Physical Chemistry Prizes Awarded at the 112th Bunsentagung

The Deutsche Bunsen-Gesellschaft für Physikalische Chemie e. V. (DBG, German Bunsen Society for Physical Chemistry) presented several awards at the Bunsentagungen conference, the annual meeting of the Society, in Karlsruhe, Germany. The awards were presented at the opening ceremony, chaired by the president of the DBG, Dr. Marcell Peuckert, Infraserv GmbH & Co, Frankfurt, Germany, on May 9, 2013.

Nernst-Haber-Bodenstein Prize

This prize was established in memory of Walther Nernst, Fritz Haber, and Max Bodenstein. It is awarded annually to a young scientist who has made outstanding scientific achievements in physical chemistry. This year, the prize was awarded to Professor Hans Jacob Wörner, ETH Zurich, Switzerland, for his outstanding work on the experimental observation of the time-dependent quantum dynamics of electron motion in molecules on the sub-femtosecond time scale.

Hans Jakob Wörner studied chemistry at EPFL Lausanne, Switzerland, and the ETH Zurich before completing his Ph.D. at the ETH Zurich. He did postdoctoral research at Laboratoire Aimé-Cotton du CNRS, Orsay, France, and at the Joint Laboratory for Attosecond Science, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Canada. In 2010, he took up his current position of Assistant Professor for Physical Chemistry at the Laboratory for Physical Chemistry, ETH Zurich, Switzerland.

Bunsen Medal

This prize is awarded to scientists who have promoted the goals of physical chemistry through research or practical work in an excellent manner. This year it was awarded to Professor Horst Stegemeyer, Professor Emeritus, Universität Paderborn, Germany, for his contributions to the field of liquid crystal research and his commitment to the DBG and the German Liquid Crystal Society.

Horst Stegemeyer studied chemistry at the Technische Hochschule (TH) Hannover (now the University of Hannover) and the Technical University (TU) Berlin, both Germany. He gained his Ph.D. from the TH Hannover in 1961 and did postdoctoral work there in the group of Professor G. R. Schultze. In 1965, he moved to the TU Berlin, where he completed his Habilitation in 1967. Stegemeyer was assistant professor at the TU Berlin from 1968–1974, during which he spent a brief time as a visiting professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel. In 1974, he took up the position of Professor of Physical Chemistry at Universität Paderborn, Germany, where he remained until his retirement in 1996.

Honorary DBG Memberships

In recognition of their contributions to biophysical chemistry, the DBG awarded honorary memberships to the Nobel Prize Laureates in Physiology or Medicine, Professor Erwin Neher, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen, and University of Göttingen, Germany, and Professor Bert Sakmann, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Munich, Germany. Neher and Sakmann won the Nobel Prize in 1991 for their work on the function of single ion channels in cells.

As winner of the Nernst-Haber-Bodenstein Prize, Hans Jakob Wörner also received an honorary membership.

Election to Executive Board of the DBG

Professor Joachim Sauer, Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany, was elected to the position of Zweiter Vorsitzender (Vice President) of the DBG. Sauer studied chemistry at the Humboldt University of Berlin, where he is currently Professor of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry.

Also of interest: