Johann Haber received the Helmholtz Doctoral Prize 2017

Doktorandenpreis 2017

The 'Helmholtz Doctoral Prize 2017' was handed over to DESY scientist Johann Haber by Otmar D. Wiestler (right), the President of the Helmholtz Association. (Photo detail from Source HGF/Michael Reinhardt)

 DESYscientist

All award winners of the 'Helmholtz Doctoral Prize 2017' including the German Federal Research Minister Johanna Wanka (5th from right), DESY scientist Johann Haber (2nd from right) and the President of the Helmholtz Association Otmar D. Wiestler (right) (Photo Source HGF/Michael Reinhardt).

Johann Haber, from the DESY research group of Ralf Röhlsberger, received the Helmholtz Doctoral Prize 2017 for his PhD thesis in the research field Matter on "Hard X-Ray Quantum Optics in Thin-Film Nanostructures" during the Helmholtz Association's Annual General Assembly in Berlin on 14 September 2017.

During his PhD thesis, Johann Haber has discovered a new way to strongly amplify the interaction of x-rays with matter. His trick was to embed Mössbauer nuclei into coupled cavities and to resonantly excite them with high-brilliance synchrotron radiation. In future applications his approach may be used to enhance nonlinear optical effects in the X-ray regime and presumably to even generate non-classical states of X-rays.

The Helmholtz Association aims to support talented young scientists at an early stage of their career. The Prize acknowledges the recipients' academic achievements to date and encourages them to develop a long-term career in research. Each year, the Helmholtz Association awards up to six Doctoral Prizes, one in each of its six research fields. Awardees receive prize money of 5,000 Euro and additionally 2,000 Euro per month for a research stay of up to six months at an international research institution of their choice.

DESY's Research Director for Photon Science, Edgar Weckert, congratulates Johann Haber for being awarded.