27.07.2012

About 100 summer students are gathering practical experience in research at DESY

They come from 33 nations: About 100 summer students are currently visiting DESY in Hamburg and Zeuthen to gather practical experience in different fields of research. For seven weeks they will be working with DESY scientists in different projects in the fields of photon science, accelerator, particle and astroparticle physics. A series of around 40 lectures complements the lab work and aims to impart physics basics as well as special aspects important for DESY research. Equally important are the cultural and scholarly exchange.

For seven weeks the summer students will gather practical experience at DESY in Hamburg or Zeuthen

"The DESY programme is much more international than others that I looked at. That is particularly interesting to me," says Aaron Wilkins of Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. "Also, I liked the idea of doing what nobody has ever done before. This leading edge research appealed to me." Aaron, who ist studying engineering, works with the plasma acceleration group at DESY.

"This is a real scientific experience," agrees Valeri Vardanyan of Yerevan State University, Armenia. "You can work on the projects where the scientists work. And you get many contacts." With just 19 years, Valeri is the youngest of this year's summer students at DESY. He is working on upgrades for DESY's free-electron laser FLASH. "My simulations will help us to understand which wavelengths we can achieve with which upgrade."

This practical relevance is also important to Aiveen Finn of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, who is simulating electron beams for the FEL extension FLASH II, currently under construction at DESY. She also expects that the experience will help her to decide on which physics field to specialise during the remaining part of her studies. She was also convinced by the combination of training and practice. "The DESY summer student programme is different from others because of the interesting mixture of lectures and lab work."

The well-established summer student programme is of big value for DESY, as the chair of the board of directors, Professor Helmut Dosch, points out. For instance, DESY gains early contacts to committed junior researchers. "The education and promotion of young scientists is a central part of our mission," stresses Dosch. "Practical experiences as a summer student are quite often formative for the professional life of a researcher. At the same time, working with these junior researchers gives us important new stimulations - and it is inspiring for our research."

http://summerstudents.desy.de

Summer Students at DESY in Zeuthen