XFEL: Freiberg Lectures: Eleventh year breaks records

For eleven years now, a unique cooperation has been giving students at TU Bergakademie Freiberg an insight into the world of the X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL). The participants that attended the annual lecture course at European XFEL from 22 September to 26 September were the eleventh group of Freiberg students to take part in this course organized by the international research facility. In the beginning of the week, the students stayed in Hamburg and visited European XFEL, which is one of the most modern and brightest X-ray radiation sources in the world.

The lecture series 'Materials research with X-ray free-electron lasers (XFEL)', that is dedicated to deepened students’ knowledge about the structure and applications of the X-ray lasers, is led by TU Freiberg Professor Serguei Molodtsov, who is also Scientific Director of European XFEL, and Dr Friedrich Roth from the Institute of Experimental Physics at TU Bergakademie Freiberg. ”This year, we are very happy to have reached a new record with 44 participants. This shows us that we are on the right track with this particularly intensive form of cooperation,” says Roth.

During the week-long course, the students learned about the developments and possible applications of the state-of-the-art X-ray light source directly from scientists, including several leading scientists and group leaders at European XFEL. “It is a great pleasure for us to organize this lecture series over such a long period. The enthusiasm of the participants for the research and work of the European XFEL is also evident in the fact that the Freiberg Lectures are establishing initial but solid connections, and we are seeing many of these young women and men return here as Master's or PhD students. This is another important element of this great collaboration.” Molodtsov said.

The compulsory elective module gives students at TU Bergakademie Freiberg the opportunity to interact with researchers at European XFEL already during their studies, to learn about the latest research results and to visit the unique research facility.

The students also made excursions to the X-ray radiation source PETRA III and one of the world's first X-ray free-electron lasers: FLASH at DESY in Hamburg.

The lecture series and excursion are part of the Master program
'Advanced Materials Analysis' at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg (find details here)
and will also take place next year.