Issue 03 – December 2023

Content

Title: Merry Christmas 2023

News: Sebastian M. Schmidt elected as acatech member

Starting through: Postdoc career days

Inquired: What is the status of Administration 4.0?

Discovered: Magnetization by laser pulse

Awarded: CASUS researchers receive prize in the USA

Events in 2024

Noted: Summer Student Program 2024

Media review: The search for a repository site in Germany

Dear colleagues,

The festive season is just around the corner: between December 23 and January 1, our research center will go into shutdown. In this year's Christmas video, the HZDR Board of Directors, Prof. Sebastian M. Schmidt and Dr. Diana Stiller, would like to thank you for your extraordinary achievements and your great commitment in this oftentimes challenging year 2023. The video, which has an additional translation besides the English subtitles this time, can be found under the following link on the intranet: Christmas video 2023

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Your INSIDER editorial team

News

Sebastian M. Schmidt elected as acatech member

The Scientific Director of the HZDR, Prof. Sebastian M. Schmidt, has been elected a member of the German Academy of Science and Engineering - acatech. acatech is the national academy funded by the German federal and state governments and the voice of science and technology in Germany and abroad. The institution advises politics and society on issues relating to the future of science and technology. More

Conference brings together researchers from Poland, Germany and beyond

At the beginning of December, the Görlitz Synagogue became a place of scientific exchange. Researchers met at the Polish-German WE-Heraeus Seminar & Max Born Symposium to establish closer cooperation in the field of “Many-particle systems under extreme conditions“. Here are the best impressions of the conference captured on video. More

A retreat for peace and reflection

A room of silence has recently been made available to employees at the Rossendorf site. The retreat offers the opportunity to escape the sometimes hectic working day for a while and find peace and tranquility. The room is located on the upper floor of the HZDR library. It can be visited during opening hours between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. It is a project of the Equal Opportunities and Diversity Working Group, which is committed to promoting diversity at HZDR through various activities. More

Starting through

Postdoc Day and Virtual Career Day

Postdocs, take note! On February 29, 2024, the “Postdoc Day: Careers in Science (and beyond)“ will take place for the second time. For an afternoon, postdocs from all research fields and career stages have the opportunity to gather information and network around the topic of scientific careers and beyond. While experienced postdocs will talk about their career experiences and answer your questions, experts will provide insights into core aspects of the postdoc phase, such as funding acquisition, strategic career planning, international stays, and skills development. The event starts at 2 p.m. at the Graduate Academy of TU Dresden. And for those who want to have a closer look into careers in industry, the “Virtual Career Day: Transition possible“ will be an excellent opportunity for you. On April 25, 2024, starting from 9 a.m. you have the chance to participate in panel discussions and connect with companies, organizations, and other postdocs. Information on both events will be available shortly on the website of the Postdoc Center HZDR-TUD. More

From flow simulations to science management - and back again

What happens after the doctorate? Which career path is the best fit? Like all doctoral candidates, Carolina Duczek will face this difficult decision. The HZDR PhD student has therefore explored a career field that many do not immediately think of: Science management. Since this summer, she has been supporting the Commercial Director Dr. Diana Stiller in the Commercial Branch of the center as Executive Assistant. More

Pi Lab: New offer for young tech enthusiasts

The “Jugend hackt“ Lab of the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology, together with Fabmobil e. V., the mobile art, culture and future laboratory in Saxony, has set up a local lab for designing and experiencing digital creative technologies in the Pi House in Freiberg. The festive opening took place in November 2023 in the presence of Freiberg's Mayor Sven Krüger. More

Inquired

What is the state of Administration 4.0?

Administration 4.0 is making progress. The large-scale program aimed at increasing efficiency in the commercial area of the HZDR has achieved significant milestones this year. Among them, a fully digital complaints portal was successfully implemented in collaboration with the Procurement Department. Now, another milestone is on the horizon: the introduction of a new time recording system. Andreas Rex, Head of the Application Services Department, explains why the existing “Zeitman“ system is being replaced and what other projects the team wants to carry out by 2027 in a video interview with Program Manager Thomas Frühauf (German with English subtitles). More

Discovered

Magnetization by laser flash

To magnetize an iron nail, one simply has to stroke its surface several times with a bar magnet. Yet, there is a much more unusual method: A team led by the HZDR discovered some time ago that a certain iron alloy can be magnetized with ultrashort laser pulses. The researchers have now investigated this process in more detail with the involvement of the Laserinstitut Hochschule Mittweida and found that the phenomenon also occurs in another class of materials. More

Awarded

CASUS researchers receive prestigious award in the USA

The R&D 100 Award is highly regarded among US research institutions and companies. The competition honors the 100 best innovations and new technologies of the year. Thanks to a successful collaboration with Sandia National Laboratories (Livermore, USA), the CASUS research project MALA took part in the competition in November 2023 - and secured the trophy with a place among the top 100. More

Manfred Helm receives renowned Fellowship of the American Physical Society

Every year, the American Physical Society recognizes some of its members for outstanding and unique contributions to the advancement of physics research. In 2023, Prof. Manfred Helm, Director at the Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research at the HZDR, received this special honor. The choice was made in recognition of his pioneering research into terahertz spectroscopy of nanomaterials and the development of terahertz sources, among other things. More

Former HZDR trainees honored as Saxony's best

Two former HZDR trainees, Kai Kludig and Marie Kaiser, recently achieved outstanding results in their skilled worker examinations. The Saxon Chambers of Industry and Commerce presented them both with certificates of the best in the state of Saxony in November 2023. In addition, the HZDR has been awarded the title of “Excellent Training Company“ by the Dresden Chamber of Industry and Commerce for the 23rd time. More

Events in 2024

What is dark matter made of?

January 16 | 2 p.m.

The Founding Director of the German Center for Astrophysics, Prof. Günther Hasinger, is coming to the HZDR in January. In a colloquium lecture, the former Scientific Director of the European Space Agency (ESA) will talk about dark matter. The topic of the lecture will revolve around the question of whether dark matter consists of hypothetical primordial black holes that were created shortly after the Big Bang. All employees are cordially invited to the colloquium. The venue is the large lecture hall of the HZDR at the Dresden-Rossendorf site. More

International movie night at HZDR

March 6 | 4 p.m.

“Aaaand Action!“ A new event for employees is set to kick off in March in the upcoming year. At the International Movie Night, colleagues can bring along a film from their home country and briefly introduce it. The first film presented by Pedro Roldan-Vasquez will be “Argentina 1985“, which won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film last year. The Working Group for Equal Opportunities and Diversity is responsible for organization. Further information will be available shortly on their website. More

Building Bridges for the Next Generations

May 27-28

Employees should mark this date in their calendars already. At the end of May, the HZDR and the Free State of Saxony will once again host the science conference “Building Bridges for the next Generations“ at the International Congress Center Dresden. Building on the successful conference in 2023, the organizers want to continue the fruitful dialogue that was initiated between the international partners in Central Europe. This time, the focus will be on “Net Zero“. The topic covers the areas of microelectronics, sustainable construction, hydrogen and fusion power. More

Noted

Summer Student Program 2024: Call for Applications

Master's students from all over the world can apply for the next HZDR Summer Student Program until February 23, 2024. Participants will join a research group at the HZDR between July and September and contribute to its activities. What's special: HZDR researchers supervise them for the entire duration of the project. As of this year, the summer students have a new scientific coordinator in Dr. Kay Potzger from the Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research. Potzger succeeds Dr. Stephan Kraft, who successfully managed the program for many years in collaboration with the International Office. More

Helmholtz Imaging: Best scientific images wanted

The Helmholtz Association is once again looking for the best scientific images. Until February 23, 2024, employees of all 18 research centers have the opportunity to submit their scientific images to the Helmholtz Imaging Contest 2024. All winners can look forward to great prizes. Helmholtz Imaging will award them at the annual conference from May 14 to 15, 2024 in Heidelberg. More

Service box for bicycles opened

Although the Rossendorf site is located a few kilometers outside the city, many colleagues use their bikes to get to work. But what to do if the chain wears out or you have a flat tire? The Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research (Building 707) now has a bicycle service box for such cases, which contains all the necessary tools to repair common defects. Users can contact Dr. Helmut Schultheiß for support or feedback. More

Current “discovered“ now also available in English

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are rapidly changing many areas of our lives - including the way we conduct research. Two data scientists at the HZDR, PhD student Anna Willmann and CASUS group leader Dr. Attila Cangi, report on the extent to which this is the case in the current issue of the HZDR research magazine  “discovered“. The interview and all other articles in the magazine are now also available in English. More

Media Review

“We should find a location as quickly as possible“

Other countries are already building repositories for radioactive waste. In Germany, no location has yet been found. Prof. Thorsten Stumpf, Director at the HZDR Institute of Resource Ecology, calls for a swift decision, because in principle any final repository would be safer than the current interim solutions. In an interview with the Schwäbische Zeitung newspaper, Stumpf explains which sites in the country are suitable and what contribution research can make to the future repository. More