Outstanding individual research
In addition to numerous top placements in national and international rankings and steadily increasing third-party funding income from industry and from the funding programs of public institutions, the prizes, honors and awards received by our scientists in particular also demonstrate the outstanding research strength of the Faculty of Engineering.
The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize (DFG) is the most important research award in Germany. The Leibniz Programme, established in 1985, aims to improve the working conditions of outstanding researchers, expand their research opportunities, relieve them of administrative tasks, and help them employ particularly well-qualified young researchers. The prize is endowed with up to 2.5 million euros. There are currently five winners of the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize working as researchers and lecturers at FAU, four of them at the Faculty of Engineering:
2006: Prof. Dr. Peter Wasserscheid
2005: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Peukert
2000: Prof. Dr. Peter Greil
The German Research Foundation (DFG) provides funding for the Reinhart Koselleck Projects which aim to give researchers the opportunity to pursue exceptionally innovative projects. The funding is provided for a period of five years and is intended for staff, scientific equipment, consumables, travel and publication costs. The total funding received during this period is between 500,000 and 1.25 million euros. Several professors from the Faculty of Engineering at FAU received funding as part of the Reinhart Koselleck Projects:
2022: Prof. Dr. Meinard Müller
2010: Prof. Dr. Patrik Schmuki
2009: Prof. Dr. Peter Greil
The Alexander von Humboldt Professorship is Germany’s most prestigious prize for international researchers. The professorship recognises the achievements of leading researchers from all disciplines who are working abroad. It is designed to enable them to carry out long-term research at a German university. The prize money provides funding for the winners’ first five years in Germany.
2012: Prof. Dr.
The European Research Council (ERC) was set up by the European Commission. It provides funding for top researchers in order to promote basic research and visionary projects, and to enable new interdisciplinary fields to be explored.
ERC Starting Grants
The ERC awards Starting Grants to promising young researchers to give them the chance to establish their own research groups and to independently pursue research projects with great innovative potential.
2023: Prof. Dr. Silvia Budday, Prof. Dr. Alessandro del Vecchio, Prof. Dr. Tanja Franken
2020: PD Dr. habil. Benoit Merle
2018: Prof. Dr. Peter Felfer
2014: PD Dr.-Ing. Andreas Bräuer and Dr.-Ing. Björn Braunschweig
2011: Prof. Dr. Jana Zaumseil
2008: Prof. Dr. Katerina E. Aifantis
ERC Consolidator Grants
ERC Consolidator Grants are awarded to promising young researchers at the start of their independent careers.
2023: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Kainz
2016: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Erik Bitzek
2015: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bastian Etzold
ERC Advanced Grants
The ERC awards Advanced Grants for excellent ground-breaking research projects.
2022: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Paul Steinmann
2021: Prof. Dr. Carolin Körner
2018: Prof. Dr. Peter Wasserscheid
2013: Prof. Dr. Patrik Schmuki
2010: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Paul Steinmann
2009: Prof. Dr. Peter Wasserscheid
ERC Synergy Grant
ERC Synergy Grants are awarded to teams of between two and four promising researchers. Synergy Grants are aimed both at excellent young researchers and at established, active researchers who have already achieved outstanding research results.
The German Research Foundation (DFG) awards the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize, named after the physicist and former DFG president, to ten young researchers each year in recognition of outstanding achievement. The prize was first awarded in 1977 and comes with 20,000 euros in prize money. For the young researchers who receive the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize it is a form of recognition and further motivation for their academic work. The prize money is provided by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
2021: Dr.
Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Stiftung (Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation) has been awarding the Alfried Krupp-Förderpreis für junge Hochschullehrer (Alfried Krupp Prize for Young University Lecturers) on an annual basis since 1986. The prize is aimed at young engineers and scientists who have outstanding academic qualifications and have already conducted excellent research.
2010: Prof. Dr. Jana Zaumseil
Clarivate Analytics annually publishes an overview of the “Highly Cited Researchers” in which the leading scientists of the natural sciences and the humanities are named as world-class researchers selected for their outstanding research performance. This exceptional achievement is documented by the production of several highly cited papers. Highly Cited Papers” are defined as publications that rank among the top 1% due to the number of citations in the respective subject area and publication year in the “Web of Science“.
Highly cited researchers at the Faculty of Engineering in 2024
- Prof. Dr. Christoph Brabec, Chair of Materials in Electronics and Energy Technology
- Prof. Dr.-Ing. Robert Schober, Chair of Digital Communications
More information
Contact
Mrs. Kerstin Stoltze
kerstin.stoltze@fau.de, Tel. +49 9131 85-28223