Kick-off for German-French cooperation in neutron research

Nearly 100 neutron researchers from Germany and France attended the kick-off event for the new international research project between TUM and LLB © FRM II/ TUM

Nearly 100 neutron researchers from Germany and France attended the kick-off event for the new international research project between TUM and LLB © FRM II/ TUM

Neutron researchers from France and Germany have started a close collaboration with the International Research Project GeFR@NS. From February 15-16, more than 100 scientists from both countries exchanged ideas on current research topics and laid the foundation for concrete joint projects at the digital kick-off event.

Germany and France will cooperate more closely in neutron science in the future. Therefore, the Technical University of Munich (TUM) as partner in the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum, (MLZ) and the Laboratoire Léon Brillouin (LLB) in France have now officially launched the international research project GeFR@NS (Germany and France at Neutron Sources).

Successful event with almost 100 participants

Prof. Dr. Peter Müller-Buschbaum, Scientific Director of MLZ and FRM II and co-initiator of the project, was very pleased with the high number of participants at the kick-off event, which he organized together with his predecessor at FRM II and MLZ, Prof. Winfried Petry, as well as the Director of LLB, Eric Eliot and his deputy Grégory Chaboussant. “The nearly 100 participants reflect the great interest in close collaboration in neutron research,” Müller-Buschbaum emphasized. He went on to praise the two-day digital event as an important cornerstone for the next concrete steps.

Two PhD theses mark start of collaboration

The Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Université Paris-Saclay will invite applications for two PhD theses within the framework of the new collaboration, in the fields of biomedicine and energy materials. The doctoral students will conduct research in both countries alternately, also using neutrons at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) in Garching.

Getting to know each other and making new contacts

“The goal is to expand joint research activities and lay the foundation for extended future collaboration,” Müller-Buschbaum said. The meeting of MLZ and LLB researchers therefore also focused on getting to know each other. During the lively exchange of current scientific topics, the scientists sounded out common interests, established contacts for cross-border training programs and learned about the university structures in each other’s countries.

Concrete first steps

In order to directly follow up on the contacts made and to intensify the cooperation in science, a concrete strategy was decided upon: At the regular meetings of the various scientific groups at the MLZ, the French counterparts from the LLB are to be invited in the future and vice versa. The first steps for a successful international research project GeFR@NS have thus been taken.