GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung

GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung operates a unique accelerator for heavy ions. Researchers from around the world use this facility for experiments that help them make fascinating discoveries in basic research. In addition, they continually develop new and impressive applications.

Mourning Walter Oelert
Prof. Dr. Walter Oelert
Our highly esteemed colleague Professor Walter Oelert passed away on November 25, 2024. Walter Oelert was born in Dortmund on July 14, 1942. He studied physics in Hamburg and Heidelberg, got his diploma in 1969 with a work on solid state detectors in Hamburg and finished his doctoral thesis in 1973 with a work on transfer reactions on samarium isotopes in Hamburg. As postdoc he stayed for two years from 1973 to 1975 with Professor Cohen in Pittsburg doing nuclear physics mainly in the field…
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Land ahoy! — Experiments at GSI/FAIR reveal the shoreline of the island of stability of superheavy elements
Sea of instability
A team of researchers from GSI/FAIR, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and the Helmholtz Institute Mainz has succeeded in exploring the limits of the so-called island of stability within the superheavy nuclides more precisely by measuring the superheavy rutherfordium-252 nucleus, which is now the shortest-lived known superheavy nucleus. The results were published in the journal “Physical Review Letters” and highlighted as an “Editor's suggestion”.
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FAIR – the future accelerator facility

In the next few years the new international accelerator facility FAIR, one of the largest research projects worldwide, will be erected at GSI. At FAIR an unprecedented variety of experiments will be possible. Thereby physicists from all around the world will be able to gain new insights into the structure of matter and the evolution of the universe from the Big Bang to the present.
Learn more about FAIR: GSI about FAIR or FAIR web page

Cancer Treatment with Ion Beams

GSI is the birthplace of a new form of cancer treatment. This development was the result of many years of research in conjunction with GSI’s large ion-beam accelerator system. The advantage of this new treatment modality is that the ion beam selectively damages tumor tissues while sparing the surrounding healthy tissues. More...

The Creation of New Elements

Chemical elements are produced in stars and stellar explosions. Elements are the building blocks of all materials that surround us – including every atom of our bodies. The universe is also home to a large number of atoms that do not occur on earth. One of the key tasks of the researchers at GSI is to attempt to create previously unknown elements. More...


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