Leading scientists on topological insulators met in Berlin

Outstanding researchers took part in the “New Trends in Topological Insulators 2014” - workshop.

Outstanding researchers took part in the “New Trends in Topological Insulators 2014” - workshop.

From July 7-10, 150 researchers met in Berlin to discuss recent findings in the field of topological insulators.

Topological insulators are a rather new form of quantum matter with an insulating bulk and a metallic surface created by topologically protected and spin polarized electronic states.

Outstanding researchers took part in the “New Trends in Topological Insulators 2014” - workshop, organized by Gustav Bihlmayer (Forschungszentrum Jülich) and Saskia Fischer (Humboldt University and Oliver Rader of HZB. 20 speakers had been invited for presentations, the 2012 Buckley Prize winners Shoucheng Zhang and Laurens W. Molenkamp (also Leibniz Prize 2014), Zhi-Xun Shen (Buckley prize 2011) and Yoichi Ando (2014 Inoue Prize for Science) being among them. 

Breakthrough results were delivered on topics such as optical excitation, electron-photon entangled states, the role of electron correlation as well as imaging of helical edge states and Majorana fermions.

The event took place on the premises of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences. It has been generously supported by DFG as well as HZB.

Oliver Rader / kmh

  • Copy link

You might also be interested in

  • Disorder creates new properties in compound semiconductors
    Science Highlight
    29.06.2026
    Disorder creates new properties in compound semiconductors
    An international research team has demonstrated that the intrinsic disorder of the compound semiconductor CuInSnS₄ can be exploited to influence its optical properties. While the atomic vibrations also sense the local disorder, their response is averaged over many different local environments and therefore appear isotropic, as expected for a cubic crystal. In contrast, the optical excitations, known as excitons, are much more sensitive to the local arrangement of atoms. Surprisingly, they show a direction-dependent optical response even though the average crystal structure is cubic. These findings shed new light on the relationship between disorder and material properties, opening up new options for targeted 'disorder engineering' in optoelectronic and photocatalytic devices.
  • Perovskite solar cells: Predictions of long-term stability
    Science Highlight
    25.06.2026
    Perovskite solar cells: Predictions of long-term stability
    Reliable statements about the long-term stability of perovskite solar cells are still difficult to make. However, a new study by Dr Carolin Ulbrich’s team, published in the renowned journal Joule, highlights which methods are useful for this purpose and identifies areas where further research is needed.
  • Superconducting TES array X-ray spectrometer goes into operation at BESSY II
    Science Highlight
    15.06.2026
    Superconducting TES array X-ray spectrometer goes into operation at BESSY II
    Europe's first and only TES-spectrometer at a synchrotron source is now in operation at BESSY II, developed within a collaboration between the HZB, the MPI-CEC (Mühlheim-an-der-Ruhr, Germany) and the NIST (Boulder CO, USA). The photon detection efficiency of the new instrument exceeds that of wavelength-dispersive X-ray emission spectrometers by a factor of 100 to 1000.  It will be used to investigate the electronic properties of atomically thin layers, nanostructures and highly diluted atomic and molecular samples. The team is looking forward to receiving exciting research proposals from the user community.