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By summerstudent Alice Rodgers> The annual global carbon dioxide emissions have increased by over three times since the 1960s, and in 2023 they were an estimated 36.8 billion tonnes.1 This is primarily due to the use of fossil fuels as an energy source and therefore in recent years it has become important to find renewable sources of energy. Since the 1990s lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have become one of the most important ways of storing energy and have applications in everything from mobile phones to cars. However, lithium is a limited resource making the supply chain of LIBs at risk. Furthermore, there are ethical and environmentalRead More →

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By summerstudent Lorenzo Ubilla> Bessy II is a giant ring where dancing electrons create x ray light used by over 40 beam lines. As Newton once said, it stands on giant’s shoulders (quite literally since its located between Albert Einstein Str. And Max Planck Str.) and hundreds of scientists go there everyday to accomplish their goals or pale in frustration.Read More →

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By summerstudent Christina Papaefthymiou> When I applied for the HZB Summer Student Program in December 2023, I had no idea what was to come. Knowing that finding accommodation in Berlin is not an easy task, I felt very lucky to secure an apartment four months before my arrival. Deep inside, I knew that once I stepped foot in Berlin, everything would fall into place and my fears would go away. And so it happened. The only unexpected condition when I arrived was the warm weather….Read More →

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By summerstudent Muhammad Kashif Raza> Nothing worthwhile is accomplished easily, and this summer program at HZB served as a reminder of that. From visa issues as a non-European student to finding accommodation in bustling capital city Berlin, I faced numerous challenges. Literally, it took about four months getting visa and finding the dormitory. But real test started when I reached my apartment in Berlin and found no Pakistani food around…Read More →

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Every year, a small team at HZB organises the International Summer Students Programme. This summer, 13 young people came from Kenya, Colombia, Serbia and other countries. At the final conference, all students presented their projects with flash talks and posters. The best poster and the most intriguing blog post were elected – a difficult process, since the quality was really very good.Read More →

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by summerstudent Attia Arooj No great things come easily in your life, so as this summer program at HZB. From visa problems as a non european student to accommodation in a crowded city like Berlin, I faced it all. But the real challenge started when I got to see my work place. It was a “Physics” Lab or more technically called Magnetic Resonance Lab equipped with NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) and EPR (Electron Paramagnetic Resonance) spectrometers. Being a chemist, working in a physics lab was totally new to me. Since college I had always a fear towards this subject which  made me run away fromRead More →

“Laser in Betrieb” or “Laser in Use”. SPV Lab 227/228, Thomas Dittrich, Schwarzschildstr. 8, HZB)

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by summerstudent Nora Jung Sitting in my organic chemistry class two semesters ago, I heard the whispers of a word repeated often amongst my classmates. I was only in my second year of my undergrad and the pressure of finding a research position was a constant reminder in the back of my head. In January of 2022, I applied for the summer research position at HZB and it felt like a step in the right direction, but I was still unsure about what lay ahead. What does it mean to do research? Am I qualified enough? Will I know the right answers?Read More →

Picture: a sample of characterization done by Daniel with lots of patience.

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In: Corona, International, Summerstudents

During my studentship there is one thing I have discovered above all: patience. Patience is the mother of science, as the saying goes. And I have learned it the hard way. My project is a complex one; like most science projects. I’m trying to synthesize and characterize a new material to act as an absorber of light in solar cells. It is called: copper-barium diselenide. More specifically I want this material to be a top-cell absorber in tandem cells. In fact, this synthesis is not easy: little is known about the compound, and barium is very reactive with oxygen, so one must be very carefulRead More →