Germany's Most Prestigious Research Prize

Germany's Most Prestigious Research Prize

Author: ChemViews

The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize is the highest honor awarded in German research. Eleven outstanding researchers were chosen by the German Research Foundation (DFG; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) from 129 nominees. Nine of the winners received 2.5 million euros each and two winners received 1.25 million euros, sharing one prize. The prize money can be used by the winners to support their research for a period of up to seven years. It is aimed to give the researchers the freedom to carry out their research without the need to overcome bureaucratic hurdles.

The 2014 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize was presented at an award ceremony on 12 March 2014 at Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Germany, to the following scientists and academics for significant achievements in their field of research:

  • Professor Artemis Alexiadou, Linguistics, University of Stuttgart, is honored for her work on modern grammatical theory especially for the development of models for linguistic structures.
  • Professor Armin von Bogdandy, Public Law and International Law, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Heidelberg, has made a name for himself in the area of constitutional, European and public international law.
  • Professor Andreas Dreizler, Combustion Research, Technical University of Darmstadt, and Professor Christof Schulz, Combustion and Gas Dynamics, University of Duisburg-Essen, share an award in recognition of their work on quantitative laser diagnostics of reactive flows. This work includes research that they performed independent of each other, as well as some collaborations between the two scientists.
  • Professor Nicole Dubilier, Marine Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology Bremen and University of Bremen, is honored for her research on symbosis, in particular the investigation of ecological and evolutionary adaptations between bacteria and marine invertebrates.
  • Professor Leif Kobbelt, Computer Science/Computer Graphics, RWTH Aachen University, works in the field of geometry processing and is recognized for his work on algorithms and data structures to enable the realistic representation of three-dimensional models.
  • Professor Laurens Molenkamp, Experimental Solid-State Physics, University of Würzburg, is recognized for his involvement in establishing topological insulators as a new field of research.
  • Professor Brigitte Röder, Biological Psychology/Neuropsychology, University of Hamburg, works on the interfaces between cognitive psychology, developmental psychology and cognitive neuroscience, investigating the basic mechanisms of neuroplasticity.
  • Professor Irmgard Sinning, Structural Biology, University of Heidelberg, is honored for research into protein complexes that transport different membrane proteins to the correct cellular compartments in the appropriate target membranes.
  • Professor Rainer Waser, Nanoelectronics/Materials Science, RWTH Aachen and Peter Grünberg Institute at Research Centre Jülich GmbH, is recognized for his research into a broad range of areas including pure solid-state chemistry and defect chemistry, electronic properties and modelling, the technology of new materials, and the physical properties of construction components.
  • Professor Lars Zender, Hepatology/Oncology, University Hospital Tübingen, focuses on the liver and he has decoded fundamental new mechanisms that enable liver function to be maintained or restored.

Selected publications by the award recipients:

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