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Founded in 1959, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) is an internationally renowned centre of fundamental research and one of the world’s leading institutions investigating the structure and function of matter. DESY is a member of the Helmholtz Association and is supported by public funds.
DESY has one site in Hamburg and another in Zeuthen (near Berlin) and employs a total of approx. 2,700 staff (including about 1,200 scientists). The centre’s principal working areas are accelerators, science, particle and astroparticle physics.
2 sites (Hamburg and Zeuthen)
Approx. 2,700 staff, including 1,200 researchers
More than 3,000 visiting researchers each year from over 40 countries
Approx. 500 doctoral candidates and postdocs
Annual budget: 349 million euros (2020)
DESY develops, runs and uses accelerators and detectors for photon science and particle and astroparticle physics. It operates PETRA III, one of the world’s best synchrotron radiation facilities, and FLASH, the first free-electron laser for soft X-rays. In 2017, the European XFEL started user operation and set a new world record by generating the most intensive X-ray flashes in history.
DESY is currently planning what will be the world’s most powerful synchrotron radiation source: PETRA IV will act as the ultimate X-ray microscope for nanoresearch, extending X-ray views to encompass every scale, from atoms to millimetres.
DESY has an annual budget of approx. 349 million euros (2020).
As a research centre of the Helmholtz Association, it is chiefly funded by Germany’s Federal Government (90 per cent). 10 per cent of the budget is provided by the City of Hamburg and the State of Brandenburg (for Zeuthen).
Location Hamburg
Location Zeuthen
