The Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) is a Dresden-based research laboratory. It conducts research in three of the Helmholtz Association's areas: materials, health, and energy. HZDR is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres.
History
HZDR is located at the site of the former Central Institute for Nuclear Physics (later: Central Institute for Nuclear Research) in Dresden-Rossendorf, which was founded in 1956 and became the largest nuclear research institute in the GDR. The former research center in Rossendorf was part of the German Academy of Sciences. The German-born British physicist Klaus Fuchs, who took part in the Manhattan Project and acted as a spy for the Soviet Union, was deputy director until 1974. In 1992, Forschungszentrum Rossendorf was founded at the research site. In 2006 the name changed to "Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf", to emphasize the connection to the research infrastructure in the city of Dresden. In 2011 the center became a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres.
Research programs
HZDR conducts research in the materials, health and energy sectors in Dresden and at four other locations in Germany and one in France. In Grenoble, it operates a beamline for radiochemistry research at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). Three of HZDR's five large-scale facilities are available to international scientists. Materials HZDR scientists are investigating the structure and function of new materials in order to better understand, optimize, and use them for specific applications. This includes research on novel superconducting and semiconducting materials using high magnetic fields or ion beams. They are developing detectors for applications in medicine and technology, and are advancing technologies for particle acceleration. Health HZDR aims at making progress in early diagnosis and therapy of cancer. It collaborates with partners from university medicine (National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, OncoRay, in Dresden). HZDR cancer research concentrates on three major fields: new radioactive pharmaceuticals for cancer diagnosis and therapy, innovative medical imaging methods used in oncology as well as particle acceleration using new laser technologies for radiation oncology. Energy HZDR researchers are looking for economically and ecologically feasible energy solutions. The Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology, a joint initiative of HZDR and TU Bergakademie Freiberg, is targeting new technologies for the exploration, mining, and use of strategically important metals and minerals, e.g. biotechnological methods for metal recycling. Scientists also study energy-intensive processes in industry, like steel casting or in the chemical industry. They are examining nuclear repositories and reactors. And they are contributing to new storage technologies, e.g., developing a liquid metal battery.
Research facilities HZDR operates multiple research facilities:
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
