News from the facilites
Inauguration of the CXNS in Hamburg
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The new centre for X-ray and nano research at DESY "CXNS" was ceremonially opened on 12 April 2022 by Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger, Hamburg's Science Senator Katharina Fegebank and Schleswig-Holstein's Education Minister Karin Priener. The new building is shared by Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon and DESY. The CXNS is a multi-institutional, interdisciplinary platform for research with X-ray light in combination with nano- and material sciences and is unique in this form. The centre benefits, among other things, from its proximity to the high-brilliance X-ray source PETRA III and will also provide a home for further collaborations. [more] |
New cooperative venture for application and innovation
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The German research centre DESY and the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW Hamburg) agreed on a new strategic Cooperation for Application and Innovation (KAI). The cooperative venture will focus on cooperative degree programmes and teaching, research and development as well as innovation, technology and knowledge transfer. [more] |
APS Upgrade Hompage
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The APS of the Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, IL (USA)is already a powerful scientific facility, and the ultrabright X-rays it generates are used by more than 5,500 scientists each year. A comprehensive upgrade to the facility’s electron storage ring, scheduled to begin in April 2023, will increase the brightness of those X-rays by up to 500 times and will enable new discoveries and innovations we cannot yet imagine. [more] |
ErUM-Pro-Workshops by DESY and HZB in September
DESY and HZB offer workshops for exchange and preparation of ErUM-Pro proposals in September: DESY: 'Match-Making' -Workshop (video conference) on Sept. 16 and 17, 2021. At this workshop, the operators of the radiation sources will present their development and expansion strategy for the coming years. Furthermore, applicants and user groups will be given the opportunity to present their ideas for instrumentation proposals and to coordinate these with the radiation source operators and, if necessary, also with each other. [more information] [registration until Sept. 10, 2021] HZB: ErUm-Pro-Workshop at BESSY II (Verbundforschung) on Sept. 22, 2021. In order to give potential applicants some feedback on their plans, there will be an online workshop on Wednesday, 22nd September 2021, from 9:00-15:00 where project ideas should be presented and discussed. If you are planning to apply for Verbundforschung at one of the BESSY II-Instruments, please contact Esther Dudzik until the end of August. [more] |
ErUM-Pro Match-Making workshop (FLASH & PETRA III)
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In order to prepare the application in the upcoming EruM-Pro round ("Verbundforschung"), it is helpful for the applicants to discuss with potential partners, the user community and the operators of the large-scale facilities before submission to ensure that the necessary prerequisites are in place and that productive continued operation of the instrumentation is guaranteed after the funding expires. To support this coordination process, DESY Photon Science, in coordination with the KFS for the two radiation sources PETRA III and FLASH, invites the interested research community to a 'match-making' workshop (video conference) on 16 and 17 September 2021. At this workshop, the operators of the radiation sources will present their development and expansion strategy for the coming years. Furthermore, applicants and user groups will be given the opportunity to present their ideas for instrumentation proposals and to coordinate these with the radiation source operators and, if necessary, also with each other. [more information] [registration until Sept. 10, 2021] |
Helmholtz Photon Science Roadmap 2021
Three research centres in the Helmholtz Association have developed a joint future plan for the research conducted at the scientific light sources they operate in Hamburg, Berlin and Dresden. The upgrades proposed in the strategy for their world-class accelerator-based facilities will strengthen Germany as a research location and promote innovations in many different fields. A summary of the national strategy for the further development of accelerator-based light sources is provided in the brochure „Forschung und Innovation stärken“. The long version is "Nationale Strategie zur Weiterentwicklung beschleunigerbasierter Nutzereinrichtungen für die Forschung mit Photonen und mit hohen elektromagnetischen Feldern". [more] |
Synchrotrons accelerate corona research
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To fight COVID-19, we need vaccines and medicine, and to develop these, we need to know the SARS-CoV-2 virus in detail. The virus cannot be seen with a normal light microscope, since it is smaller than the wavelength of visible light. Synchrotrons can produce the short-wave photons or X-rays required. It is of great advantage that we have an outstanding research infrastructure established in the last decades, both in Germany and abroad with German participation. Synchrotron light source facilities include PETRA III and FLASH at the German Electron Synchrotron (DESY) in Hamburg, BESSY II at the Helmholtz Centre Berlin (HZB), European XFEL near Hamburg or ESRF in Grenoble, France. They allow the virus to be imaged with atomic precision. [more] |
On the way towards PETRA IV
PETRA IV will be the new X-ray microscope at DESY which will show chemical and physical processes from the atom to visible objects and from nanoseconds to hours. Topical online workshops regarding the planned synchrotron radiation source PETRA IV will take place in autumn 2020. Scientific instrument proposals for PETRA IV can be submitted until Dec. 01, 2020. |
PETRA IV Workshops
Topical online workshops regarding the planned synchrotron radiation source PETRA IV will take place in autumn 2020: Soft X-ray Science at PETRA IV (Sept. 18, 2020) Surface and Interface Scattering Experiments at PETRA IV (Sept. 21-22, 2020) PETRA IV Workshop - Materials and Processes for Energy and Transport Technology (Oct. 19-21,2020) PETRA IV Workshop - Soft Matter, Health, and Life Science (Oct. 28-30,2020) PETRA IV Workshop - Earth, Environment, and Materials for Nanoscience and Information Technology (Nov. 02-04,2020) Satellite Workshop On Scientific Instrument Proposals for Extreme Pressures and Temperatures Research at PETRA IV (Nov. 05-06,2020) PETRA IV Workshop - Technical Challenges and Scientific Computing (Nov. 18-20,2020) |
DESY funds COVID-19-related research
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DESY directorate has issued a special call for research projects related to the COVID-19 pandemic or future, similar instances in a wider sense. This is a rolling call and incoming proposals will be reviewed and awarded on a continuous basis until further notice. Although funding is available for individual proposals from DESY researchers we particularly encourage joint proposals with national or international collaboration partners and also proposals from the user communities with DESY contributors. [more] |
Rapid access programmes regarding COVID-19
https://in.xfel.eu/survey/index.php/754324
https://photon-science.desy.de/users_area/fast_track_access_for_covid_19/index_eng.html
https://photon-science.desy.de/users_area/calls__deadlines/index_eng.html
https://www.helmholtz-berlin.de/user/index_en.html
http://www.esrf.eu/home/news/general/content-news/general/covid-19-update.html
https://leaps-initiative.eu/leaps-facilities-research-on-sars-cov-2/
European XFEL celebrates 10th birthday
European XFEL Chairman Prof. Robert Feidenhans’l gave a positive review of the past ten years: “I have watched with pride and excitement how this complex masterpiece, to which scientific institutes and companies from many countries have contributed, has taken shape. Now, a decade after construction started, scientists from all over the world visit the facility for experiments, and we are already celebrating astonishing results.” Hamburg’s Second Mayor Katharina Fegebank said: "Our vision that the European XFEL would become a magnet for outstanding researchers has become reality: The largest X-ray laser in the world is making a major contribution to establishing Hamburg as an internationally visible science and innovation metropolis. I would like to thank all those who have contributed to the success of the European XFEL over the past ten years with their curiosity, determination and scientific spirit, and wish them all the best for the future." |
First stored beam at ESRF-EBS
On December 6, 2019, only five days after the start of the commissioning of the new EBS storage ring at ESRF, electrons have been stored for the first time. This is a key milestone on the way to opening to the international scientific community the first high-energy fourth-generation synchrotron light source, known as EBS - Extremely Brilliant Source. User Service Mode will start in summer 2020. [more] |
Topping-out ceremony Centre for X-ray and Nano Science (CXNS) at DESY
Vertreterinnen und Vertreter aus Politik und Wissenschaft feierten am 10.12.2019 das Richtfest für ein neues Labor- und Bürogebäude bei DESY in Hamburg-Bahrenfeld. Das Centre for X-ray and Nanoscience CXNS wird ein bundesländerübergreifendes Zentrum für die Forschung mit Röntgenlicht in Kombination mit Nano- und Materialwissenschaften. Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler des Helmholtz-Zentrums Geesthacht (HZG), der Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (CAU) und DESYs werden ab 2021 in dem rund 18 Millionen Euro teuren Gebäude forschen. [mehr] |
FXE instrument@XFEL

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European XFEL prepares for user operation: Researchers can hand in first proposals for experiments
For the first time, scientists from around the world can now submit their proposals for experiments at the European XFEL. The user programme is expected to begin in the second half of the year, with two of the planned six instruments being initially available, that is the Femtosecond X-Ray Experiments (FXE) instrument and the Single Particles, Clusters, and Biomolecules and Serial Femtosecond Crystallography (SPB/SFX) instrument. FXE enables investigations of ultrafast processes and the creation of “molecular movies”, which show the progression of an individual reaction with high precision. SPB/SFX is specialized for research into biomolecules and other biological materials. [more]