDR, was taking a look at the aging processes of nuclear plant pressure containers. Using irradiated steel samples obtained from European nuclear facilities and research reactors, the researchers determined the influence the neutron flow - in other words, the radiation intensity - has on the materials at an equal neutron dose. As it turned out, the predicted aging effects had been overestimated compared with the actually occurring effects, since in the case of the radiation experiments inside the research reactor, the neutron flow is higher than is true of the reactor pressure container under normal operating conditions.


  • February: Collaboration between ESRF and HZDR is extended

Dr. Andreas Scheinost, Leiter der Abteilung für Molekulare Strukturen vom HZDR-Institut für Ressourcenökologie, stellt das Goniometer an der Rossendorf Beamline (ROBL) ein.

In mid-February 2014, the HZDR's Administrative Director, Prof. Peter Joehnk, and Prof. Francesco Sette, General Director of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), co-signed an agreement in Grenoble, France, to extend the collaboration between the two research facilities by another five years. Prior to the signing, then Saxon Research Minister Prof. Sabine von Schorlemer and a delegation of scientists and representatives from "Silicon Saxony" paid a visit to the Rossendorf Beamline (ROBL), which the HZDR has now been operating at the ESRF for several years.


  • March: Air-borne research on raw materials

Together with the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources and the TU Freiberg, the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) continued its air-borne investigation of metallic raw material reserves. With the help of a helicopter probe, which can be used to examine the soil up to a depth of 300 meters, the researchers are planning to collect geophysical data. Taking measurements at the surface allows the researchers to extend their investigation to a depth of 500 meters. On this basis, scientists are hoping to create a three-dimensional model of the substratum.


  • April: Gönnsdorfer Observatory and HZDR inaugurate new telescope

In an effort to get students excited about exploring our universe, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf permanently loans the Gönnsdorf Observatory a new telescope. On April 5, which is National Astronomy Day in Germany, Renate Franz, Head of the Observatory, and Prof. Roland Sauerbrey, Scientific Director of the HZDR, together inaugurated the telescope. The event also served as the starting signal for a more close-knit partnership between the two institutes. The loan is an exciting new addition to the HZDR's DeltaX Student Lab's range of experimental offerings for their "Light and Color" program.


  • May: Lab open house attracts masses to make a pilgrimage for Rossendorf

Tag des offenen Labors 2014

On Saturday, May 24, some 3,500 guests decided to brave the dreary weather and spend the day at the lab open house of the Dresden-Rossendorf research and technology site. Electron accelerator ELBE, Saxony's largest research instrument, attracted the most attention that day. Visitors were able to catch hands-on glimpses of the open house motto "Digital Research Worlds" at one of some 100 stations. Together with their colleagues from ROTOP Pharmaka AG and VKTA – Radiation Protection, Analytic and Disposal, all of whom had helped co-organize the open house, HZDR scientists presented their work in the different labs by performing exciting experiments for their visitors. The insights gleaned into the world of cutting-edge research left a positive impression on young and old alike.


  • June: World conference for accelerator experts in Dresden

From June 15-20, some 1,500 scientists visited the Saxon capital to swap ideas about the latest accelerator projects in research, medicine, and industry as part of the IPAC14. One topic was the use of particle accelerators in cancer therapy. During an evening lecture, Prof. Wolfgang Enghardt talked about the development of a compact laser accelerator at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf and about proton therapy at the National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology - OncoRay. The HZDR was on site in charge of organizing the IPAC.


  • July: HZDR recognizes the work of Saxony's top junior physicists

The 2014 VON ARDENNE Physics Awards went to three German high school students from Dresden and Freiberg. Klara Knupfer impressed the jury with her work on organic photovoltaics. A student at Dresden's Martin-Andersen-Nexö-Gymnasium, Klara secured the coveted top award in the amount of 1,000 Euros for herself. Other awards in the amount of 750 Euros each went to Michael Jaster of the Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium in Freiberg and to Rowina Caspary of the Marie-Curie-Gymnasium in Dresden. The competition seeks to honor outstanding achievements in the field of physics to motivate students to pursue their passion through university study in the natural sciences.


  • August: Research Minister opens UniversitätsProtonenTherapie Dresden

Bundesforschungsministerin Wanka besucht OncoRay

Late August 2014 saw the German Federal Minister of Research, Prof. Johanna Wanka, and Saxony's Minister President, Stanislaw Tillich, together inaugurating the Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital's new proton therapy unit. At the inaugural event, both politicians announced that a consortium made up of TU Dresden’s Faculty of Medicine, the University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, and the HZDR, will receive additional top-level annual funding in the amount of several million Euros with the goal of setting up a Dresden partner site for the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg.


  • September: HZDR supports Iraqi engineers

In September, a delegation of the Iraqi Zakho University visited the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. The Saxon research facility has vowed to support engineers at the University, assisting them with setting up and operating a multiphase flow lab whose mission is development and testing of new technologies for oil and natural gas mining like multiphase flow meters and pumps. Zakho University will be funding all those aspects of the project that are necessary for lining new test rigs and equipping them with the proper measuring technology. Through a broad offering of courses and joint projects, Iraqi researchers will be trained at the HZDR.


  • October: Russian nuclear physicists visit the HZDR

On October 9, 2014, Prof. Victor A. Matveev, director of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Russia, paid a visit to the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. Matveev was joined by Dr. Dmitry V. Kamanin, Head of the JINR Office of International Relations, and Dr. Uwe Meyer, the Helmholtz Association's representative for the German-Russian Science Cooperation. The day-long program featured visits to the HZDR user facilities like the ELBE Center for High-Power Radiation Sources, the High Magnetic Field Laboratory, as well as the Ion Beam Center. Prior to this, Prof. Matveev showed a presentation on his Institute to leading HZDR scientists.


  • November: Europe's high magnetic field labs forge an even stronger bond

Magnetspule in der Nahaufnahme: Das Hochfeld-Magnetlabor Dresden des HZDR erzeugt die europaweit höchsten Magnetfelder für materialwissenschaftliche Forschung. Die Magnetspulen müssen hohen Belastungen standhalten und werden im Institut entwickelt, konstruiert und gebaut.

In November 2014, the supporting institutions of Europe's four largest high magnetic field labs - the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Radboud University Nijmegen, the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter, and the HZDR - agreed on founding the European Magnetic Field Laboratory (EMFL). Following years of successful and close scientific collaboration, they have now officially become one single unit in legal terms. With its current sites in Dresden, Toulouse, Grenoble, and Nijmegen, the EMFL is helping make World-class research a reality. With the help of magnetic fields, our understanding of materials can be improved and new developments in science and technology promoted.


  • December: HZDR coordinates setup of Europe's largest-ever raw materials network

On Tuesday, December 9, 2014, the EIT, the European Institute of Innovation & Technology, charged an international consortium with setting up a Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) for the raw materials sector. The project is coordinated by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. The network, called EIT Raw Materials, will help unite more than 100 different European companies, universities, and research institutes that are doing work in the area of resources under one roof. The goal is to improve education, research, and innovation in this important field and to secure the supply of the European industry with raw materials while strengthening the resource sector's international competitive edge.