“It gives me great pleasure to grant the Helmholtz International Fellow Award to five researchers who are making outstanding contributions in their fields,” said Otmar D. Wiestler, President of the Helmholtz Association. “By bringing internationally leading scientists together, we can pool existing expertise in selected fields of research and greatly enhance innovative power.” The fellows thus function as ambassadors for collaborations between the Helmholtz Association and research institutions in their own countries.
The Helmholtz International Fellow Award was first granted in 2012 and is now held by 53 scientists. Fourteen candidates from nine countries were nominated in the latest selection round. The prize is intended for both researchers and science managers based outside Germany who have excelled in fields relevant to Helmholtz. Candidates are nominated by a Helmholtz centre that conducts research in similar fields. However, the research period granted in conjunction with the award may be carried out at a different Helmholtz centre. The award is financed by the Helmholtz President’s Initiative and Networking Fund, and the prize winners are selected by the Helmholtz Executive Committee. The quality of the candidates’ research is the most important criterion for the award. A total of ten prizes can be awarded every year and candidates may be nominated at any time.
The following researchers have received a Helmholtz Fellow Award:
- Prof. Javier Arístegui, Professor of Biological Oceanography and Ecology and Director of “Marine Technology Services” (SITMA) at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain), nominated by the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
- Prof. Jenny Nelson, Professor of Physics in the Department of Physics at Imperial College London (UK), nominated by Forschungszentrum Jülich
- Prof. Karen Nelson, President of the J. Craig Venter Institute (USA), nominated by Helmholtz Zentrum München – German Research Center for Environmental Health
- Prof. Ulrik Ringborg, Director of the Cancer Center Karolinska and Professor of Oncology at Karolinska Institutet (Sweden), nominated by the German Cancer Research Center
- Prof. John C. H. Spence, Richard Snell Professor of Physics at the Arizona State University Department of Physics and Director of Science for the NSF’s Science and Technology Center “Biology with X-ray Lasers” (USA), nominated by the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron
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, Aeronautics, Space and Transport. With approximately 38.000 employees in 18 research centres and an annual budget of four billion euros, 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).
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Dr. Andreas Fischer
Press Officer
Helmholtz Association
Tel.: +49 30 206 329-38
andreas.fischer(at)helmholtz.de
Janine Tychsen
Deputy Head Communications and Media Relations
Helmholtz Association
Tel.: +49 30 206 329-24
janine.tychsen(at)helmholtz.de
