An international team including Yishui Zhou, Dr. Yixi Su, and researchers from the Jülich Centre for Neutron Science at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) has achieved major advances in magnetic materials with strong potential for future electronic and quantum technologies. One study investigates a chiral antiferromagnetic semiconductor, while another examines a family of topological metals with an intricate, woven-like atomic structure.

From day one, Prof. Dr. Stephan Paul, as he says, “took the research reactor to his heart,” sat on the MLZ supervisory board, and helped develop the scientific instruments. Now, the professor of hadron and particle physics with neutrons at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has been awarded the MLZ Prize for Instrumentation and Scientific Use for his many years of commitment.

A research group from Lund has investigated the crystalline proteins of the eye lens at the MLZ. Using neutrons, they showed that macroscopic properties can be predicted surprisingly well using simple mixing rules. The results provide new insights into age-related changes in the lens and open up perspectives for research into diseases such as Alzheimer’s or cataracts.