Astroparticle Physics 2021

German Nobel Laureates in physics and chemistry in 2020 and
2021 and the rapid development of a COVID-19 vaccine through
the outstanding research and development work in the BioNTech
company: These are spectacular scientific breakthroughs that
impressively show the strong German role in worldwide fundamental
and applied research.
To open up completely new possibilities of knowledge generation,
DESY has a highly ambitious future plan at its two sites to shape
the research campus of the 21st century. Here, applied research
that leverages the potential of cutting-edge research infrastructures
and rapid transfer to industry and society will be promoted
and shaped in a smart “ecosystem”.
To implement this plan in a highly competitive environment, we
need to get important construction projects under way quickly in
How do we coordinate climate-friendly operation for users at our
large-scale research facilities without any compromises in quality?
Will it then still be possible to be appealing to new user groups
from academia and industry? If we find the right answers and
smart solutions, I am convinced that DESY will remain a futureoriented
research centre, perhaps even more diverse and even
more climate- and family-friendly, and continue to attract the
best talents from all over the world.
In October 2021, we were privileged to host the award ceremony
for this year’s Karl Heinz Beckurts Prize at DESY. The Karl Heinz
Beckurts foundation, which confers the prize, was established by
the Helmholtz Association together with Siemens AG. Alongside
the prize winner Vasilis Ntziachristos (Helmholtz Zentrum
München and TU München), Ingmar Hoerr (formerly CureVac),
Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci (BioNTech) were also honoured
with a special prize. The guests included Roland Busch, CEO of
Siemens, who was very impressed by the tour of the DESY site.
Personally, I was touched by the first names of the award winners:
Vasilis, Ingmar, Uğur, Özlem. There is no shorter or better way to
show where our future lies – DESY has lived this diversity since its
foundation.
This year, DESY signed the Diversity Charter (“Charta der Vielfalt”),
thus becoming part of Germany’s largest diversity network.
DESY is actively committed to a diverse and prejudice-free
working environment and to the appreciation of all employees
regardless of their gender and gender identity, nationality,
ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age, sexual orientation
and identity. Here at DESY, we attach great importance to an
appreciative working atmosphere, the equality of all employees
and a better work–life balance.
the current funding period so as not to fall behind internationally.
This applies to the various construction projects in the areas of
research, transfer and knowledge communication on the DESY
sites in Hamburg and Zeuthen, but especially to the PETRA IV
project, the world-leading lighthouse in research with synchrotron
radiation. With the newly developed revolutionary storage ring
technology, the hybrid six-bend achromat (H6BA) lattice, we are
pushing the performance of German and European light sources
ahead of those in the USA and China.
The lessons learned from the coronavirus pandemic and the acute
climate crisis are forcing us to leave our comfort zones. For us at
DESY, this means that we are questioning the daily life we have
become used to. How will we work and conduct research at DESY
in the future? How and how much will we travel in the future? How
will we organise a sustainable research campus in the future?
Since September 2021, the Start-up Labs Bahrenfeld, a project
jointly managed by DESY, Universität Hamburg and the City of
Hamburg, has been the new place for science entrepreneurship
on DESY’s research campus. The variety of fields covered by our
young entrepreneurs is huge, ranging from synchronisation
systems to individualised tests for diagnosing cancer.
DESY and the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW
Hamburg) agreed on a new strategic Cooperation for Application
and Innovation (KAI) with a focus on joint research and development
programmes, dual education as well as innovation and technology
transfer. KAI will help shape Hamburg’s structural transformation
into a science and innovation metropolis in northern Germany.
Finally, I would like to mention our public outreach format “Wissen
vom Fass” (Science on tap), in which scientists from Universität
Hamburg and DESY explain science topics to the public and answer
exciting questions from the world of research. This year, the event
was purely digital, but it was just as entertaining and enjoyable for
everyone as before.
In these challenging times, I would like to thank our staff and all
our national and international users and partners for their valuable
contribution to DESY. Please remain very careful in this tricky
winter period and beyond. I wish you all the best!