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News
As every year, the current and past members of the Scheier group got together at Müssigang's farm in Mühlau for Törggelen. As always, it was a pleasure to eat, drink and chat together!
During the summer school break, two high school students, Lilli and Florian, participated for four weeks in an FFG internship funded by the ‘Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft’. The goal of the internship was to provide students interested in research with the opportunity to gain insight and hands-on experience in the field. During their time with us, Lilli and Florian worked with us at various lab experiments, designed components using SolidWorks, ran simulations with Simion, and much more. We hope they gained valuable knowledge and that this experience will help guide their future career choices. Thank you, Lilli and Florian, for joining us!
coronene
Recently, a paper from our group about the role of Na decoration on the hydrogen adsorption on coronene was published in the prestigious journal International Journal of Hydrogen Energy (Impact factor 8.1). Congratulations to everyone who contributed!
Publication:
The role of Na decoration on the hydrogen adsorption on coronene: a combined experimental and computational study by E. García-Arroyo, A.M. Reider, S. Kollotzek, F. Foitzik, J. Campos-Martínez, M. Bartolomei, F. Piranic, M.I. Hernández, M. Mella,
and P. Scheier Int. J. Hydrog. Energy 83, 387-395 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.07.425
...rewarding us with amazing views of Innsbruck and the surrounding landscape.
Recently, two Master students in our group defended their thesis, Johannes and Thomas! You did an amazing job on your Master theses: Johannes spectroscopically studied the reactivitiy of small gold clusters and Thomas built up a setup for the deposition of nanoparticles. We are very happy that both are staying in the group to do their PhD!
Recently, the paper ‘Formation of Doubly and Triply Charged Fullerene Dimers in Superfluid Helium Nanodroplets’ from TOFFY2 was published in the prestigious journal Physical Review Letters (Impact factor 8.1). The publication was also highlighted in the Newsroom of the University!
Publication:
Formation of Doubly and Triply Charged Fullerene Dimers in Superfluid Helium Nanodroplets by Lisa Ganner, Stefan Bergmeister, Lucas Lorenz, Milan Ončák, Paul Scheier, and Elisabeth Gruber Phys. Rev. Lett. 133, 023001 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.133.023001
Florian defended his Master's thesis about 'helium solvation of multiply charged monoatomic ions' with a great talk and a flawless examination. During his Master's research, Florian also managed to design a new high-temperature oven, which even enabled to evaporate lanthanum. Many attempts to evaporate lanthanum have been made in the past, but Florian was the first one in the group who succeded, of which he can be very proud. We are very happy that he is staying in the group as a PhD student!
Yesterday, we had to say goodbye to Olga, who is going to Japan (Fukuoka) for a PostDoc position. During her time in the group, Olga was hard-working and managed to publish numerous papers. Besides, she was always spreading her inspirational motivation to the other group members and her infectious good mood lit up the whole team, creating a joyful atmosphere. Olga was also the one who initiated this news section and took great care of the whole homepage. It was a pleasure to work with you, Olga! We wish you all the best and hope to see you again soon!
Last weekend was bustling with social events for our group. On Friday, we organized the annual suckling pig get-together, where former members of the group were also invited, and we enjoyed the evening with good conversations, food, and drinks together. On Saturday, we watched the American Football Game of the Swarco Raiders Tirol in which Jan was playing and supported him mentally by cheering on him. Finally, on Sunday, we celebrated Elisabeth and her husband, who recently got married, with amazing Italian food. Thanks to everyone for making it a wonderful weekend!
| On June 17th, Stefan successfully defended his PhD thesis with the title “Laser Spectroscopy of Atomic and Molecular Clusters Embedded in Helium Nanodroplets.” Not only was his presentation excellent but also the culinary provisions at the celebration afterwards including four different cakes. We thank Stefan for the wonderful time we had together during his PhD and wish him all the best for his remaining time in the group and beyond. | |
We hope to see her often and wish all the best for her and her family as they embark on this exciting new chapter in their lives. May it be filled with joy and wonderful opportunities.
Mai 22
April 24
Dr. Serge Krasnokutski from Friedrich Schiller University Jena joined us to research the fascinating topic on the search of the carriers of the diffuse interstellar bands . This fruitful collaboration started in 2019 and has always been great for exploring more about astrochemistry and physics in the supercold helium environment! This time, together with Elisabeth, Lisa, and Florian, they performed UV-Vis spectroscopy of cationic carbon chains formed in superfluid helium droplets, simulating the cold cosmic environment.
April 01
At the end of 2023, Elisabeth Gruber was awarded a 3-year FWF-Elise-Richter grant to explore the spectroscopy of various C60 derivatives, which are regarded as promising candidates for the carriers of the diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs). These bands are lines in the spectrum of stars caused by the absorption of light by interstellar dust. The exact identity of the molecules causing these bands, and thus the chemical composition of interstellar dust, is still a major puzzle in observational astrochemistry. So far, only the ionized fullerene C60+ has been identified as a carrier.
With her team, Elisabeth will use a novel and unique instrumental setup, which has been commissioned during her previous Hertha-Firnberg-Project at the University of Innsbruck, to spectroscopically investigate singly and multiply charged complexes of C60 and other elements commonly found in space, such as hydrogen, carbon, iron, and magnesium. The results will help to identify new carriers of DIBs or to rule out potential candidates.
March 7
February 16
The biannual SASP meeting was, as always, a fantastic success. Most of our group had the pleasure of representing Innsbruck at this year's meeting in the beautiful Andalo. It was a great week filled with many informative talks, and in particular, Elisabeth, Stefan, and Florian represented our group by delivering nice presentations on the most recent research conducted in our labs. During the lively poster session, Jan, Olga, Lisa, and Matthias shared their research, with Olga's poster earning her the coveted poster prize—a box of delicious Italian food.
Beyond the scientific agenda, we made the most of our breaks by exploring the snow-covered mountains of Andalo on skis and snowboards or on foot. Evenings were spent in delightful conversations, engaging games, and even some musical moments with a guitar. Now, we eagerly look forward to the next SASP in 2026, this time in Obergurgl!
Also, a nice work from TOFFY has been published in International Journal of Hydrogen Energy (Impact factor 7.139). This joint experimental/theoretical study focuses on advanced hydrogen storage solutions, showing that alkali-decorated carbon materials reveal up to 25% enhanced hydrogen adsorption, and increase stability of the hydrogenated materials by more than 100%.
2023
November 23
October 20
October 10
We are happy to welcome back Dr. Mahmoodi-Darian! She graduated with a BSc. in Applied Physics and an MSc. in Atomic-Molecular Physics Program (Top Student), both from Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran. She then obtained her PhD in Nano-Bio-Physics from the University of Innsbruck, Austria. In 2011, she continued her research and teaching at the Faculty of science, department of Physics (at Azad University, Karaj Branch, Karaj, Iran) as an assistant professor; where she had been employed before as an academic staff.
After her PhD, she never left her collaboration with Innsbruck University and joined some projects that were granted by Prof. Paul Scheier.
After 20 years working in home university, she resigned and decided to stay in Innsbruck University and continues her research as a (associate professor) senior researcher in a very pleasant atmosphere. She loves Innsbruck, Innsbruck University, working with students and sharing her knowledge and experiences (science and life) with them and of course learning many new things of them. Working with young generation is always full of excitement, joy, energy and of course unknown things. For the latter ones you have to try to understand them!
And she likes let everybody knows:
When situations were just not right,
When everything did not seem to be bright,
When I felt fright,
There was one word that kept me going,
It was hope, because it makes me strong, gives me the solution to the wrong.
And Paul kept my hope alive!
Another fun day with school kids, this time we welcomed a group from the Vorarlberg! We began by showcasing our collection of educational experiments and then aimed to inspire them with our work. We hope they had as much fun as we did, and perhaps we've sparked a deeper interest in physics among the young minds!
September 16
Mountain biking: Brenner
Another favorite summer activity of our group is mountain biking! One of our last trips was along an old military road close to the Austrian-Italian border on the Italian side. We started out at the Brenner/Brennero train station (at 1370 m above sea level) and cycled up to Sandjochmoos-Wechselkessel (at 2130 m above sea level). Besides enjoying stunning scenery and a great atmosphere, we were lucky to meet some marmots and mountain goats!
DK ALM Summer School
Matthias has successfully defended his master's thesis titled "Development of an MR Device for Multiply Charged Helium Nanodroplets." Following a well-deserved break, he will return to work with Mr. TOF, the apparatus he developed and tested during his master's journey, to conduct even more thrilling experiments as a Ph.D. student. We eagerly anticipate welcoming him in his new role within our group!
Spending quality time with the group while hunting for mushrooms is our favorite summer activity, and enjoying a delightful meal made from our harvest makes it even better!
Cheers to Sigi's incredible achievement! This Friday, he presented his thesis on " How to dope multiply charged superfluid helium nanodroplets.". His journey through the PhD program has been nothing short of inspiring, turning him into a true TOFY master, adept at unravelling complex challenges. His work has led to a prolific publication record of over 10 papers. We wish him a Refreshing break and success in his future adventures. Exciting times ahead!
After working with us for a year, Pascal defended his thesis last week in front of a committee of professors from our university and the group. His thesis focused on the ion extraction efficiency of different materials and angles. During his master, he successfully designed and build a setup that allowed him to measure the differences between those settings. Even though we would be glad to see him as a PhD student in our group, we wish him all the best in his new job in the private sector. Congratulations, Pascal!
Elisabeth Gruber and Miriam Kappe have participated in the COST COSY workshop on He nanodroplets, where they got the chance to exchange their knowledge with other experts in this field. They also visited ELI Beamline facility, where the group of Maria Krikunova explores the dynamics of nanoplasma in He nanodroplets.
IMAMPC 2023, the 12th International Meeting on Atomic and Molecular Physics and Chemistry, led by Milan Oncak together with the organizing committee, which included three of our group members (Anna Maria Reider, Ethan Cunningham, Olga Lushchikova), was a standout event. Our group was actively involved, presenting hot-topic talks and posters. Moreover, we had the privilege of showcasing our lab during a lab tour, immersing attendees in our research.The conference was a resounding success, featuring engaging discussions, groundbreaking research presentations, and valuable networking opportunities. We extend our gratitude to all the enthusiastic participants who made IMAMPC 2023 truly exceptional.
We're thrilled to announce that our former PhD student Ariane has landed her dream job as a medical physicist at the University Hospital Innsbruck! Although we'll miss her, we're so proud of her and wish her all the luck and success in her new role. Wishing Ariane all the best in her new position!
Board games might not be our area of expertise, but we sure had a lot of laughs playing together. What a great way to unwind after a long day in the lab!
Olga just returned from the short-term scientific mission supported by COST COSY. She spent two weeks in the group of Prof. Peter Armentrout at the University of Utah, where she learned how to experimentally determine accurate bond dissociation energies using collision-induced dissociation. In the near future, several upgrades are planned for TOFFY, providing even more information about the systems we breed in superfluid helium nanodroplets.
Congratulations to Stefan for his excellent performance during Tulip Summer VIII School. He represented our group with style and flair. Out of over fifty candidates, he was one of only four students selected to present his work - a remarkable achievement in itself. But Stefan didn't stop there - he also showcased his exceptional driving skills and won a silver medal in the carting race with his team. If there was an individual rating, he would undoubtedly take the gold!
A historical moment! The first ions have been trapped with the new multi-reflectron instrument (Mr.ToF). Matthias and Luis did a great job in a record-breaking short time! Let's wish them good luck with the optimization!
Doing cool science is only part of the job! It is also essential to share your knowledge and educate the following generations. Today on the "day of physics" we have shown our work to many high-school students and hopefully could motivate them to choose physics. And who knows, maybe we will see some of them again in the near future...
Coming together in an informal atmosphere is the best way to relax and improve the group spirit. We spend the weekend in Dornbirn chatting, hiking, cooking, eating and even enjoying Carnaval. Thanks to Felix and Johanna for their enormous hospitality!!!
Day tobogganing Praxmar
Olga Lushchikova got STSM grant from COST
Olga got a short-term scientific mission grant from COST COSY (CA21101) to visit the lab of Prof. P. Armentrout in the Department of Chemistry, University of Utah to learn how to perform CID measurements at the quantitative level in order to obtain bond dissociation energies of the desired molecules or complexes. After her visit, she will integrate this technique into TOFFY to study the binding energy of CO2 to metal clusters.
End of sabbatical stay Prof. Masoomeh Mahmoodi Darian
Working with Prof. Mahmoodi Darian during the winter semester was a great pleasure!
February 3
Defensio Felix Duensing
Recently Felix successfully defended his thesis entitled "From fusion relevant ion surface collisions to a Database and Viewer of multi-dimensional mass spectra". Next to the fusion experiments on SURFTOF, he took data digitization to the next level! We are all very grateful for the updates on the lab journal he made. Congratulations Dr. Duensing!!!
Elisabeth Gruber got grant from Tiroler Wissenschaftsförderung
Night tobogganing Maria Waldrast