Markus Gühr

Leading Scientist of FLASH

Markus Gühr is Lead Scientist at DESY, appointed jointly with the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Hamburg. As scientific head of the free-electron laser FLASH, he is responsible for the world's first  X-ray laser based on the principle of self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE), which has been operating as a user facility since 2005 and whose research potential is currently being further improved with the FLASH2020+ expansion project.

Markus Gühr and the FLASH team aim to use FLASH to reveal the full complexity of nature – the interaction of nuclei and electrons in the context of quantum mechanics. His area of expertise is the conversion of (sun)light into other forms of energy in molecules. At FLASH, he wants to push the boundaries of what is feasible and conceivable, open up further areas of science that can be explored with free-electron lasers, and thus turn FLASH into a free-electron laser that attracts new users.

 

Academic career

since 2022 Lead Scientist at DESY and Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Hamburg
2020-2022 Associate Professor for Experimental Quantum Physics, University of Potsdam
2015-2020 Lichtenberg Professor, University of Potsdam, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation
2007-2015 Staff Scientist, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, USA
2006-2007 Postdoc, Stanford University, USA
2001-2005 Research Assistant, Free University of Berlin
2005  Doctorate in Physics, Free University of Berlin

 

Activities, memberships and awards

2017-2022 Board Member, Physikalische Gesellschaft zu Berlin
2017-2023 Member of the LCLS Advisory Board (Chair: 2020-2022)
2017-2022 Member of the LCLS Proposal Review Panel
2015 Lichtenberg Professorship by Volkswagen Stiftung
2011 US Department of Energy Early Career Grant
2006-2007 Feodor Lynen Fellowship
2005 Best PhD thesis of the Free University Berlin 2005 (Ernst Reuter Prize)