Under the supervison of Wolf Widdra, TRR 227 project leader of A06, Maximilian Paleschke did his PhD research at the Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg. His dissertation entitled "Dichroic Photoemission Electron Microscopy Imaging of Magnetic Surfaces" has been awarded as an outstanding PhD work with the Heinz-Bethge Prize for Material Sciences 2022

Maximilian Paleschke used photoelectron spectroscopy in conjunction with an electron microscope, the latter developed by Professor Heinz Bethge in Halle in his days. The PEEM (photo emission electron microscopy) technique has been utilized by the awardee in such a way that for surface characterization -besides energy and spatial resolution- also femtosecond time resolution in pump-probe experiments as well as information on the spin system of magnetic materials were accessible.

Since 2019, the Bethge Stiftung (Bethge Foundation) yearly recognizes excellent doctorates both experimental and theoretical with the focus on resolving microstructure with (electron) microscopical techniques.