Photo: Erim Giresunlu

Diversity meets excellence

University of Cologne awards its 2016 research prizes

Individual academic excellence is the nucleus of scientific progress and should therefore be particularly encouraged and rewarded. This is one of the principles of the University of Cologne (UoC), and for its Rector it is of great importance not to lose sight of the diversity of research in Cologne: “Our Institutional Strategy, for which we received an award in the framework of the Excellence Initiative, aims to foster the integrative development of the entire university and not just to consider individual sub-areas – all this of course coupled with a demand for academic excellence”, he explains.

In order to give cutting-edge research in all areas official recognition and support, the University of Cologne has introduced four prize categories: Since 2013 the Max Delbrück Prize in natural and life sciences, the Leo Spitzer Prize in the humanities and the Hans Kelsen Prize in law and economics have been awarded each year to scholars who have produced outstanding research achievements in the last five years. In addition, the University awards three prizes to early career researchers who have demonstrated an excellent performance in the last two years.

At the end of May it was time again. The University of Cologne honored its top researchers in an official ceremony.

The Max Delbrück Prize in the field of natural and life sciences went this year to Professor Dr. Thorsten Hoppe, head of the research area on “Disruptions in Protein Metabolism Cause Aging-Associated Diseases” in the CECAD Cluster of Excellence. He explains in the following video what his research has to do with refuse collection:

The Max-Delbrück Junior Researcher Prize was awarded to Dr. Maria Hermanns, who works as a research associate at the Institute of  Theoretical Physics. For Dr. Hermanns, her research work’s appeal lies in its interdisciplinary mix:

Professor Dr. Wilhelm Hofmann, who has been Professor of Economic and Social Cognition at the UoC since the end of 2013, received the Leo Spitzer Prize in the humanities. Professor Hofmann is fascinated by human willpower and weak will:

The work of Professor Dr. Johanna Hey, Director of the Institute of Tax Law, was honored with the Hans Kelsen Prize in the fields of law and economics. She is examining, among others, what exactly aggressive tax planning is:

The Hans Kelsen Junior Researcher Prize went to Dr. Daniel Ulber of the Institute of German and European Labour and Social Law. Dr. Ulber is particularly keen to transform theoretical approaches into practical benefit:

Congratulations again to all awardees for their excellent research!