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In a new cross-institutional working group called “Advanced Materials” under the leadership of the Bundesanstalt für Risikobewertung (Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, BfR), an expert committee which includes experts from PTB will assess the potential health and environmental risks of advanced materials. The committee is intended to shed light on the future handling of advanced materials, new nanomaterials belonging to this group, in terms of regulation and early risk detection. PTB’s focus for this is on metrological questions which arise in the reliable characterization of the new materials.

(Contact: Harald Bosse, +49 531 592-5010, Opens local program for sending emailharald.bosse(at)ptb.de)

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In a three-year research project that started in October 2020, the departmental research institutes of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) are having their pasts during the national socialist (Nazi) period and the post-war era examined. PTB as well as the BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing and the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) date back to earlier institutions which were founded in the 19th century and also existed during national socialist times.

(Contact: Jens Simon, +49 531 592-3005, Opens local program for sending emailjens.simon(at)ptb.de)

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The new “Quantum Valley Lower Saxony” research alliance has set itself the goal of developing a quantum computer within a period of five years. The German federal state of Lower Saxony and the Volkswagen Foundation are providing 25 million euros of funding for this alliance, which pools excellent research projects and research capabilities in Lower Saxony. This initiative aims to exploit the partners’ potentials for taking a leap in development towards a quantum computer based on ion trap technology.

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Es ist wissenschaftlich erwiesen: UV-Luftentkeimer können zum Schutz vor Corona beitragen und bieten prinzipiell eine große Chance etwa für Schulen. Aber noch sind die Ängste und die Unsicherheit groß: Welches Modell eliminert die Coronaviren effizient? Wie gut ist der Schutz vor austretender UV-Strahlung? Wo und wie muss ein solches Gerät aufgestellt werden? Das sind die wichtigsten Fragen, die geklärt werden müssen, bevor die Geräte flächendeckend eingesetzt werden können – in Schulen, aber auch anderen öffentlichen Bereichen wie etwa der Verwaltung oder in Arztpraxen, Frisörbetrieben, Kosmetiksalons, Supermärkten, Gastronomie oder Kleinbetrieben. Der Physiker Dr. Peter Sperfeld von der Physikalisch-Technischen Bundesanstalt (PTB) hat nun als Obmann des Arbeitsausschusses „Optische Strahlung“ im DIN-Normenausschuss Lichttechnik einen interdisziplinären Arbeitskreis mitgegründet, an dem mehr als 50 Wissenschaftler/innen aus den...

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Reliable data

In the GEMIMEG-II project, which is being funded with 12 million euros by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), 

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The Federal State of Lower Saxony, together with universities and research institutes in Lower Saxony, aims to develop a quantum computer in Germany by 2025.

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The project “Die rundesten Kugeln der Welt – der deutsche Mittelstand und die PTB Hand in Hand” (The roundest spheres in the world – German SMEs and PTB working hand in hand) was awarded the Seifriz Prize which is awarded to projects in all of Germany by the Technologietransfer Handwerk e.V. association in Baden-Württemberg. 

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Awards

Joachim Ullrich

The President of PTB has received the highest honor of the German Physical Society (DPG) for experimental physics: the Stern-Gerlach Medal. Furthermore, Prof. Dr. Ullrich will become the President of the DPG starting in April 2022 after his retirement from PTB.

Michael Rinker

Michael Rinker, a staff member of Department 1.5, Liquid Flow, has received an “OIML Letter of Appreciation” which honors his outstanding work in OIML TC 8/SC 3 and in the field of measuring systems for liquids other than water.

Martin Thedens

Martin Thedens, a staff member of Department 3.7, Fundamentals of Explosion Protection, has been the chairperson of the IEC TC 31 “Equipment for Explosive Atmospheres” standardization committee since 1 August 2020

Stefanie Kroker

Stefanie Kroker, head of the junior research group Metrology for Functional Nanosystems, has received a prize for junior scientists which is endowed with 20,000 euros.

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Multichannel pipette while filling a multiwell plate (large picture) and scheme showing how fragments of nucleic acid are digitized in a droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) (inset). Here, digitizing means that each viral RNA fragment that has been found is assigned the value 1.

Droplet digital PCR has been used in international comparison measurements to ensure the quality of SARSCoV- 2 tests for the first time. Hereby, this method proved particularly successful to quantify the RNA concentration.

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Messungen der UV-C-Strahlung

The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) measured the internal irradiance of a prototype of an indoor UV-C air purification unit to gauge its effectiveness in neutralizing germs and viruses. A simulation of the irradiance distribution in the unit also enabled us to investigate the suitability of the lamp arrangement that was finally selected. After investigating this prototype, it can be estimated that viruses drawn through the unit can be destroyed, and thus, in principle, the viral load in the air in rooms can be significantly reduced.

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