Dr. Raul Garcia Diez wins the Dissertationspreis Adlershof 2017
Dr. Raul Garcia Diez was awarded for his PhD Thesis with the Dissertationspreis Adlershof 2017.
Jury with nominees and the winner, Dr. Raul Garcia Diez, (left), Photo: Matthias Brandt
With his talk on the properties of nanoparticles and how they can be measured more accurately at BESSY II, Dr. Raul Garcia Diez convinced the jury and was awarded the Dissertationspreis Adlershof 2017. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, IGAFA e. V. and the WISTA MANAGEMENT GmbH are the sponsors of this prize endowed with 3000 Euros. Garcia Diez completed his PhD in 2017 at PTB and TU Berlin and is now active as a post-doctoral researcher at HZB.
The use of nanoparticles in medicine is continuously growing, for example as platforms for drug-delivery or encapsulating imaging agents. In order to tailor nanoparticles for these applications, the functional properties of these particles need to be well understood.
In his thesis on "Characterization of Nanoparticles by Continuous Contrast Variation with Small-Angle X-ray Scattering" Raul Garcia Diez developed a method to study nanoparticles in a realistic environment with X-ray small-angle scattering in order to gain valuable information. The work was carried out with the HZB SAXS instrument, which is operated at the FCM beamline of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in BESSY II under the cooperation between PTB and HZB.
With his work at PTB with Prof. Matthias Richter, he obtained his PhD title in May 2017 at the TU Berlin. Since then, Garcia Diez is a postdoctoral fellow with Prof. Marcus Bär at the HZB.
- Confirmed figures for the first time: Investments in BESSY are worthwhile for Berlin and GermanyAn impact analysis by DIW Econ demonstrates the scientific and economic value of BESSY II. Every euro invested yields three euros for Germany and as much as ten euros for the State of Berlin. Furthermore, the study provides an economic forecast for the construction of BESSY III.
The impact analysis was presented on 3 September 2026 to Dr Henry Marx, State Secretary for Science and Research in the Berlin Senate. He supports the investment and is a strong advocate for BESSY III. - Detailed insights at BESSY II into the oxidation processes of copperBefore pure copper oxide builds up, complex superstructures such as ‘29’CuxO, are formed. The new results on the '29' CuxO superstructure have relevance for catalyst research and corrosion protection in the development of safe copper containers for nuclear waste repositories.
- Hatice Mutlu appointed to the Helmholtz Institute HIPOLE in JenaProf. Dr Hatice Mutlu is the new professor of sustainable polymer chemistry at HIPOLE Jena, the Helmholtz Institute for Polymers in Energy Applications. On 17 August 2026, she visited the HZB campus in Berlin-Adlershof including the BESSY II lightsource and discussed future collaboration with researchers and the board of directors.