© DESY Science City Hamburg Bahrenfeld is a lively and constantly growing part of the city where research, teaching and living take place. Every day, people come to this place to pursue their work in a wide variety of fields. Some of these people give an insight into their work and answer five questions about it.
It's exciting to see how many different fields of work there actually are here in Science City. What is your current area of work?
In my current field of work, I explore the fascinating world of particle physics, where I work at the frontiers of our knowledge to understand the smallest building blocks of the universe. I use high-energy experiments to investigate how matter and the fundamental forces of the universe interact. My main area of research is measuring the properties of the top quark (the heaviest known elementary particle) in connection with the interactions with the so-called Higgs boson particle. I am also looking for new particles and researching the existence of dark matter.
As a senior scientist at DESY and professor at the University of Hamburg, you combine two important research institutions in Science City in your work. What does your day-to-day work look like?
The connection between DESY and the University of Hamburg makes my day-to-day work particularly varied and exciting. In the mornings, I supervise exciting experiments at DESY and, for example, analyze data from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, the world's largest particle accelerator, where both DESY and the University of Hamburg conduct research. In the afternoon, I switch to the university, where I give lectures, supervise students and accompany young researchers on their way. Or vice versa! The exciting thing is that the combination of cutting-edge experimental research and academic teaching allows me to always be at the forefront of science while inspiring the next generation of physicists.
What do you find special about Science City as a place to work, and what is exemplarily different from other research locations?
As a senior scientist at DESY and professor at the University of Hamburg, my work is full of variety and scientific challenges. I enjoy the benefits of the large particle physics laboratory DESY for building detectors and analyzing data, where I find an optimal scientific environment to unravel the secrets of matter together with international colleagues. At the same time, I can pass on these exciting findings to my students and get to know an extraordinary number of young talents in my lectures, whom I try to inspire for science. I notice that the students' skills are exceptionally good, which is certainly due to the fact that Hamburg is a University of Excellence and that Hamburg is home to the Cluster of Excellence "Quantum Universe". It is an invaluable advantage that both DESY and the University of Hamburg are embedded in Science City Hamburg, which optimally promotes innovation and scientific progress.
The dynamic mix of highly specialized experiments, knowledge transfer and international collaboration enables a constant interplay between research and teaching, making Science City a unique place to work. Here it is incredibly exciting to uncover new secrets of physics on a daily basis and at the same time to inspire and prepare young people for the future of our field.
Science City stands for the idea of advancing science and the city together. In your opinion, what else could contribute positively to this development in the future?
Art and science are curiosity-driven disciplines that have a lot in common. Intensive cooperation between art and science therefore, in my opinion, offers new perspectives for progress in both fields. I also believe that science can become more understandable for a general audience when viewed through the lens of art. For this reason, in 2017 we launched the ART MEETS SCIENCE initiative for diverse encounters between art and science, which has produced a wide range of events in the fields of art, music and film as a continuing series of projects.
In my opinion, exchange and cooperation between art, science and research should be further intensified in the future as part of Science City Bahrenfeld. For the future development of ART MEETS SCIENCE activities, there are plans to create the ARTSCIENCELAB format as a platform for further networking between art, science and the public in Science City.
Finally, any insider tips from you on what to see and do in Science City?
Coming into my office, discussing dark matter and looking out of the window 😉
No, seriously, the other day I saw a kingfisher in the tree right outside my office... An extremely rare occurrence! It sat there for the longest time. So if you want to see a kingfisher, please visit me in my office. Otherwise, the kingfisher has also often been seen at one of the many cooling lakes on the DESY site. That would be my insider tip!
