The scientific lectures were designed for doctoral researchers from the wide range of the PIER research fields of Particle & Astroparticle Physics, Nanoscience, Photon Science and Infection & Structural Biology.

The first lecture series – on modern detector and accelerator technologies - was given by DESY scientists: Andreas Maier covered the field of laser-plasma acceleration, Ingrid Gregor explained detectors for particle physics, while Heinz Graafsma gave an overview over detector technologies for photon science. The concluding talk on “RF cavities – backbone of modern accelerators” - was held by Marc Wenskat.

The second thematic bloc covered the field of scientific computing with Python. Wolfram Schmidt of the Hamburg Observatory and Hartmut Stadie from the Institute of Experimental Physics of Hamburg University introduced the audience to numerical methods and statistical methods and data analysis.

Colloquium and industry talk

The lectures were accompanied by evening talks, a poster session and also gave lots of opportunities to network and socialise.  

The scientific colloquium was given by Prof. Dr. Detelf Lohse, Max Planck Center Twente for Complex Fluid Dynamics. Prof Lohse talk about the physics of soft condensed matter.

In an industry talk, DESY alumnus Dr. Murali Ganesa shared his experience as data scientist at the digital section of German car manufacturer PORSCHE. He gave a concise and highly entertaining account of his career path, including valuable tips for doctoral researchers who plan to enter the business world.  

The graduate week’s poster session was accompanied by a barbecue in the foyer of CFEL and was well received by the participants. The poster jury, consisting of Robin Santra and Daniela Pfannkuche, the spokespeople of the PIER Helmholtz Graduate School, awarded two posters a prize: Vénus Poulain for her poster on “High Intense XUV pulses for pump-probe spectroscopy” and Karel Peetermans for his poster “Cherenkov waveguides for a terahertz free-electron laser”. Congratulations to the winners!

The PIER Graduate Week ended with complementary courses on leadership skills, visual communication in science, career counseling and a three-day workshop on machine learning with Python.

The next PIER Graduate Week is scheduled for 6-10 October 2025 on Campus Bahrenfeld.
 

Photograph: Marta Mayer, DESY

Programme PIER Graduate Week 2024

Poster