Early-Career Scientists Forschungszentrum Jülich provides an excellent environment to embark on a career in science for young talented researchers from Germany, Europe, and all over the world. Opportunities for students are available in the form of summer schools, structured support is provided during and after the doctoral phase, and early-career scientists can take on responsibility right from the start.
F
orschungszentrum Jülich, which supervises more than 120 undergraduate and postgraduate students every year, is involved in innovative study programmes. The master’s degree programmes Energy Systems and Technomathematics and
the bachelor’s programme in Scientific Programming were established in cooperation with Aachen University of Applied Sciences. Together with RWTH Aachen University, Jülich offers the master’s degree course Simulation Sciences as well as the opportunity to
pursue a PhD at the German Research School for Simulation Sciences. A PhD at Jülich is attractive for applicants from all over the world: 29 % of PhD students came from abroad in 2012, including 47 from China, 28 from Russia, and 14 from India.
experts, 37 scientists, of which 22 were women, prevailed in the competition between a total of 86 applicants from Germany and abroad. With seven successful candidates, Forschungszentrum Jülich is the Helmholtz centre with the greatest number of participants in the programme. They were granted funding
of € 100,000 to € 200,000, which they will receive over a two-to-three-year period to pursue a research project of their choice, with a view to establishing themselves in their field of research. For the initial phase, Forschungszentrum Jülich will provide them with a mentor.
First-class Jülich postdocs The Helmholtz Association launched a new programme in 2012 to support scientists who have recently received their PhDs and help them to kick-start their academic careers (www.helmholtz. de/jobs_talente/postdoc_programm/). In a multistage procedure, including external evaluation by international
Look where they’re going – electrons from a different perspective Explaining one of the enigmas of matter in less than ten minutes – it sounds impossible, but Jülich PhD student Robert Frielinghaus from the Peter Grünberg Institute pulled off the task with flying colours at the Highlights of Physics science festival in Göttingen. With the help of beer bottles, escalators, and a sprinkling of German comedian Loriot, the 28-year-old physicist explained how ‘Paul the Electron’ moves through tiny nanostructures. The audience was delighted and chose him as the winner of the Einstein Slam, a competition for the best short presentation combining scientific depth and entertainment value. If you would also like to enjoy Robert Frielinghaus’ presentation (in German), you can find it at www.youtube.com/ watch?v=K91Hq2hOqZY.
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Robert Frielinghaus is able to explain physics in a very entertaining manner, which won him first prize in the Einstein Slam.
Forschungszentrum Jülich | Annual Report 2012