Ernst Eckhard Koch Prize and Innovation Award on Synchrotron Radiation 2025
Awards presented at the Helmholtz-Zentrum's User Meeting
At the 27th BESSY@HZB User Meeting, the Friends of HZB honoured the dissertation of Dr Enggar Pramanto Wibowo (Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg). The Innovation Award on Synchrotron Radiation 2025 went to Prof. Tim Salditt (Georg-August-University Göttingen) and Professors Danny D. Jonigk and Maximilian Ackermann (both, University Hospital of RWTH Aachen University).
The Ernst Eckhard Koch Prize 2025 honours outstanding doctoral theses in the field of synchrotron radiation research carried out at HZB or DESY. The award is named after the former scientific director of the BESSY GmbH, Ernst Eckhard Koch, who died in 1988.
This year, the Ernst Eckhard Koch Prize went to Dr Enggar Pramanto Wibowo from (Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg). In his dissertation, which was mainly carried out at HZB and at BESSY II, he deals with phosphorus chemistry in high-temperature PEM fuel cells. In doing so, he combines the further development of sophisticated in-situ/operando synchrotron methods with important contributions to the durability of fuel cells in the hydrogen economy.
The dissertation Elucidating the Complex Oxidation Behaviour of Phosphorus Impurities at the Pt|Aqueous H3PO3 Interface in HT-PEMFCs by a Combination of X-ray Spectroscopies was proposed by Dr Raul Garcia-Diez and Prof. Dr Marcus Bär (Interface Design Department at HZB). The award committee emphasised: “An outstanding contribution to synchrotron radiation science, fully aligning with the spirit of this award. We especially wish to emphasise how Dr. Wibowo expanded the experimental capabilities of soft/tender X-ray synchrotron endstations to allow in situ/operando experiments under the harsh electrocatalytical conditions found in real-world fuel cells, while also expanding the understanding of phosphorous-focused X-ray spectroscopies.”
Innovation Award on Synchrotron Radiation
The Innovation Award on Synchrotron Radiation 2025 went to Prof. Tim Salditt (Georg-August-University Göttingen) and Professors Danny D. Jonigk and Maximilian Ackermann (both University Hospital of RWTH Aachen University). The laudatory speech was given by Prof. Christian Schroer, Scientific Director of PETRA III (DESY).
They are being honoured for the development and application of histological tomography, a novel, high-resolution 3D X-ray imaging technique for tissues based on phase contrast. This method allows complex tissue architectures to be visualised non-destructively and in unprecedented detail.
The team has made decisive advances in this method and transferred it in a unique way to biomedical research, in particular to elucidate acute, subacute and late tissue damage in the lungs and heart in COVID-19.
The work exemplifies the bridge between modern X-ray optics, innovative reconstruction algorithms and clinically relevant questions. It opens up new diagnostic and pathophysiological insights into inflammatory, vascular and oncological diseases.
Friends of Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin e.V.
Contact:
Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie
Florentine Krawatzek
Communication
(030) 8062-14922
florentine.krawatzek(at)helmholtz-berlin.de
www.helmholtz-berlin.de
HZB press release, 5 December 2025