Portrait of Tabitha Amollo

By:
On:
In: BESSYBeamlineScientists, Conference, Energymaterials, International, International Collaboration, PhDlife, Science Communication

Dr. Tabitha A. Amollo is a researcher and lecturer at Egerton University in Njoro in Kenya. She holds a Ph.D. in physics from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Her research interests focus on developing cutting-edge nanomaterials for energy conversion devices including graphene nanomaterials. She published a number of articles in reputable journals. At Egerton University, she is the head of a young team to explore dye-sensitive solar cells, she is a chairperson of the Physics Department, and she coordinates the undergraduate program and gives lectures to undergraduates and postgraduate physics students. Here in Germany, there are not many women in physics. How is itRead More →

Portrait picture of Nancy Ochiba.

By:
On:
In: BESSYBeamlineScientists, Energymaterials, International, International Collaboration, Science Communication

In April, Nancy Ochiba was a guest at HZB in Berlin doing research on nanoparticles. “I made good use of the time,” says the young chemist from Nairobi, Kenya. First she took part in the Photon School for young scientists, then she joined the lab at the Institute for Solar Fuels as a guest researcher. “Here I can benefit from technology that is not available to me at the Kenya University of Technology. For example, I have now examined my samples under a scanning electron microscope.” Research for a better future Nancy is in the first year of her PhD. What motivates her? She wantsRead More →

Portrait of Lucy Ombaka (right) next to Antje Vollmer (left)

By:
On:
In: BESSYBeamlineScientists, Careers, Diversity, International, Science Communication

The 2023 User Meeting BESSY@HZB end of June welcomes Kenya as country of honour. Dr Lucy Ombaka from Technical University of Kenya in Nairobi tells us how she got to know about BESSY II light source and how she motivates women in science.  Early May 2023 when we talk, Lucy Ombaka is just back from Berlin, where she spent a few days with the Humboldt Foundation. In 2018 she was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship there. Lecturer in Inorganic Chemistry at the Technical University of Kenya (TUK), Lucy holds a PhD in nanotechnology and catalysis. “I met Antje Vollmer1 from BESSY II during an online Humboldt-Symposium.Read More →

Antje Vollmer with a group of scientists from Kenya

By:
On:
In: BESSYBeamlineScientists, Careers, Diversity, International, Science Communication

The BESSY@HZB user meeting will take place at the end of June 2023. For the first time, there will be a country of honour, Kenya. Antje Vollmer, BESSY II spokesperson, tells us how this came about and why it is important to work at eye level with researchers from other countries. Science diplomacy has long been a central theme for Antje Vollmer. She recalls that a lecture by Rolf-Dieter Heuer1 had a particular impact on her: “He spoke about the importance of CERN beyond science, and the role of large-scale research institutions for international cooperation and science diplomacy.” At BESSY II, international collaborations in thisRead More →

By:
On:
In: BESSYBeamlineScientists, Energymaterials, Lightsources, PhDlife, Science Communication

Recently, Lightsources.org asked scientists at light source facilities from all over the world to record a short video statement, pointing out why and how synchrotron light is useful for their research. The outreach campaign is featuring the variety of research done at light sources in a comprehensible way, easy to understand by all citizens. HZB chemist Marion Flatken took part. She is doing her doctorate on perovskite materials for solar cells in Antonio Abate’s team. Why did you take part in the #LightSourceSelfie campaign? For me it’s important to make transparent how we work in research. Actually, this is also in the spirit of HermannRead More →

By:
On:
In: BESSYBeamlineScientists, Corona, Energymaterials, Lightsources

Today we present two researchers working on the BAMline and µSpot Beamline at BESSY II. Franziska Emmerling is responsible for the Materials Chemistry Department at BAM and heads a large team for structural analysis. Together with her colleague Ana Guilherme Buzanich, she will report on how they experienced the lockdown and are now carrying out their first experiments again. How did the lockdown start for you? Did you have to interrupt an experiment? Franziska: No, we were lucky, our beam time had just ended and we had tons of data that we had to evaluate anyway. I wrote an email to everyone on March 16thRead More →

By:
On:
In: BESSYBeamlineScientists, Careers, Energymaterials, Lightsources

At BESSY II, we are operating some 50 beamlines, each of which offers the latest methods in spectroscopy and microscopy.
Each beamline has a dedicated beamline scientist, who not only manages all the projects on the beamline and knows its every secret, but also works with local and visiting scientists to get the best results out of the beam and its instruments for every specific research question they have. Without the beamline scientists, much of the science at BESSY II could never happen.
But who are they? What makes a good beamline scientist and where do they come from? In this little series you are going to find out. Today we introduce Dr. Roberto Felix Duarte, who works at the KMC-1 beamline.Read More →

By:
On:
In: BESSYBeamlineScientists, Energymaterials, International, Lightsources, Science Communication, Students

Can you translate the title of your last talk or paper into plain english? Of course you can. But can you do it using only words out of a list of 1000 most common english words? That becomes tricky!  Give it a try. Be generous and creative. The “Splasho”-Editor will help you: just copy the original text into it and edit until the editor is happy. Example: „Tiny things easily enter into cells. But what do they do there? We have watched them with bright light and found out where they like to be. The cell looks tired after those tiny things have entered.“ ThisRead More →