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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

Directors' Welcome

Vorstand des HZDRDear readers,

research has always held a tremendous potential for overcoming limits. Modern-day science depends on international collaborations to address global challenges. Last year, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf was able to strengthen its global ties when the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) entrusted us with coordinating the setup of a new Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC). The EIT Raw Materials will connect 160 European universities, research institutes, and companies all of whom are currently doing work on raw materials. The dialog between education, science, and industry that will inevitably come out of this will help improve the European resource sector's innovation potential while strengthening its competitive edge.

Through the new European Magnetic Field Laboratory, the HZDR was able to deepen one of its longtime collaborations. The network, which was founded in 2014 together with the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Radboud University Nijmegen, and the Dutch Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter, unifies Europe's top high magnetic field labs. By uniting the Dresden, Grenoble, Toulouse, and Nijmegen research sites, we have helped make the European idea of collaboration and co-development a reality. Users have an unparalleled and flexible research infrastructure at their disposal, allowing them to perform a wide range of experiments - from strong pulsed and high static magnetic fields all the way to low temperatures.

Interdisciplinary collaboration has also been gaining momentum. Based on the outstanding results that have come out of the National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology - OncoRay, we have been able to lay the foundation for another collaboration in our research area “health” that helps bridge the gap between medicine, chemistry, biology, and physics. Along with the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital, and the TU Dresden's Faculty of Medicine, we are currently in the process of setting up the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT). This turns Dresden into the new partner site for Heidelberg – the city where, eleven years ago, the DKFZ founded the NCT jointly with Heidelberg University Hospital, the University's Faculty of Medicine, and the German Cancer Aid with the common goal of promoting personalized cancer medicine.

Our national and international successes help document our excellent standing within the scientific community. This is further reflected by the reviews of the Helmholtz Association’s program-oriented funding, which concluded early last year. Programs from our research areas, “energy” and “matter,” received highly positive reviews across the board.

We hope you will enjoy reading through our online Annual Report 2014 on the next pages. The more detailed Zentrumsfortschrittsbericht (yearly controlling report) of the last year is also available on demand.

Prof. Roland Sauerbrey (Scientific Director) & Prof. Peter Joehnk (Administrative Director)