PSI

Mike Seidel is head of the Large Research Facilities Division at PSI. He knows each of the five facilities inside and out, especially the associated particle accelerators.

A team at the Swiss Light Source SLS at the Paul Scherrer Institute have set a new record using an imaging method called tomoscopy.

An international research team with participation of the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI has revealed a secret about a marine animal's shell: The researchers have deciphered why the protective cover of the brachiopod Discinisca tenuis becomes extremely soft in water and gets hard again in the air. The study appears today in the journal Nature Communications.

Switzerland has set itself the goal to stop greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050. With this net-zero target, it wants to contribute to limiting climate warming globally to less than 1.5 degrees C. The scenarios of the Competence Centres show that the net-zero goal is technically achievable by 2050. But this requires coordinated and comprehensive adaptations across a range of areas that affect society as a whole.

Niel Schröter’s research at PSI has focused on exotic materials and demonstrated their fascinating electronic states for the first time. His work has now been recognised through one of the Swiss Physical Society’s annual awards. He plans to build on this basic research in future and pave the way for quantum computers.

Researchers at the PSI and ETH Zurich have investigated the extent to which direct capture of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the ambient air can help to effectively remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. The result: With careful planning, for example with regard to location and provision of the necessary energy, CO₂ can be removed in a climate-effective manner. The researchers have now published their analysis in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.