| Newsletter of Forschungszentrum Jülich |
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Newsletter of Forschungszentrum Jülich
No. 13/2026 I 10.07.2026
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ERC Grant for Recycling Technology
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RESEARCH I Congratulations to materials scientist Ian Marius Peters (IMD-3), who has been awarded an ERC Proof of Concept Grant from the European Research Council. The € 150,000 grant will be used to support the CYBEX project. The project aims to further develop a novel technology for recovering critical raw materials from end-of-life solar modules to the point of commercial viability. It builds on a recycling project for which Peters received an ERC Consolidator Grant in 2023.
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Voluntary Time-Over-Money Model
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Since 1 July, employees can opt to waive part of their November annual bonus in exchange for up to three additional days off (“extra leave days”) during the following year. |
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Schlebusch Re-Elected as Equal Opportunities Officer |
Forschungszentrum Jülich’s equal opportunities officer, her deputies, and her representatives at the FZJ branch offices have been elected for the next three years. In an interview, Conny Schlebusch (GB) talks about what she and her team have planned, what guides their approach, and what she is particularly looking forward to. |
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Sarah Kirchhoff: Researcher and Elite Athlete |
Germany may have been eliminated from the World Cup, but it’s doing well in other sports. For example, in softball – with physicist Sarah Kirchhoff. The doctoral researcher at ICE-3 plays for the German national softball team. |
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Roundabout Closed from Monday, 20 July |
The roundabout at the Hambach gate on the Jülich campus will be closed from Monday, 20 July, until Tuesday, 8 September. The roundabout needs to be completely reconstructed. The Hambach gate will remain accessible via a signposted detour past the IKP building. |
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Compulsory Training Course on AI Basics |
A new basic training course has been introduced to accelerate FZJ’s digital transformation and enhance the AI skills of the entire workforce. The “AI Basics” course is mandatory for all employees. |
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Regulations Revised for Equipment Registration |
The directive for Equipment Registration and Management in the Organizational Units has been revised. The revised version clarifies that equipment managers are responsible for recording and reporting all changes to fixed assets within their organizational unit. |
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Working Together for Better Administration |
The project on decentralized institute administration as the foundation for more efficient end-to-end processes has now been completed. The results will be used to improve administrative processes, digitalization, and organizational structures. |
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123 Colleagues Take Part in Aachen Company Run |
Roy Schumacher (IET-3) ran the 9.9 km distance in around 35 minutes, securing 3rd place. Other colleagues from FZJ and PtJ also performed well across the three distances. All had an enjoyable day. |
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The JuLab Schools Laboratory prepared around 80 FZJ employees to take on the role of a STEM ambassador through a series of workshops. Equipped with experimental materials, research workbooks, and certificates, they visited early childhood education centres and primary schools, reaching around 3,500 children. |
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Hidden Quantum Chip Interactions |
Inside today’s quantum processors, highly complex physics is at work. Researchers from PGI-12, together with Nobel laureate John M. Martinis and collaborators at MIT, have developed a new theoretical approach to better understand and tame these hidden interactions in quantum chips. |
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GMR Effect 2.0 for Orbitronics Devices |
Jülich researchers from ER-C-1 and PGI-1 have helped to pave the way for future orbitronics devices. In a scientific publication, they show for the first time how magnetic states can be read out electrically using the orbital angular momentum of electrons. |
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Controlling Biological Processes with Light |
Researchers at IBI-7, IBG-1, and the University of Bayreuth have uncovered how certain light-sensitive enzymes transmit signals in bacteria. The findings could help develop new tools for specifically controlling biological processes using light. |
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Jülich Expertise for Hydrogen Research |
Hydrogen and hydrogen-based products are regarded as important building blocks for a climate-neutral energy system. Forschungszentrum Jülich is actively involved in this area of energy research. The expertise of ICE-2 has now also been incorporated into the Global Hydrogen Review 2026 published by the International Energy Agency (IEA). |
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Open Access Publication of the Month
Anna Bleser, Prof. Gereon Fink, Prof. Simone Vossel, and Dr. Paola Mengotti (all INM-3) have published an article entitled “The Impact of Prior Beliefs about Volatility on Adaptive Behavior” in the Journal of Cognition. In the article, the authors write about how people flexibly adapt to changes in their environment.
Read the open access publication |
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Volunteers Wanted
INM-7 is looking for German-speaking volunteers between the ages of 18 and 55 to take part in a study investigating the relationship between brain processes and individual emotional skills. Volunteers will be asked to complete psychological tests and questionnaires. They will also be expected to come to the Jülich campus for around 4 hours, where they will undergo an fMRI scan (approx. 1 hour). Volunteers will receive € 75 for taking part.
Contact: Dr. Veronika Müller (INM-7), email: empro@fz-juelich.de |
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Calls for Proposals and Announcements
The National Contact Point Bioeconomy and Environment (NCP B&U) will offer a webinar on 17 August 2026 on preparing for deadlines with a focus on IP in Horizon Europe and how to manage intellectual property from HEU projects. The webinar is for applicants for the 2026 and 2027 calls under in Cluster 6 and the EU Missions. It offers practical guidance on managing intellectual property in Horizon Europe projects. The webinar is free of charge, but registration is required.
Read more (in German) |
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Female Voice Lunch at the Seecasino
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Science Online: AI, the Brain, and the Mind
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RDM Open Hour (hybrid event)
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Career Talk: From Research to Consulting with Meryts
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Accolades
Dr. Eva Pfannerstill (ICE-3) has been elected to Die Junge Akademie. Membership in this academy for outstanding young academics is one of the most prestigious honours for young scientists in the German-speaking world. Read moreDr. James Eills (IBI-7) has received the Varian Young Investigator Award. The international prize honours early-career researchers who make significant, innovative contributions to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) instrumentation or methods. Read moreProf. Peter Wasserscheid (IHE) is taking over the coordination of the European Energy Research Alliance’s (EERA) “Clean Hydrogen” research programme. The programme brings together European research expertise in the field of hydrogen technologies and forms part of a network of more than 250 research organizations and universities across Europe. Read moreProf. Iryna Zenyuk from the University of California, Berkeley, has been awarded the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Prize by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. As part of this award, she will spend several months conducting research at the Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg for Renewable Energy (HI ERN). Read more
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Doctoral Degrees
Martin Hilger (IMD-2) was awarded the title of Dr.-Ing. by RWTH Aachen University, Faculty of Georesources and Materials Engineering: “Cost-reduced and Sustainable Interconnects and their Coatings for Solid Oxide Cells”
Eva Agnes Bertalan (INM-9) was awarded the title of Dr. rer. nat. by RWTH Aachen University, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences: “Dynamic water-mediated hydrogen-bond networks of receptors and transporters”
Stefan Blaschke (IET-1) was awarded the title of Dr. rer. nat. by RWTH Aachen University, Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Science and Natural Sciences: “Synthese, Charakterisierung und elektrochemische Analyse von Elektrodenmaterialien für Festkörper-Batterieanwendungen”
Yufan Zhang (IET-3) was awarded the title of Dr. rer. nat. by RWTH Aachen University, Faculty of Georesources and Materials Engineering: “Theory of Electronic and Ionic Perturbations at Supported Electrocatalyst Nanoparticles”
Xinwei Zhu (IET-3) was awarded the title of Dr. rer. nat. by RWTH Aachen University, Faculty of Georesources and Materials Engineering: “Hierarchical Modeling of Electrocatalytic Reactions from a Local Perspective”
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Congratulations
65th birthday
Ulrike Roll (PtJ-BIO) on 11 July
Harald Knut Lange (B) on 13 July
60th birthday
Silke Frensch (INM-ICF) on 18 July
50th birthday
Nelan Erven (AS-M) on 12 July
Markus-Helmut Pelzer (SL) on 23 July
25 years of service
Olaf Holderer (JCNS-G) on 15 July
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In Memoriam
Retired staff in memoriam
Ditrich Glasenapp (IFF) on 1 June 2026
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Publication details
The Newsletter usually appears every second Friday. The submission deadline is always the previous Wednesday at 09:00 (schedule on the intranet). The Newsletter is automatically sent to all colleagues who have an email address at Forschungszentrum Jülich. Former employees with a private email address can join our alumni network JuLumni-Net and subscribe to the newsletter through this network. Editorial team: Michaela Weyermanns (UK-I), Stefanie Tyroller (UK-I, responsible). Please send any suggestions, comments, and requests to newsletter@fz-juelich.deData protection notice: This newsletter uses anonymized tracking. This process does not involve any complete IP addresses or personal data. |
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