News
From the Satellite to the Model
Prof. Dr. Emil Stanev and his colleagues in the Institute of Coastal Research at the Helmholtz Centre Geesthacht are experts as regards the combination of measurement data and computer models. With their research activities, the coastal researchers are improving the forecasting of currents, waves and other important factors which affect the marine environment. Within the project “My Ocean 2” they are currently participating in the development of a forecasting service for the oceans of the world. more
Tailor-Made Materials for the Transformation of the Energy Sector
In order to speed up the development of novel materials for the energy sector, the Helmholtz Association will provide funding for the new portfolio theme “Materials Research for the Future Energy Supply”. The project coordinated by Forschungszentrum Jülich will receive an additional € 21 million from 2012 to 2016. Fields of application are thin-film solar cells and high-temperature materials. more
Ultralight vehicles: New cooperative venture strengthens magnesium research in Geesthacht
In the framework of the World Premier Materials (WPM) development programme, the South Korean government has provided more than 100 million dollars to fund research and development in the field of magnesium technology. The Magnesium-Innovations Center (MagIC) in Geesthacht will be an important scientific project partner. Intensive research into the magnesium technologies of the future will be conducted on this unique research platform under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Karl Ulrich Kainer. more
Storm surges: Only every second person feels endangered – sensitivity to climate change is decreasing.
Scientists at the Helmholtz Center in Geesthacht are conducting investigations into the way in which the people of Hamburg assess the risks of climate change. Storm surges and floods are considered to pose the greatest danger to the city. However, only every second person feels personally endangered. more
Climate Change and North Sea Storm Surges
In the night from 16th to the 17th February 1962, the German North Sea coast was hit by a severe storm surge. The Hanseatic city of Hamburg was particularly badly affected. Entire districts of the city were submerged in water and more than 300 people lost their lives. Further severe storm surges were to follow this disaster. Similar climatic conditions can reoccur at any time. Scientists of the Institute of Coastal Research at the Helmholtz Center in Geesthacht are, therefore, observing storm surge activities in the German Bight extremely closely. According to currently available information, flood protection will retain its present effectiveness until approx. 2030; after this date, however, the situation will have to be reappraised. more
The Helmholtz Centre Geesthacht and the Helmut Schmidt University agree upon close cooperation
On Friday 9th December 2011, the president of the Helmut Schmidt University (HSU) Prof. Dr. Wilfried Seidel and the directors of the Helmholtz Centre Geesthacht (HZG), Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Kaysser and Michael Ganß, signed a cooperation agreement to link fields of research in which their two establishments are at the forefront worldwide. The object of the agreement is the creation and sharing of resources for materials research.
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Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht intensifies cooperation with POSCO in South Korea
Economic lightweight materials for cars or aeroplanes, new technologies for regenerative energy systems – these are great challenges currently faced by industry and science. In order to better combine scientific research activities and practical experience, scientists of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht and the South Korean company POSCO Ltd. want to cooperate more closely. more
Temporary use – magnesium implants biodegrade systematically
In the course of the next four years, the first prototypes of biocompatible magnesium bone implants are to be tested and developed in the scope of the new EU project, “Tailored Biodegradable Magnesium Implant Materials”(MagnIM). This major three million euro project will be coordinated by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht (HZG). The head of the HZG department “Structure Research on Macromolecules”, Prof. Dr. Regine Willumeit, will act as project leader. Researchers in Geesthacht have been engaged in the investigation and development of metallic biomaterials based on titanium and magnesium for some time now. Implants made from the light metal magnesium promote the regeneration of bone tissue and biodegrade in situ after a pre-defined period of time. more
Magnesium Award 2011: scientist honored for new high performance alloy
The “Magnesium Research Award”, endowed with 5,000 euro, has been conferred by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht since 2007. This prize offers recognition to young researchers for their innovative research in the field of magnesium. The prize winner this year is the Chinese scientist, Professor Xiaoqin Zeng of the Jiao Tong University in Shanghai.
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Hard or soft: at the touch of a button New nano material switches properties as required
A world premiere: a material which changes its strength, virtually at the touch of a button. This transformation can be achieved in a matter of seconds through changes in the electron structure of a material; thus hard and brittle matter, for example, can become soft and malleable. What makes this development revolutionary, is that the transformation can be controlled by electric signals. This world-first has its origins in Hamburg. Jörg Weißmüller, a materials scientist at both the Technical University of Hamburg and the Helmholtz Center Geesthacht, has carried out research on this groundbreaking development, working in cooperation with colleagues from the Institute for Metal Research in Shenyang, China. more
Arctic coasts on the retreat
The coastline in Arctic regions reacts to climate change with increased erosion and retreats by half a metre per year on average. This means substantial changes for Arctic ecosystems near the coast and the population living there. A consortium of more than thirty scientists from ten countries, including researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association and from the Helmholtz Centre in Geesthacht, comes to this conclusion in two studies published in Estuaries and Coasts and online on www.arcticcoasts.org. They jointly investigated over 100,000 kilometres and thus a fourth of all Arctic coasts and their results have now been published for the first time. more
The GKSS is giving itself a new name
From the 1st of November, the centre will be known as the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht Zentrum für Material und Küstenforschung GmbH (Centre for Materials and Coastal Research). The new name intends to show the connection with the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres and the city of Geesthacht. The addition of the two conceptual pillars of material research and coastal research also outline the current research issues. more
New research facility for magnesium at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht
A new building containing a magnesium casting and rolling facility has been built at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Germany, for a value of about seven million Euros. This large casting and rolling facility was inaugurated on Wednesday, 28 of September, 2010. These new equipments will be used for research and development on magnesium sheet. They are further componens that complete the facilities of the Magnesium Innovation Centre, MagIC, to carry out the advanced R&D on magnesium technology at the Magnesium Innovation Centre, MagIC. The latter is a branch of the Geesthacht Institute of Materials Research. more
Fewer polar lows in the polar North Atlantic
Scientists at GKSS Research Centre Geesthacht have shown that the frequency of polar storms in the North Atlantic, so-called ‘polar lows’, can diminish in the course of global warming. In addition, the formation areas of polar lows can shift further northwards in future. The results of the Geesthacht coastal researchers have now been published in the scientific journal ‘Nature’. more
Storm Surges Congress 2010 – Scientists from 30 countries meet in Hamburg
The Institute for Coastal Research at the GKSS Research Centre Geesthacht, in cooperation with Hamburg KlimaCampus (Climate Campus) at Hamburg University and further national and international partners, is hosting the international “Storm Surges Congress 2010” from 13 to 17 September at the University of Hamburg. The Congress is organized through the global Earth system research project "Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone" (LOICZ), that investigates changes to coasts and the social consequences worldwide. more