The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging (CUI) is a research facility established in the context of the Universities Excellence Initiative by the German Federal and State Governments.[1] The multidisciplinary and interinstitutional cluster is located at Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany, and has been initiated on 1 November 2012. The funding with more than €25 million by the German Research Foundation[2] will run until 31. December 2018. Scientific teams cooperating in the cluster come from the Universität Hamburg, the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), the European XFEL GmbH (XFEL), the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), and the newly founded Max-Planck-Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (MPSD). A full application for a second research period of seven years was handed in at the end of 2017 to the German Research Foundation (DFG) for discussion. After the successful application in 2018, the new cluster “CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter” started in 2019.
The fundamental research at CUI aims to analyze chemical and physical processes in the field of photon and nano science: About 150 involved scientists investigate the chronological sequence of movements related to reactions and processes at the interface of quantum physics, molecular biology and nanochemistry.
The aim is to watch structural changes of systems in action and draw conclusions about the relation between structure and dynamics and how they facilitate the control of atomic systems. In this respect three research areas are regarded. In the field of "Imaging and Control of Quantum Systems", systems of different size, ranging from small molecules up to volume systems, are investigated with respect to their dynamic quantum mechanical properties, especially regarding their interaction with surrounding light fields. In the second research field "Atomically Resolved Structural Dynamics", CUI regards structural changes of macrobiological and biochemical systems on atomic and temporal levels. In the third topic of research the "Dynamics of Order Formation on the Nanoscale" are investigated.
The cluster's spokespersons are:
A graduate school with an international, interdisciplinary PhD-program is embedded within the cluster of excellence. The school lab "Light and Schools" cooperates with numerous schools in Hamburg and offers the opportunity to explore basic research and modern laser technology outside the classroom. The school lab is supported by the Joachim Herz Foundation.
In collaboration with the Joachim Herz Sitftung, CUI awarded the Hamburg Prize for Theoretical Physics, honoring outstanding contributions in the fields of atoms, molecules and quantum optics, as well as condensed matter with a prize-money of €40,000 . In 2018 the prize has been redesigned and for the first time, it is endowed with prize money in the amount of 100 000 euros. It is awarded by the Joachim Herz Stiftung in partnership with the Wolfgang Pauli Centre (WPC) of Universität Hamburg, DESY, and CUI, and honors outstanding contributions to Physics in general. In addition the cluster organizes the Mildred-Dresselhaus Guest Professorship Program with an award including prize-money of 20,000 (senior scientist), respectively €10,000 (junior scientist), in order to recruit designated female scientist to spend a research period in Hamburg as role models for women.