Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI are looking for answers to essential questions concerning the underlying structures of matter and the fundamental principles of nature. They study the composition and properties of elementary particles – the smallest building blocks of matter – or investigate the structure of biological molecules and how they perform their function. The knowledge gathered in this way opens up new approaches to finding solutions in science, medicine and technology.
Find out more at Overview Fundamentals of Nature
Public Tour Hot Laboratory
Discover the Hot Laboratory nuclear facility during our guided tour, a unique experimental facility in Switzerland for the nuclear technology investigation and analysis of highly radioactive materials. This is supported by a well-developed infrastructure in terms of safety, analysis, and preparation, with unique laboratories at your disposal.
Public Tour of the SwissFEL
The SwissFEL is one of only five X-ray laser facilities worldwide that can generate hard X-rays in laser quality and make them available for research. During our tour, we will learn about the operation and main research objectives of the X-ray laser and then take a guided walk to view the key components of the 700-meter-long facility.
Public Tour Proton Therapy
Proton therapy is a form of radiation therapy used to destroy cancerous tissue with charged particles, specifically protons. Protons are particularly well-suited for this purpose because they deliver their greatest effect deep inside the body, directly within the tumor. At the Proton Therapy Center of PSI, we treat more than 400 patients each year. During our tour, we will introduce you to the treatment rooms and explain PSI’s contributions to the development of proton therapy.
Die ESA kommt in die Schweiz
Eine Vertragsunterzeichnung zwischen der Europäischen Weltraumorganisation ESA und dem PSI markiert den Start des «European Space Deep-Tech Innovation Centre» ESDI.
60 years of the Hotlab
Switzerland’s longest-running nuclear facility, located at PSI, is celebrating its anniversary today.
Continuum Excitations in a Spin Supersolid on a Triangular Lattice
Magnetic, thermodynamic, neutron diffraction and inelastic neutron scattering are used to study spin correlations in the easy-axis XXZ triangular lattice magnet K2Co(SeO3)2. Despite the presence of quasi-2D “supersolid” magnetic order, the low-energy excitation spectrum contains no sharp modes and is instead a broad and structured multiparticle continuum. Applying a weak magnetic field ...
Getting to the roots of a global health problem
Imad El Haddad analyses the chemical composition and health impacts of particulate matter at the Center for Energy and Environmental Sciences of the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI.
Technology Briefing: AI in Manufacturing Processes
When: Thursday, November 28, 2024, 13.30 –18.00h
Where: Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen PSI, Auditorium (PSI West)
Register today – we look forward to seeing you!
Marius Köppel defends his thesis on the Mu3e Data Acqusistion System
Marius Köppel has defended his PhD on the data acquisition system for Mu3e at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.
Russell McKenna and Andreas Pautz on Energy Production in Switzerland
“If we exclude individual measures, it just means that we need more of the others.”
Kagome breaks the rules at record breaking temperatures
Discovery of quantum phenomenon at accessible temperatures could be useful for quantum technologies.
A complex promise
There’s more to climate-neutral aviation than just reducing emissions during flights. A PSI study analyses what is needed to achieve this long-term goal.
Reentrant multiple-q magnetic order and a “spin meta-cholesteric” phase in Sr3Fe2O7
Topologically nontrivial magnetic structures such as skyrmion lattices are well known in materials lacking lattice inversion symmetry, where antisymmetric exchange interactions are allowed. Only recently, topological multi-q magnetic textures that spontaneously break the chiral symmetry, for example, three-dimensional hedgehog lattices, were discovered in centrosymmetric compounds, where they are instead driven by frustrated interactions. Here we show that ...
PSI at this year's "Open-i"!
Open-i is Switzerland's leading innovation platform and will be held on November 21 & 22 in Zurich – PSI will be there as a "Science Partner"!
On the way to light-controlled medicine
PSI researchers have elucidated the structure of special photoreceptors.
Julius Springer Price 2024
Prof. Thomas Lippert, Editor in Chief at Applied Physics A, awards Prof. Boris Chichkov the 2024 Julius Springer Prize for Applied Physics.
XRnanotech wins Swiss Excellence Product Award 2024
The PSI spin-off XRnanotech AG has won the Swiss Excellence Product Award 2024 in the SME category and was recognized for its outstanding developments in the field of Fresnel lenses and diffractive optical elements (DOEs).
Soldering on a big stage
Whoever makes it onto the podium here is one of the world's best professional talents: PSI electronics engineer Melvin Deubelbeiss won the silver medal at WorldSkills 2024.
Skyrmion topology quantified in 3D
Researchers from an international collaboration between the United States of America and Switzerland have performed three-dimensional magnetic imaging of a magnetic skyrmion using soft X-ray laminography. This allowed for the investigation, in three dimensions, of the topological profile of the magnetic skyrmions.
iLab and Synfuels at the Energy Days! at the Swiss Museum of Transport
October 18, 19, and 20, 2024
The iLab from the Paul Scherrer Institute will be part of the Energy Days with exciting workshops. Discover how we can store renewable energy using innovative technologies like Power-to-Gas and drive the energy transition forward.
Mit dem Fanuc Industrieroboter zum erfolgreichen Bauprojekt
Im Herbst 2023 haben wir einen Fanuc Industrieroboter gekauft. Nach langem Warten wurde dieser am 1. Februar 2024 am PSI angeliefert. Leider musste der Roboter erst noch auf seine ersten Aufgaben warten, da ich zuerst noch meine praktische Abschlussarbeit beenden musste.
Unlocking the secrets of proteins
This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry goes to three researchers who have made a decisive contribution to cracking the code of proteins – important building blocks of life. However, developing applications from this knowledge, for example in medicine, requires research institutes such as PSI.
Dual-site reaction mechanism for the simultaneous reduction of nitrous and nitric oxides
We have applied three spectroscopic techniques (XAS, EPR and DRIFTS) in combination withe modulated excitation and catalytic data to decipher and propose the complete reaction mechanism of the simultaneous reduction of N2O and NO
How catalysts remove dangerous nitrogen oxides
In industrial catalysis, iron is not equal to iron.
Lehrlingslager 2024
Dieses Jahr fand das jährliche Lehrlingslager des Paul Scherrer Instituts mit rund 70 Lernenden im Val Calanca statt. Während zwei Wochen arbeiteten die Lernenden in wechselnden Gruppen an vier verschiedenen Baustellen.
Discovery of charge order above roomtemperature in the prototypical kagome superconductor La(Ru1−xFex)3Si2
The kagome lattice is an intriguing and rich platform for discovering, tuning and understanding the diverse phases of quantum matter, crucial for advancing modern and future electronics. Despite considerable efforts, accessing correlated phases at room temperature has been challenging.
Ian Shipsey
The Mu3e collaboration is deeply saddened to by the loss of our colleague and friend Professor Ian Shipsey, Head of Department of Physics in Oxford and co-lead of the Oxford Mu3e group.
Career Perspectives at our Partners: Maria-Alexandra Paun, Federal Office of Communications
Our partners are interested in attracting PSI's early career researchers, and we introduce scientists working at partner companies to showcase career perspectives. In today's post, meet Maria-Alexandra Paun, who did her PhD in Microelectronics and Microsystems at EPFL and is currently working at the Federal Office of Communications. She tells us how she managed the transition away from academia, and what she is working on now.
New Monochromators for SLS 2.0
The brand-new monochromators that have been built by XDS Oxford for the hard X-ray beamlines at SLS 2.0 have now arrived. They were unpacked beginning of the week, and are currently being tested in our new lab space at Park Innovaare. These advanced instruments will play a crucial role in enhancing the beamline performance, ensuring superior precision and efficiency in the upcoming experiments.
Master of the flow
Even as a student, Athanasios Mokos was excited by the dynamics of fluids. Today at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, he models complex processes such as the formation of deposits on reactor fuel rods.