The Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize has been awarded every year since 1977 to outstanding researchers who are at an early stage in their academic life and have yet to take up a permanent professorship. It is intended to both recognize what the recipients have achieved and encourage them to continue rigorously and independently along their chosen path. The prize has borne the name of nuclear physicist and former DFG president Heinz Maier-Leibnitz since 1980, having first been awarded during his time in office (1974–1979). The Heinz Maier-Leibniz Prize is regarded as the most prestigious of its kind in Germany for promoting early-career researchers.
This year’s contest attracted a total of 126 submissions, with the winners picked by a committee chaired by Professor Marlis Hochbruck, a mathematician and Vice President of the DFG.
Rector Professor Michael Hoch said: “On behalf of the University of Bonn, I’d like to extend my warmest congratulations to Professor Mass and Professor Oberdieck for this fantastic achievement, which is well-deserved recognition of their outstanding research work. More than anything else, it also makes them into role models for many young researchers at our University who are at an early stage in their academic career.”
Professor Elvira Mass studies the development and function of macrophages, cells that form part of the innate immune system. Her work has enabled her to contribute some pioneering findings regarding the molecular foundations to the role that tissue macrophages play in organogenesis, the process by which organs are formed in embryos. These findings, which she has had published in leading journals, are aiding our understanding of certain diseases such as osteopetrosis, where the bones become abnormally dense, and neurodegenerative diseases, which are caused by microglial cells that carry mutations. After completing her doctorate in Bonn, Elvira Mass spent time researching in London and New York before returning to the University of Bonn to head up a research group at its Life and Medical Sciences (LIMES) Institute. She was recently appointed to a W2 professorship at the University and is also a member of its ImmunoSensation2 Cluster of Excellence.
Professor Georg Oberdieck’s specialist field is algebraic geometry, which involves studying geometric objects that are described using fairly simple equations. As these objects are extremely varied, the question often arises as to how many of a specific kind fit specific criteria. Enumerative algebraic geometry is the name given to these kinds of counting function. In practical terms, such counting problems are encountered in fields such as theoretical physics, and Oberdieck has solved problems of this kind in actual physical contexts while also coming up with much better descriptions for the mathematical structure of these objects than had previously been available. His paper “Gromov-Witten theory of elliptic fibrations: Jacobi forms and holomorphic anomaly equations,” which he wrote together with Aaron Pixton, has proven particularly influential. In it, the two authors demonstrate their impressive understanding of methods drawn from a wide range of fields, which they apply to their core questions in masterly fashion. Professor Oberdieck is a Bonn Junior Fellow in the Hausdorff Center for Mathematics Cluster of Excellence.
More information:
https://www.dfg.de/en/funded-projects/prizewinners/maier-leibnitz-prize