The sublime utility of useless science – Special Colloquium with Prof. Pedro Echenique

Kick-starting the new funding-period, SFB 1083 proudly welcomes Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. mult. Pedro M. Echenique from the Donostia International Physics Center in San Sebastián (Spain) and principal investigator in former guest project GP1 of the first funding periode for a special colloquium on “The sublime utility of useless science”.

“The Sublime Utility of Useless Science”

…how science and innovation stand at the center of any successful strategy for the long-term economic development of a country, and how it is even more important and profitable to create an atmosphere for fundamental research rather than to define specific targets…

Professor Echenique is a theoretical physicist at the University of the Basque Country in San Sebastián, Spain, and an external member of SFB 1083 who has continuously engaged himself as a vivid supporter of fundamental science. From 1980 to 1984, he served as a minister for education and culture in the first Basque government elected after the Spanish transition to democracy. In recognition of his fundamental scientific contribution on the interaction of electrons and ions with solids and solid surfaces, Echenique received prestigious prizes, including and the Prince of Asturia Award and the Max Planck Research Prize. In 1999, he founded the Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), a center of excellence that receives significant funding from private donations. In 2016, his institute received an award by the European Physical Society (EPS), recognizing not only the outstanding contributions of the DIPC in the field of condensed matter physics and materials science, but also for its numerous, successful activities in the outreach and communication of science.

Further information:
Announcement of Professor Echenique’s talk /Ankündigung auf Deutsch
Homepage of the Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC)
Curriculum vitae of Professor Echenique

Johannes Reimann (Project B6) receives Poster-Award at ICFSI-16

We congratulate Johannes Reimann, PhD-student in the research group of Prof. Höfer, who received a poster-prize for his outstanding presentation at the 16th International Conference on the Formation of Semiconductor Interfaces (ICFSI-16) in Hannover.

In his contribution, Johannes Reimann presented new insights into the generation and control of spin polarized photocurrents in the Dirac Cone of the topological insulator Sb2Te3 by means of time and angle resolved two-photon photoemission (2PPE). The experimental results allow for a better understanding of the fundamental processes governing the electron dynamics inside the topological surface states of this material class.

The work was undertaken within the DFG priority program “Topological Insulators: Materials-Fundamental Properties-Devices” (SPP 1666) and in close collaboration with project B6 of Prof. Höfer.

ICFSI-16 is part of a biannual conference series primarily focused on phenomena at surfaces, interfaces, and nanostructures that are of strong current interest, ranging from characterization at the atomic scale to prospects of applications.

Poster “Optical control of ultrafast currents in the topological surface state of Sb2Te3” by J. Reimann1, K. Kuroda1,2, K. A. Kokh3, O. E. Tereshchenko3, A. Kimura4, J. Güdde1, U. Höfer1 (1 Philipps-Universität-Marburg, 2 University of Tokyo, 3 Russian Academy of Sciences and Novosibirsk State University, 4 Hiroshima University) – 16th International Conference on the Formation of Semiconductor Interfaces (ICFSI-16) July 02 – 07, 2017, Hannover, Germany.

Kick-Off for the new funding period

SFB 1083 kick-started the new funding period with a workshop and public lecture

SFB 1083 kick-off workshop for its second funding period focussed on its new external projects based at the Peter-Grünberg-Institute, part of the Forschungszentrum Jülich, and the University of Münster.
Special highlight of the day was the widely announced invited lecture by Prof. Dr. Pedro M. Echenique from the Donostía International Physics Center in San Sebastián, Spain.