HZB Newsroom

Kayode Adesina Adegoke is a renowned chemist, affiliated with LAUTECH SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities Research Group), Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria. He is collaborating with Matthew Mayer to investigate the degradation of electrocatalysts during electrochemical CO₂ reduction. The Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship enables him to stay at Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin up to 24 months.

Alexander R. Uhl, UBC Okanagan School of Engineering in Kelowna, Canada, aims to develop with Roel van de Krol from the HZB Institute for Solar Fuels an efficient and inexpensive photoelectrolyser for producing hydrogen using sunlight. His stay is being funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Dr Hebatalla Elnaggar is setting up a new Helmholtz Investigator Group at HZB. At BESSY II, the materials scientist will investigate so-called magnons in magnetic perovskite thin films. The aim is to lay the foundations for future terahertz magnon technology: magnonic devices operating in the terahertz range could process data using a fraction of the energy required by the most advanced semiconductor devices, and at speeds up to a thousand times faster.

The Helmholtz Centre Berlin (HZB) is breaking new ground in attracting talented young people to IT training. HZB was presented with this year's HR Energy Award for its "Go for IT! Recruitainment for IT training" campaign. Gamification elements make the application process more attractive and fairer for young people.

Two former apprentices from the HZB workshop have achieved something remarkable: Fiete Buchin and Edgar Lunk completed their training as precision mechanics, taking first and second place in all of Berlin. In this interview, they share what it took to reach the top, what makes their training special, and the advice they would give to future apprentices.

The Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, has announced the recipients of the Vaishvik Bhartiya Vaigyanik (VAIBHAV) Fellowship, a flagship initiative aimed at fostering collaboration between the Indian STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine) diaspora and leading research institutions in India. Among the 2025 awardees is Dr. Prashanth W. Menezes, Head of the Department of Materials Chemistry for Catalysis at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB).

Sasol Research & Technology and Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin (HZB) are expanding their partnership into the realm of digitalisation, building on their joint efforts in the CARE-O-SENE project and an Industrial Fellowship launched earlier this year. This new initiative marks a significant step forward in leveraging digital technologies to accelerate catalyst innovation and deepen scientific collaboration.

Many at HZB will still remember him. Between 1982 and 2008, Professor Helmut Tributsch played a key role in establishing solar energy research at the former Hahn-Meitner Institute. He authored over 450 publications in renowned journals and several books. Since retiring, he has been living on a farm in Italy, immersing himself in the questions that have preoccupied him since his student days. Antonia Rötger spoke with the physicist.

Since 1 July 2025, Dr. Andrea Thorn has been setting up the new AI and Biomolecular Structures department at HZB. A biophysicist with many years of experience in AI-based tools for structural biology, she is looking forward to collaborating closely with the macromolecular crystallography team at the MX beamlines of BESSY II.

Silvia Mariotti starts building up the new Helmholtz Young Investigator Group ‘Perovskite-based multi-junction solar cells’. The perovskite expert, who was previously based at Okinawa University in Japan, aims to advance the development of multi-junction solar cells made from different perovskite layers.

On 17 June 2025, the certificates for the ‘berufundfamilie’ audit were awarded in Berlin. HZB received an award with distinction for its long-standing efforts to promote a work environment that supports work-life balance. The audit is regarded as a seal of quality for the systematic design of family- and life-phase-conscious HR policies. 

Trainees are desperately sought after in IT. HZB tried out a new selection process this year. Young people play games together and are observed. The aim is to offer jobs to the most suitable applicants—rather than those who present themselves best in interviews. We talk to Juliane Schad and Heiko Kreth from HZB's IT department about the advantages of gamification and why the new format should set a precedent.