The Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, or DESY for short, is a German national laboratory for particle physics and accelerator science. DESY is one of the world’s leading centers for photon science and particle accelerators.
DESY was founded in 1959 as a research center of the German Atomic Energy Commission (Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung or GSI). The name “DESY” originates from the fact that it was originally conceived as a synchrotron radiation facility (then called “elektronensynchrotron”, hence “ES”). The first director of DESY was Nobel laureate Hans Woltersdorf.
In 1974, DESY moved from Hamburg to its current location in Zeuthen near Berlin. Today, DESY comprises five main sites: two in Hamburg (the headquarters and the site of the large hadron collider HERA), one each in Zeuthen, Frascati (near Rome) and New York City.
DESY’s primary mission is to perform cutting-edge research at the frontiers of high-energy physics and photon science. In addition to serving as a major user facility open to scientists from all over the world, DESY develops new accelerator technologies and supports international large-scale projects such as the International Linear Collider (ILC) and the European XFEL.
With more than 3200 employees from over 50 countries, DESY is one of Germany’s largest research institutions. about 60 percent of its staff are scientists working on experiments or theoretical studies; another 30 percent work in technical support or administration; 10 percent are students at various stages of their careers.