The five recipients have all excelled in fields of research that are of key relevance to the work of the Helmholtz Association. The Helmholtz International Fellow Award will make it possible to intensify existing cooperation with these scientists, as in addition to the €20,000 prize money, they are invited to conduct research at one or more of the Helmholtz Centres.
“International partnerships are an important part of our strategy, and creating a network with top-level researchers from abroad is essential for driving our research forward,” said President of the Helmholtz Association Otmar D. Wiestler. “I am therefore delighted to confer this award on five new outstanding researchers. I congratulate the recipients and look forward to our future collaboration.” He added that the fellows would function as ambassadors of their countries for cooperation between their institutions and the Helmholtz Association.
The award was first granted in 2012 and has meanwhile been given to 58 scientists. The award is financed by the Helmholtz President’s Initiative and Networking Fund; the prize winners are nominated by Helmholtz institutions and selected by the Helmholtz Executive Committee. The five scientists selected from the current round of nominations come from the United Kingdom, Algeria, Canada and the US. They conduct research in five different areas. The second selection round for 2016 with five more awards will take place at the end of the year.
The following researchers have received a 2016 Helmholtz International Fellow Award:
- Prof. Redjem Hadef, Professor at the Faculty of Sciences & Technology / University of Oum El Bouaghi (Algeria), nominated by the German Aerospace Center (DLR)
- Prof. Dirk Weihrauch, Associate Professor at the Department of Biological Sciences / University of Manitoba (Canada), nominated by GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel
- Prof. Irving L. Weissmann, M.D., Director of the Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine and Director of the Stanford Ludwig Center for Cancer Stem Cell Research and Medicine / Stanford University School of Medicine (USA), nominated by the Helmholtz Zentrum München – German Research Center for Environmental Health (HMGU)
- Prof. Linda Young, Professor at the Department of Physics and James Franck Institute / University of Chicago & Distinguished Fellow / Argonne National Laboratory (USA), nominated by the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
- Prof. Xhiang Zhang, Professor of Structural Integrity at the Manufacturing and Materials Research Centre, Faculty of Engineering, Environment and Computing and der Coventry University (UK), nominated by Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht Centre for Materials and Coastal Research (HZG)
Helmholtz Association
The Helmholtz Association contributes to solving major challenges facing society, science and the economy with top scientific achievements in six research fields: Energy; Earth and Environment; Health; Key Technologies; Matter; and Aeronautics, Space and Transport. With some 38,000 employees in 18 research centres and an annual budget of €4 billion, the Helmholtz Association is Germany’s largest scientific organisation. Its work follows in the tradition of the great natural scientist Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-1894).
