XFEL: Thomas Feurer appointed as Chairman of the Management Board

The European XFEL Council has nominated Prof. Thomas Feurer as the new Chairman of the European XFEL Management Board. The laser physicist has been a professor at the University of Bern since 2004, where he heads the Institute for Applied Physics. He will take over from Prof. Robert Feidenhans'l on 1 January 2024. Feidenhans’l has led the research facility since its inauguration in 2017, and will remain available to European XFEL as an advisor until his retirement in July 2024.

Thomas Feurer studied physics in Würzburg and Jena, and subsequently held a senior research position at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) before he became a professor in Bern. His research areas include laser physics, ultrafast spectroscopy, and the development of instrumentation for X-ray free-electron lasers.

“I very much look forward to working with Thomas Feurer as the new Chairman of the Management Board,” says Prof. Federico Boscherini, Chairman of the European XFEL Council. The European XFEL Council is the supreme body at European XFEL, representing its twelve shareholder countries. “Thomas is a very accomplished scientist and I am sure that he will provide excellent scientific and strategic leadership to European XFEL in the coming years, during which the results of considerable investment will become apparent. Under his guidance we will continue to deliver outstanding scientific results while in parallel laying the foundations for future developments.”

Thomas Feurer said: “For me, it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to contribute to the success of European XFEL, building on the foundations that my predecessors, future colleagues and the entire team laid down.”

Current Chairman of the Management Board, Robert Feidenhans'l, states: “I congratulate Thomas Feurer on his appointment. We have grown from a newly inaugurated facility to one with stable and successful user operation with continuously increasing scientific output. I am sure Thomas will be successfully taking European XFEL into the next stages of development.”

Nicole Elleuche, Managing and Administrative director, adds: “We have already started to involve Thomas Feurer in strategic processes as these will shape the company for the next years. He has shown impressive knowledge regarding the networks and interfaces important for the successful future of our unique facility. We look forward to working with him, and I am sure he will inspire us with new ideas.”

The European XFEL Management Board consists of five directors: the Chairman of the Management Board, the Second Managing Director and Administrative Director Dr Nicole Elleuche, and the three Scientific Directors Dr Sakura Pascarelli, Prof. Serguei Molodtsov, and Dr Thomas Tschentscher.

Contact:

Bernd Ebeling
Tel: +49-40-8998-6921
E-mail: bernd.ebeling@xfel.eu