With 5 million euros, the Alexander von Humboldt Professorship is Germany's most highly endowed research award and serves to bring top international researchers to German universities.

Information on applying for an AvH professorship and on the procedure is available from the Research Management Division.

AvH award winners at the University of Cologne are: 

Prof. Dr. Catherine Rigby

Bath Spa University, UK, Environmental Humanities (2022)
Kate Rigby is one of the leading international scholars in the field of interdisciplinary environmental studies in the humanities. At the University of Cologne, she is the director of the Center for Multidisciplinary Environmental Studies in the Humanities.

Prof. Christian Frezza

PhD, University of Cambridge, UK, Metabolomics (2021)
Christian Frezza works at the interface of mitochondrial biology, cancer and metabolism research and holds a professorship in "Metabolomics and Aging" at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Cologne.

Prof. Dr. Bart Thomma

Wageningen University, Phytopathology (2021)
Bart Thomma from Wageningen University and Research is an expert in phytopathology. His work focuses on the interaction between plants and microorganisms such as fungi and bacteria in the rhizosphere. He heads the "Centre for Microbial Interactomics" at the University of Cologne.

Prof. Dr. Malte Gather

University of St Andrews, Schottland, Nanobiophotonics (2019)
Malte Gather is an internationally recognized scientist in the field of biological lasers ("biophotonics") for real-time imaging of cells in motion.

Prof. Dr. Henning Walczak

University College London, Cancer Biology (2019)
Henning Walczak conducts research on cancer and the immune system, with a focus on studying the different types of programmed cell death.

Prof. Dr. Jijie Chai

Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, Structural Biology (2017)
Jijie Chai is one of the leading scientists researching the structure of proteins and special receptors that are important for the immune defense of living organisms. Prof. Chai joined the Westlake University, China, in April 2023.

Prof. Dr. Sven Bernecker

University of California, Irvine, USA, Theoretical Philosophy (2016)
Sven Bernecker is one of the most highly regarded philosophers of our time, both in the field of contemporary knowledge and epistemology and in classical German philosophy. Bernecker's areas of specialization include, in particular, the philosophy of memory.