High Voltage, High Spirits, Hightech: The HZDR Innovation Contest Thrills with Ideas for Tomorrow

Two days filled with energy, curiosity, and genuine excitement: From December 2 to 3, 2025, the HZDR library transformed into a vibrant laboratory of ideas during this year’s HZDR Innovation Contest. Now in its ninth round, the competition was high-caliber and thrilling from the very first to the very last pitch. In total, 11 researchers presented their innovative concepts in short talks, showcasing the potential to bridge the gap between scientific discovery and real-world application.

While the five projects pitched in the Idea Track on the first day are still at comparatively early stages, the six innovations in the Prototype Track on the second day have already delivered first proofs of feasibility. What unites both tracks is a visionary commitment to advancing new technologies that contribute to a healthy society, a sustainable industry, and overall resource and energy efficiency.

The winners in the Prototype Track were:

• 1st place – Prof. Aswin L. Hoffmann with the development of a real-time imaging technology for proton radiotherapy;
• 2nd place – Biotechnology student Emma Pustlauk with a platform for magnet-based recycling;
• 3rd place – Dr. Helmut Schultheiß with a neural chip for smartwatches capable of predicting heart attacks.

The winners in the Idea Track come from the field of biotechnology:

• 1st place – Dr. Purvi Jain for a chromium-free metallic coating process;
• 2nd place – Dr. Thomas Krause for the concept of a modular peptide membrane that filters micro-pollutants such as pharmaceuticals from wastewater;
• 3rd place – Gerda Techert for a process to recycle rare earth elements from industrial wastewater.

The diversity and quality of the contributions highlighted how innovation can flourish when talent, curiosity, and team spirit come together. The Innovation Contest 2025 thus sent a strong signal for the vibrant transfer culture at HZDR. On both competition days, the presenters were supported by their research groups, and at the end, the audience vote contributed one fifth to the overall score.

Prototype Track

• 1st Place: Prof. Dr. Aswin L. Hoffmann – MRiPT – Real-time MR-integrated Proton Therapy (€1500)
• 2nd Place: Emma Pustlauk – OmniMagPure (€1000)
• 3rd Place: Dr. Helmut Schultheiß – Magnon-based computing for energy-efficient edge AI (€500)

Idea Track

• 1st Place: Dr. Purvi Jain – Bi-Pept-PM
• 2nd Place: Dr. Thomas Krause – MolSelect: Molecule-Selective Modular Membrane Filters for the Valorization of Contaminants
• 3rd Place: Gerda Techert – PepREEcip – Rare Earth Element Recovery via Peptide-induced Precipitation

The official award ceremony will take place on January 27, 2026, during the HZDR Transfer Day.

The agenda and registration: https://events.hifis.net/e/transfer-day-2026