Helmut Schober—who is Director General at the neutron research facility European Spallation Source (ESS) in Lund, Sweden—has been appointed Affiliated Professor at DTU Physics.
ESS will be the world’s most advanced neutron research facility. At national level, three ESS research lighthouses have been launched in key research fields for ESS and where the Danish environments are leading.
Two of the research lighthouses are Q-MAT and SOLID, which have strong commitment from researchers at DTU Physics. Q-MAT’s special focus on magnetic materials and quantum materials forms a direct link to Helmut Schober’s interests and competences, while the SOLID environment’s special interests in strengthened collaboration with ESS on data analysis of imaging and tomography data will get a boost.
A third important area of collaboration is the development of unique instrumentation for ESS, and here DTU Physics has the overall scientific and technical responsibility for the construction of one of the first instruments for ESS. Finally, Helmut Schober has a special interest in theoretical description of materials. DTU Physics’ internationally leading environments in electron structure calculations of various materials ranging right from magnets, 2D materials, and ferroelectrics to catalysts therefore provide good opportunities for collaboration and synergy.
On the teaching front, Helmut Schober will—thanks to his wide experience—be able to contribute with lectures and co-supervision of projects at BSc, MSc, and PhD levels, and he can also be helpful in spreading the interest in neutron research and ESS to other DTU departments.
Helmut Schober, CV:
Helmut Schober received his PhD in 1992 from Regensburg University for neutron scattering studies of the lattice dynamics of crystalline materials, and defended a doctoral habilitation thesis on dynamic studies of fullerenes in 2000. The use of inelastic neutron scattering and associated theoretical modelling methods constitutes key elements in Helmut Schober’s scientific work.
Since 2016, as Director of the internationally leading research facility in neutron science and technology—ILL—in Grenoble, he has played an important role in modernizing the facility’s instruments for materials studies to the benefit of researchers worldwide. Helmut Schober has published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles and is a recognized researcher in his field. 2019 he received the Award of Honorary Doctorate by the Université Grenoble Alpes.
