DESY turns 50! - Germany’s largest accelerator centre celebrates its anniversary today

Germany’s largest accelerator centre celebrates its birthday on 18 December: the research centre Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY turns 50. Since its foundation in 1959, DESY has developed into an internationally renowned centre for fundamental research. “DESY stands for top-level research in the development of particle accelerators and in the utilisation of these facilities to study the structure and function of matter,” says Professor Helmut Dosch, Chairman of the DESY Board of Directors. more

German Research Computer QPACE is the most energy efficient in the world

The high-performance computer QPACE (QCD Parallel Computing on the Cell) is the most energy-efficient supercomputer in the world. It is the top entry on the Green500 list, which provides a global ranking of energy-efficient supercomputers. The QPACE core team consists of about 20 scientists and developers. Within the consortium, headed by the University of Regensburg, the research centres DESY and Jülich have central responsibilities. more

The Fermilab-DESY collaboration pays off: high grades for third-harmonic module

The 260-metre-long free-electron laser FLASH at DESY is currently undergoing a major upgrade. One of the crucial new components in the superconducting linear accelerator of FLASH is a superconducting module operating at 3.9 GHz, three times the normal accelerating frequency. This third-harmonic module, built by Fermilab, now has passed extensive tests. Once installed and in operation, it will form narrower electron bunches within the FLASH accelerator, leading to brighter FEL light. more

Precision for LHC from combined HERA data

The H1 and ZEUS collaborations have submitted three common publications opening a new era of precision in the analysis of electron-proton data collected at the high energy collider HERA at DESY. HERA was capable to collide both electrons and their anti-particles, positrons on protons, thereby providing a unique experimental configuration. more

Start for PETRA III – the world´s most modern synchrotron radiation source

In Hamburg, researchers from all over the world will be able to use a new research facility of superlatives: at DESY, the world’s most modern storage-ring-based synchrotron radiation source was inaugurated on Monday. With PETRA III, scientists expect to get fundamental new insights in the structure of matter. “This Hamburg-based facility offers unique perspectives,” said Federal Research Minister Annette Schavan at the inauguration. more

DESY Open Day 2009 – a great day for everyone

It was a festival. There was a hustle and bustle in the tents and the halls, a lot of people were fascinated by the lectures on research, and the shuttle buses travelling on the campus were totally overcrowded. About 800 helpers brought their DESY to the public at the Open Day 2009 and managed to convey the fascination of research to the 13300 visitors. The Open Day 2009 was a great day for everyone.
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High distinction for Eckhard and Eva-Maria Mandelkow

For their outstanding research on the causes for Alzheimer’s disease, the Max Planck scientists Eckhard and Eva-Maria Mandelkow were awarded the renowned “MetLife Foundation Award for Medical Research” 2009. Both scientists and their team work on the DESY campus using the DORIS accelerator beam to investigate the molecular causes of Alzheimer’s disease. more

DESY mourns for Ruprecht Haensel

Professor Ruprecht Haensel died on 19 October after suffering a serious illness. The X-ray pioneer ran the first fundamental experiments with synchrotron light at the DESY accelerator. He systematically defined the properties of this kind of radiation, thus opening up its large research potential. more

The finest beam of the world – PETRA III reaches design emittance

Shortly after start-up, the PETRA III accelerator already set a world record in “lowest emittance”. The measure of the size of the light spot is a key parameter of the facility, making PETRA III the best storage ring light source worldwide. more

DESY congratulates Ada Yonath, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Israel’s scientist Prof. Ada E. Yonath was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, along with two U.S. citizens. The essential parts of her studies of the structure and function of the ribosome, a part of the cell that synthesizes protein and translates genetic code in the production of protein, were made at DESY´s accelerator DORIS. more

Successful FLASH Tests for European XFEL and ILC

On the way to high beam intensities in superconducting particle accelerators, the collaboration of the DESY FLASH team and International Linear Collider colleagues were able to accelerate long pulses with a high beam current in the FLASH accelerator for the first time. more

Colloquium in honour of the “Lord of the Rings”

What better title than “Lord of the Rings“ for a colloquium held at DESY on 4 September on the occasion of the 80th birthday of Gustav-Adolf Voss? Voss, a member of the DESY Directorate and head of the accelerator division from 1973 until 1994, was awarded with a golden DESY pin for his outstanding contributions to the conception and building of new accelerators . more