28. March 2024

Sebastian Keckert wins Young Scientist Award for Accelerator Physics

The physicist developed new superconducting thin-film material systems at HZB that enable significant energy savings at accelerator facilities

Dr Sebastian Keckert (l.) received the DPG award, presented by Prof. Dr Kurt Aulenbacher, Head of the Working Group on Accelerator Physics. © HZB/A. Meseck

Dr Sebastian Keckert has been awarded the Young Scientist Award for Accelerator Physics of the German Physical Society (DPG). The prize is endowed with 5000 euros and was presented to him on 21.03. during the spring conference in Berlin. It honours the physicist's outstanding achievements in the development of new superconducting thin-film material systems for cavities.

Cavities are key components of accelerators. They accelerate the particles with the help of electric fields. Superconducting cavities are already used at several accelerator facilities around the world, all of which have so far relied on niobium as a superconducting material. “The next big step are cavities in which superconducting thin films are used,” explains Sebastian Keckert. “This would allow operating cavities at 4 Kelvin instead of 2 Kelvin. As a result, significant energy savings could be reached. In addition, simpler cooling systems can be used, which opens up completely new applications for superconducting particle accelerators.”

To evaluate the superconducting thin-film materials in question, test conditions in an accelerator environment need to be as realistic as possible. It is to Eckert's credit that he has decisively developed the principle of the quadrupole resonator for testing superconducting materials. These improvements are now used in several laboratories worldwide. He thus laid the foundation for precise and comprehensive characterisation of the high-frequency properties of new superconducting material systems.

Sebastian Keckert studied physics at the University of Siegen and came to the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin for his doctorate, where he subsequently spent his postdoctoral period. Afterwards, he has been working as a researcher at the Science and Technology of Accelerating Systems Institute since 2022.

About the prize

The Young Scientist Award for Accelerator Physics honours outstanding scientific contributions in the field of accelerator physics made at an early stage of research, primarily at a German university or research institution. It is awarded annually to researchers who completed their doctorate no more than five years ago. The prize is endowed with 5,000 euros and is awarded by the Accelerator Physics Working Group (AKBP) together with external sponsors.