Calendar of Events – Online Annual Review 2017

• January: Cutting-edge research in three minutes

At the first Science Match on 'Future Technologies' held on January 26, 100 scientists from leading research institutions in Saxony took up the challenge of presenting their individual research projects to an audience in three minutes. The HZDR nominated eight speakers. One of those chosen among the ten best speakers of the day was Dr. Richard Gloaguen from the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology, which is jointly operated by the HZDR and the TU Bergakademie Freiberg. He gave a presentation on the use of research drones for raw-materials exploration and mineralogical mapping. Further contributions were made by Prof. Michael Bachmann, Dr. Johannes von Borany, Dr. Sven Eckert, Prof. Uwe Hampel, Dr. Denys Makarov, PhD student Theresa Werner and Dr. Katarzyna Wiesenhütter.

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• February: Teachers attend an advanced-education course in the DeltaX School Lab

'Physics meets Computer Science – Topical Aspects for Science & School' was the theme at the DeltaX School Lab on February 24. Around 50 teachers from all over Saxony accepted the invitation to the HZDR's annual advanced-education course. The program included specialist presentations: Dr. Uwe Konrad, head of the Department of Information Services and Computing at HZDR, spoke on the subject of 'Big Data'; Dr. Michael Bussmann from the Institute of Radiation Physics elucidated scientific computing in cancer research; and Dr. Matthias Streller, head of the Laboratory for Students, introduced the DeltaX Online Platform and its integration into Saxony's online education platform 'OPAL Schule'. During the afternoon, the participants visited HZDR's high-performance computers and the ELBE Center for High Performance Radiation Sources.

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• March: Excellent conditions for Leipzig-based researchers

HZDR's new laboratory facilities in Leipzig were inaugurated by Saxony's Minister President Stanislaw Tillich, together with Thomas Schmidt, Saxony's Minister of the Environment and Agriculture, and Leipzig's Mayor Burkhard Jung on March 22. The HZDR research site at the Wissenschaftspark Leipzig had previously been modernized at a cost of approximately €10 million. State-of-the-art laboratory facilities covering almost 1,000 square meters are available to scientists working with radioactive substances. Basic research is conducted here into the development of neuroradiopharmaceuticals and the behavior of pollutants in complex environmental systems – an essential part of HZDR's nuclear safety and repository research.

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• April: The particle accelerator is on its way to the Felsenkeller

A unique experimental facility is under construction at the Felsenkeller site on the south-western outskirts of Dresden. The HZDR and the Technische Universität Dresden (TU Dresden) are building an underground accelerator in two former ice-storage tunnels of the Felsenkeller brewery. Here, well shielded from cosmic radiation, physicists aim to explore the processes taking place inside stars. The HZDR had already acquired the accelerator tank from a British company in 2012 and refitted it for its new tasks over many years of work. The eight-meter-long and ten-tonne tank was transported by a tractor-trailer right across the city on April 27. It was then installed at its final destination in the tunnel.

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• May: Radiopharmacists from all over the world meet in Dresden

More than 850 scientists attended the 22nd International Symposium on Radiopharmaceutical Sciences from May 14 to 19 in Dresden. The conference, organized by HZDR, focused on new, radiolabeled substances for cancer diagnosis and treatment, as well as the diagnosis of neurodegenerative, neuropsychiatric, and inflammatory diseases. The symposium is staged every two years by the Society of Radiopharmaceutical Sciences; the next one is planned for May 2019 in Beijing, China.

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• June: Rocket launch in lecture theater

The HZDR took part in the Dresden Long Night of Sciences at four locations on June 16. With numerous experiments and lectures in TU Dresden's Auditorium Center, visitors were given an insight into the wide range of topics covered by HZDR scientists. Special attractions included a laser chess game and a rocket launch using the force of magnetism. Topics relating to cancer treatment were at the focus of attention both at the Dresden site of the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) and at the OncoRay National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology. The HZDR is one of the funding institutions of NCT Dresden and OncoRay. Furthermore, HZDR researchers presented their plans for Germany's deepest underground particle laboratory at the Felsenkeller site.

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• July: Extreme precision in cancer therapy using protons

In cooperation with researchers at the German Cancer Research Center and Dresden University Hospital, scientists at HZDR's Institute for Radiation Oncology – OncoRay have succeeded in raising the quality of radiation planning for proton therapy to a level that is unique worldwide. They showed the validity of a novel calculation method for determining the range of the proton beam in its application to patients. This was based on a new imaging method for radiation planning that was used in Dresden for the first time: dual-energy computer tomography. Patients of the University ProtonTherapy Dresden have been benefiting directly from the research findings since July 2017.

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• Summer students from 13 countries at HZDR

The HZDR staged its sixth Summer Student Program. 16 young scientists from India, the UK, Poland, Kazakhstan, Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Ukraine, and the USA came to Dresden for eight weeks at the beginning of August. Here, the participants were able to work on their own research projects and attend lectures on HZDR topics. The program is an essential part of HZDR's program to promote young academics. It aims to provide orientation for the participants in their search for topics for study, master's and later doctoral dissertations. The students were selected by a scientific jury; the minimum requirement is a bachelor's degree or an equal qualification.

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• September: Network for smart sensors in industrial processes

The European Doctoral Training Network TOMOCON was launched on September 1. Twelve research institutions from nine countries are working together on new imaging sensors with 15 well-known industrial companies in a collaborative project coordinated by HZDR. The aim, among others, is to integrate new measuring methods directly into the control and regulation of process-engineering procedures. Modern high-parallel computer architectures are able to process huge amounts of data at high speed. This means that imaging methods can also be increasingly used as sensors to control machines and industrial plants.

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• October: 25th anniversary of the Research Center in Rossendorf

The HZDR celebrated its 25th birthday with two events on October 12 and 13. Two hundred invited guests from the realms of politics, science, and business attended the ceremony to jointly celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Forschungszentrum Rossendorf. The two-and-a-half decades since the establishment on the site of the former GDR's Central Institute for Nuclear Research have been characterized by a remarkable development. Moreover, Prof. Peter Joehnk retired from his long-standing position as Administrative Director. One day later, HZDR launched a scientific symposium. The invited speakers were scientists who had spent important stages of their careers at the Research Center. In short lectures, they also informed the audience about the broad spectrum of research to be found today at HZDR.

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• November: LEAPS – bundling light for research in Europe

On November 13, 16 institutions representing 19 high-performance light sources for research across Europe co-founded a joint initiative under the name of LEAPS (League of European Accelerator-based Photon Sources). In the presence of Robert Jan Smits, Director General for Research and Innovation in the European Union and President of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures, they signed an agreement on enhanced cooperation. Their collaboration aims to improve Europe's scientific excellence and competitiveness. The members of LEAPS run accelerator-based light sources that generate extremely brilliant radiation in the x-ray, UV, and infrared spectra. The HZDR is participating with its ELBE Center for High-power Radiation Sources.

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• December: Research collaborations with Japan initiated

The HZDR agreed to intensify its cooperation with two Japanese research institutions. Director-General Prof. Tetsuya Kawachi signed on behalf of the Kansai Photon Science Institute (KPSI), which belongs to the National Institute for Quantum & Radiological Science & Technology in Japan. The agreement with the Institute of Laser Engineering (ILE) at Osaka University was signed by ILE Director Prof. Ryosuke Kodama. The framework for the agreements was laid down in a two-day scientific workshop on the latest developments in laser and acceleration technology, specifically in research into states of matter with a high energy density like those that exist in the interior of planets or stars.