High tension in Adlershof: Awarding of the 2025 dissertation prize!

High tension in Adlershof: Awarding of the 2025 dissertation prize!

The awarding of the Adlershof Dissertation Prize will take place on March 20, 2025 in the Erwin Schrödinger Center on the Adlershof campus of the Humboldt University. The event starts at 3 p.m. and is organized by the research network IGAFA e. V., the Humboldt University of Berlin and WISTA Management GmbH. Two scientists and one female scientist will be honored who have successfully completed their doctoral theses in the last two years, with research and presentation achievements being used as evaluation factors.

The award-winning works demonstrate an impressive range of scientific creativity. Dr. Beῆat Alberdi Esuain received his doctorate under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Thorsten Kamps at the Helmholtz Center Berlin for Materials and Energy GmbH and at the Institute of Physics at the Humboldt University in Berlin. Her topic, “Shaping the Right Electron Beam for Visualizing Atomic Motion,” explores the use of MeV electrons to visualize the dynamics of atoms and molecules. The aim of their work is to shape the electron beams in such a way that improved temporal and spatial resolution is achieved.

Innovations in medicine and materials research

Another highlight is the presentation by Dr. Kristin Klaue, who completed her doctorate with Prof. Stefan Hecht, Ph.D., at the Center for the Science of Materials Berlin and at the Institute of Chemistry at Humboldt University. Her topic, “Light as a ‘Magic Bullet’: New Infrared Switches for Targeted, Light-Based Medicine,” aims to develop photoswitchable molecules that are activated by infrared light. This innovative concept is intended to enable the precise release of active ingredients for novel phototherapeutics and thus promote groundbreaking biomedical applications.

The third prize winner, Dr. Jinzhao Li, received his doctorate under Prof. Dr. Eva Unger at the Helmholtz Center Berlin for Materials and Energy GmbH and at the Institute of Chemistry at the Humboldt University in Berlin. His research entitled “Towards commercialization: Ink development and scalable fabrication of perovskite solar” focuses on the development of novel inks for large-scale production of perovskite solar cells. The slot die coating method is used in conjunction with combinatorial approaches to optimize the manufacturing processes.

These research projects are in the context of ongoing developments in the field of perovskite photovoltaics. Already in 2021, an international team of experts was commissioned to create an open source database on metal halide perovskite solar cells. This database is based on over 15,000 specialist publications and offers a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge in this innovative material area. Initiated by Dr. Eva Unger and coordinated by Jesper Jacobsson, the database fills an important gap for the scientific community and industry, particularly regarding materials with an efficiency of over 25% while being cost-effective and energy-efficient to manufacture.

Database and research in focus

The perovskite semiconductor database contains over 42,000 individual data sets that can be filtered by material composition and component type. The application of AI-powered analytics enables valuable new insights to benefit the research community and industry. This progress is also supported by the publication of the study “An open-access database and analysis tool for perovskite solar cells based on the FAIR data principles” in the renowned specialist journal Nature Energy which underlines the need and benefits of open data for scientific research.

The awarding of the dissertation prize not only represents a recognition of the achievements of the award-winning scientists, but also a celebration of the advances in the field of materials science and their application in the future of energy production.

Further information and a live stream of the event can be accessed via the contact person Petra Franz from the Humboldt University of Berlin.