For ten years now, a unique cooperation has been giving students at TU Bergakademie Freiberg an insight into the world of the X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL). The 15 participants that attended the annual block lecture at European XFEL from 23 to 27 September are the tenth group of Freiberg students to take part in this course organized by the international research facility. During this week, the students stayed for several days in the facility's guest house and deepened their knowledge about the structure and applications of the X-ray laser, which is one of the most modern and brightest X-ray radiation sources in the world.
The lecture series 'Materials research with X-ray free-electron lasers (XFEL)' is led by TU Freiberg Professor Serguei Molodtsov, who is also Scientific Director of European XFEL, and Dr Friedrich Roth from the Institute of Experimental Physics at TU Bergakademie Freiberg. During the week-long course, the students learn about the developments and possible applications of the state-of-the-art X-ray light source directly from scientists, including several leading scientists and group leaders at European XFEL. “We are delighted to be hosting this lecture series for the tenth time. A number of previous participants have later on become Master and PhD students at European XFEL which demonstrates that this is a fruitful collaboration for both the TU Bergakademie Freiberg and for us”, Molodtsov said.
The compulsory elective module gives students in the Master's programme Advanced Materials Analysis the opportunity to interact with researchers at European XFEL already during their studies, to learn about the latest research results and to visit the unique research facility.
The students also made excursions to the X-ray radiation source PETRA III and the world's first X-ray free-electron laser FLASH at DESY in Hamburg.
