The event opened with remarks by Helmut Dosch, Chairperson of the DESY Board of Directors, Hauke Heekeren, President of the University of Hamburg, and Francesca Calegari, head of PIER. They addressed the importance of cross-institutional collaboration in advancing scientific research, emphasizing the success of PIER in facilitating joint activities of DESY and UHH in the fields of research, educational and transfer.

An important part of the day was the presentation of highlights from the PIER Seed Projects. Giulio Rossi from DESY shared first results of his PIER-funded project “Attosecond Dynamics in Norbornadiene/Quadricyclane Photoswitches,” while Manja Czech-Sioli from University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) presented her still ongoing project “A vascularized, innervated, 3D skin-on-a-chip organoid model to study viral infections and antiviral treatment”. New PIER Seed Projects selected in 2024 were introduced through short talks, including Stefanie Haugg's (UHH) upcoming project on a 3D printed microchannel plate detector and Denis Tikhonov (DESY) and Niclas Wieland’s (UHH) project on chirality-sensitive covariant mass spectrometry.

The morning session concluded with a discussion on joint DESY and UHH research perspectives in specific fields. This segment facilitated discussions in areas such as artefact profiling (Konrad Hirschler, UHH) and cavity control of quantum materials (Andreas Hemmerich, UHH), highlighting the potential for future collaborative synergies across different disciplines.

After a coffee break, the initiative for the Hamburg International Centre for Photonics, Accelerators, and Entrepreneurship (HIPACE) was presented by representatives of DESY (Wim Leemans, Franz Kärtner), UHH (Tais Gorkhover), European XFEL (Thomas Tschentscher), Helmut Schmidt University (Oleg Pronin), and Technical University of Hamburg (Alexander Petrov), outlining aims to enhance Hamburg’s position in photonics research and innovation.

In the afternoon, the focus shifted to the area of innovation and technology transfer. Christina Frehse (DESY) highlighted existing infrastructures like the Start-Up Labs Hamburg and the DESY Innovation Factories, while Michel Clement (UHH) presented a joint proposal for the "Leuchtturmwettbewerb Startup Factories" competition from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.

The day concluded with the panel discussion “From Research to Innovation: Tech Transfer at Science City Hamburg Bahrenfeld.” Jetta Frost (UHH) and Arik Willner (DESY) emphasized Hamburg's unique position as an innovation hub where the short distances characteristic for a city state facilitate collaboration between research and industry. Florian Grüner (UHH) and Christoph Heyl (DESY) shared their personal experiences of establishing links with industrial partners in their research activities, while Ekaterina Jung, a PhD graduate from DESY and founder of the startup 5pectre Otpixx (in pre-founding), provided valuable insights from her entrepreneurial journey.

In summary, the PIER Day 2024 showcased the vibrant research and innovation activities within the scientific community of Science City Hamburg Bahrenfeld and inspired new ideas for collaboration in research and technology transfer. We thank all participants for contributing to the success of the PIER Day 2024!

Photograph: Marta Mayer, DESY