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Contact
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
Selection Department
Jean-Paul-Str. 12
53173 Bonn, Germany
Fax: 0228-833 212
info[at]avh.de
The central instrument for conferring Humboldt Research Fellowships is an interdisciplinary selection committee.
The members are assigned certain applications, on which they report to the committee. All decisions are discussed and taken jointly by the interdisciplinary committee; the Foundation’s Board of Trustees must approve the committee’s choices for research fellowships.
The selection committee is composed of:
- specialist members: recognized researchers of various disciplines (= specialist selection committee members)
- non-specialist members: voting representatives of public and private funders; non-voting representatives of other science (funding) organisations.
This composition ensures the necessary scientific expertise to review the applications, complemented by institutional expertise on strategic-structural aspects.
The total number and the representation of disciplines by experts on the committees is based on the average number and subject representation of the applications received. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s choice of expert committee members forms the basis for recognising and selecting excellence in its sponsorship programmes. The selection of specialist selection committee members is, therefore, a core process at the Foundation that seeks to identify the finest scientific minds. The Selection Department takes great care to regularly include domestic and international researchers on its committees who are new to the Foundation’s broader network in order to remain open to new perspectives and angles.
For each new appointment or replacement, the Foundation consults numerous experts as well as representatives of science organisations to draw up a shortlist. Scientific excellence is a basic prerequisite for a candidate to be considered. Other core prerequisites are:
- international contacts and experience, as possible extended academic professional activity abroad
- preferably broad scientific expertise
- willingness and ability to engage in interdisciplinary discourse
- willingness to actively support the work of the Humboldt Foundation
- sufficient availability.
The following additional aspects are also considered when appointing committee members:
- gender and age balance
- balanced regional representation
- complementing existing expertise on the committee
- including researchers who work abroad whilst ensuring the necessary familiarity with the German science system.
The decision to appoint a new member is approved by the Board of Trustees. The appointment is for an initial term of three years and can be renewed twice.
As of: May 2024
Chair
Professor Dr. Katja Becker
President of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Bonn
(Proxy: Professor Dr. Katharina Franke, Professor Dr. Dennis Pausch, Professor Dr.-Ing. Jörg Schröder)
Specialist Committee Members
- Professor Dr. Knut Asmis
Wilhelm-Ostwald-Institut für Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie, Universität Leipzig - Dr. Alexander Aulehla
Developmental Biology Program, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) Heidelberg - Professor Dr. Ulf Brunnbauer
Leibniz-Institut für Ost- und Südosteuropaforschung (IOS) - Professor Dr. Susanne Crewell
Institut für Geophysik und Meteorologie (IGM), Universität Köln - Professor Dr. Thomas Dandekar
Lehrstuhl für Bioinformatik, Universität Würzburg - Professor Dr. Gerhard Dehm
Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH, Düsseldorf - Professor Dr. Kirstin Drenkhahn
Fachbereich Rechtswissenschaft Strafrecht (WE 2), Freie Universität Berlin - Professor Dr. Andreas Dufter
Institut für Romanische Philologie, Universität München - Professor Dr. Emrah Düzel
Klinik für Neurologie II, Universitätsklinikum Magdeburg A.ö.R - Professor Dr. Fabian Essler
Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, University of Oxford - Professor Dr.-Ing. Bastian Etzold
Institut für Technische Chemie, Technische Universität Darmstadt - Professor Dr. Nina Farwig
Fachbereich 17: Biologie, Universität Marburg - Professor Dr. Andreas Fery
Teilinstitut Physikalische Chemie und Physik Polymerer Materialien, Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e.V. - Professor Dr. Jonathan Finley
Walter Schottky Institut, Technische Universität München - Professor Dr. Klaus Fischer
Institut für Integrierte Naturwissenschaften, Universität Koblenz-Landau - Professor Dr. Katharina Franke
Institut für Experimentalphysik, Freie Universität Berlin - Professor Dr. Judith Frömmer
Institut für Romanistik, Universität Wien - Professor Dr. Michael Gelinsky
Zentrum für Translationale Knochen-, Gelenk- und Weichgewebeforschung, Technische Universität Dresden - Professor Dr. Christian Hackenberger
Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP), Berlin - Professor Dr. Barbara Hammer
Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), Universität Bielefeld Professor - Professor Dr. Stefan Hecht
Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät I, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Dr. Janosch Hennig
Lehrstuhl für Biochemie IV – Biophysikalische Chemie, Universität Bayreuth - Professor Dr. Francois Holtz
Institut für Mineralogie, Universität Hannover - Professor Dr. Ulrike Holzgrabe
Institut für Pharmazie und Lebensmittelchemie, Universität Würzburg - Professor Dr. Anja Jetschke
Institut für Politikwissenschaft, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen - Professor Dr. Ansgar Jüngel
Institut für Analysis und Scientific Computing, Technische Universität Wien - Professor Dr. Christian Kähler
Fakultät für Luft- und Raumfahrttechnik Institut für Strömungsmechanik und Aerodynamik LRT-7, Universität der Bundeswehr München - Professor Dr. Karl-Heinz Kampert
Fachbereich C - Mathematik und Naturwissenschaften, Universität Wuppertal - Professor Dr. Sabine Klapp
Institut für Theoretische Physik, Technische Universität Berlin - Professor Dr. Axel Klar
Fachbereich Mathematik, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern - Professor Dr. Anja Klöckner
Institut für Archäologische Wissenschaften, Universität Frankfurt am Main - Professor Dr. Steffi Knorn
Fakultät III – Prozesswissenschaften, Technische Universität Berlin - Professor Dr. Joachim Kopp
Department of Theoretical Physics, Esplanade des Particules, CERN Genf - Professor Dr. Martin Laube
Theologische Fakultät Seminar Systematische Theologie, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen - Professor Dr. Dieter Chichung Lie
Emil-Fischer-Zentrum, Institut für Biochemie, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg - Professor Dr. Angelika Lingnau
Institut für Psychologie, Universität Regensburg - Dr. Christian Münch
Institut für Biochemie II, Universität Frankfurt am Main - Professor Dr. Johannes Neugebauer
Organisch-Chemisches Institut, Universität Münster - Professor Dr. Dennis Pausch
Fachgebiet für Klassische Philologie, Philipps-Universität Marburg - Professor Dr. Tobias Plieninger
Fakultät für Agrarwissenschaften, Department für Agrarökonomie und Rurale Entwicklung, Universität Göttingen - Professor Dr. Ursula Renz
Institut für Philosophie, Universität Klagenfurt - Professor Dr. Philipp Richter
Institut für Physik und Astronomie, Universität Potsdam - Professor Dr. Peter Riedlberger
Institut für Geschichtswissenschaften und Europäische Ethnologie, Universität Bamberg - Professor Dr. Tobias Rosefeldt
Institut für Philosophie, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Professor Dr. David Scheschkewitz
Lehrstuhl für Allgemeine und Anorganische Chemie, Universität des Saarlandes - Professor Dr. Ruth Schmitz-Streit
Institut für Allgemeine Mikrobiologie, Universität Kiel - Professor Dr.-Ing. Jörg Schröder
Fachbereich Bauwissenschaften, Institut für Mechanik, Universität Duisburg-Essen - Professor Dr. Dorothea Schulz
Fachbereich 08- Geschichte/ Philosophie, Institut für Ethnologie, Universität Münster - Professor Dr. Brigitta Schütt
Institut für Geographische Wissenschaften, Freie Universität Berlin - Professor Dr. Matthias Schütt
Institut für Algebraische Geometrie, Universität Hannover - Professor Dr. Antje Schwalb
Institut für Geosysteme und Bioindikation, Technische Universität Braunschweig - Professor Dr. Dr. Michal-Ruth Schweiger
Institut für Translationale Epigenetik und Tumorgenetik, Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), Universität Köln - Professor Dr. Brigitte Sölch
Zentrum für Europäische Geschichts- und Kulturwissenschaften (ZEGK), Institut für Europäische Kunstgeschichte (IEK), Universität Heidelberg - Dr. Golo Storch
Department Chemie, Lehrstuhl für Organische Chemie 1, Technische Universität München - Professor Dr. Robert Thimme
Medizinische Universitätsklinik, Abteilung Innere Medizin II -, Gastroenterologie, Hepatologie, Endokrinologie und Infektiologie, Universitätsklinikum Freiburg - Professor Dr. Marja Timmermans
Zentrum für Molekularbiologie der Pflanzen (ZMBP), Universität Tübingen - Professor Dr. Simon Trebst
Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Köln - Professor Dr. Anne van Aaken
Fakultät der Rechtswissenschaft, Institut für Recht und Ökonomik, Universität Köln - Professor Dr. Gunther Wittstock
Institut für Chemie, Universität Oldenburg - Professor Dr.-Ing. Katrin Wudy
Laser-based Additive Manufacturing, Technische Universität München - Professor Dr. Matthias Wuttig
I. Physikalisches Institut, Technische Hochschule Aachen - Professor Dr. Cornelia Zumbusch
Institut für Germanistik, Universität Hamburg - Professor Dr.-Ing. Thomas Zwick
Institut für Hochfrequenztechnik und Elektronik (IHE), Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)
Non-specialist Voting Committee Members
Representatives of our funders:
- Federal Foreign Office
- Federal Ministry of Education and Research
- Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder
Non-specialist Non-voting Committee Members
Representatives of the following partner organisations:
- German Academic Exchange Service
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
The central instrument for conferring certain research awards of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is an interdisciplinary selection committee.
The members are assigned certain applications, on which they report to the committee. All decisions are discussed and taken jointly by the interdisciplinary committee; the Foundation’s Board of Trustees must approve the committee’s choices for research awards.
The selection committee is composed of:
- specialist members: recognized researchers of various disciplines (= specialist selection committee members)
- non-specialist members: voting representatives of public and private funders; non-voting representatives of other science (funding) organisations.
This composition ensures the necessary scientific expertise to review the applications, complemented by institutional expertise on strategic-structural aspects.
The total number and the representation of disciplines by experts on the committees is based on the average number and subject representation of the applications received. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s choice of expert committee members forms the basis for recognising and selecting excellence in its sponsorship programmes. The selection of specialist selection committee members is, therefore, a core process at the Foundation that seeks to identify the finest scientific minds. The Selection Department takes great care to regularly include domestic and international researchers on its committees who are new to the Foundation’s broader network in order to remain open to new perspectives and angles.
For each new appointment or replacement, the Foundation consults numerous experts as well as representatives of science organisations to draw up a shortlist. Scientific excellence is a basic prerequisite for a candidate to be considered. Other core prerequisites are:
- international contacts and experience, as possible extended academic professional activity abroad
- preferably broad scientific expertise
- willingness and ability to engage in interdisciplinary discourse
- willingness to actively support the work of the Humboldt Foundation
- sufficient availability.
The following additional aspects are also considered when appointing committee members:
- gender and age balance
- balanced regional representation
- complementing existing expertise on the committee
- including researchers who work abroad whilst ensuring the necessary familiarity with the German science system.
The decision to appoint a new member is approved by the Board of Trustees. The appointment is for an initial term of three years and can be renewed twice.
As of: Juy 2024
Chair
Professor Dr. Martina Havenith-Newen
(Proxy: Professor Dr. Heike Behrens)
Specialist Committee Members
- Professor Dr. Thorsten Bach
Lehrstuhl für Organische Chemie 1, Technische Universität München - Professor Dr. Matthias Bartelmann
Institut für Theoretische Astrophysik, Universität Heidelberg - Professor Dr. Ute Johanna Bayen
Mathematische und Kognitive Psychologie, Universität Düsseldorf - Professor Dr. Heike Behrens
Deutsches Seminar, Universität Basel - Professor Dr. Monika Betzler
Lehrstuhl für Philosophie V, Universität München (LMU) - Professor Dr. Immanuel Bloch
Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik (MPQ), Garching - Professor Dr. Oliver Einsle
Institut für Biochemie, Universität Freiburg - Professor Dr. Anton Eisenhauer
GEOMAR Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel - Professor Dr. Roland A. Fischer
Lehrstuhl für Anorganische und Metallorganische Chemie, Technische Universität München - Professor Dr. Rudolf O. Gross
Walther-Meissner-Institut für Tieftemperaturforschung, Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Garching - Professor Dr. Martina Havenith-Newen
Fakultät für Chemie und Biochemie, Lehrstuhl Physikalische Chemie II, Universität Bochum - Professor Dr. Anke Jentsch
Juniorprofessur Störungsökologie und Vegetationsdynamik, Bayreuther Zentrum für Ökologie und Umweltforschung (BayCEER), Universität Bayreuth - Professor Dr. Eva-Maria Kieninger
Juristische Fakultät, Universität Würzburg - Professor Dr. Thomas F. Münte
Klinik für Neurologie (Lübeck), Universitätsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein - Professor Dr. Klara Nahrstedt
Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Professor Dr. Kiran Klaus Patel
Historisches Seminar, Universität München - Professor Dr. Achim Rosch
Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Köln - Professor Dr.-Ing Andreas Seidel-Morgenstern
Fachgruppe Physikalisch-chemische Grundlagen der Prozesstechnik, Max-Planck-Institut für Dynamik komplexer technischer Systeme, Magdeburg - Professor Dr. Karl-Theodor Sturm
Institut für Angewandte Mathematik, Universität Bonn - Professor Dr. Uwe Sunde
Seminar für Bevölkerungsökonomie, Universität München (LMU) - Professor Dr. Sara Wickström
Abteilung für Zell- und Gewebedynamik, Max-Planck-Institut für molekulare Biomedizin, Münster - Professor Dr. Urs Achim Wiedemann
Division PH, CERN, Genf - Professor Dr. Susanne Zepp-Zwirner
Fachbereich Philosophie und Geisteswissenschaften Institut für Romanische Philologie (WE5), Freie Universität Berlin
Voting Non-specialist Committee Members
Representatives of our funders:
- Federal Foreign Office
- Federal Ministry of Education and Research
- Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder
Non-specialist Non-voting Committee Members
Representatives of the following partner organisations:
- German Academic Exchange Service
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft
- Fritz Thyssen Foundation (voting right in the Reimar Lüst Award Programme)
The central instrument for conferring Feodor Lynen Research Fellowships is an interdisciplinary selection committee.
The members are assigned certain applications, on which they report to the committee. All decisions are discussed and taken jointly by the interdisciplinary committee; the Foundation’s Board of Trustees must approve the committee’s choices for research fellowships.
The selection committee is composed of:
- specialist members: recognized researchers of various disciplines (= specialist selection committee members)
- non-specialist members: voting representatives of public and private funders; non-voting representatives of other science (funding) organisations.
This composition ensures the necessary scientific expertise to review the applications, complemented by institutional expertise on strategic-structural aspects.
The total number and the representation of disciplines by experts on the committees is based on the average number and subject representation of the applications received. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s choice of expert committee members forms the basis for recognising and selecting excellence in its sponsorship programmes. The selection of specialist selection committee members is, therefore, a core process at the Foundation that seeks to identify the finest scientific minds. The Selection Department takes great care to regularly include domestic and international researchers on its committees who are new to the Foundation’s broader network in order to remain open to new perspectives and angles.
For each new appointment or replacement, the Foundation consults numerous experts as well as representatives of science organisations to draw up a shortlist. Scientific excellence is a basic prerequisite for a candidate to be considered. Other core prerequisites are:
- international contacts and experience, as possible extended academic professional activity abroad
- preferably broad scientific expertise
- willingness and ability to engage in interdisciplinary discourse
- willingness to actively support the work of the Humboldt Foundation
- sufficient availability.
The following additional aspects are also considered when appointing committee members:
- gender and age balance
- balanced regional representation
- complementing existing expertise on the committee
- including researchers who work abroad whilst ensuring the necessary familiarity with the German science system.
The decision to appoint a new member is approved by the Board of Trustees. The appointment is for an initial term of three years and can be renewed twice.
As of: July 2024
Chair
Professor Dr. Gabriele Metzler
(Proxy: Professor Dr. Martin Burger)
Specialist Committee Members
- Professor Dr. Anne Baillot
Faculté des Lettres, Langues et Sciences humaines, Le Mans Université - Professor Dr. Frank Bradke
Axonal Growth and Regeneration Group, Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE), Bonn - Professor Dr. Martin Burger
Computational Imaging Group and Helmholtz Imaging, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) Hamburg - Professor Dr. Stefanie Dehnen
Institut für Nanotechnologie (INT), Karlsruher Institut für Technologie - Professor Dr. Sebastian Diehl
Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität zu Köln - Professor Dr. Ryan Gilmour
Organisch-Chemisches Institut, Universität Münster - Professor Dr. Stefanie Gräfe
Chemisch-Geowissenschaftliche Fakultät, Institut für Physikalische Chemie, Universität Jena - Professor Dr. Caroline Gutjahr
Max-Planck-Institut für molekulare Pflanzenphysiologie (MPIMP), Potsdam - Professor Dr. Jens O. Herrle
Institut für Geowissenschaften, Fachbereich 11: Geowissenschaften /Geographie, Universität Frankfurt am Main - Professor Dr. Beate Kellner
Institut für Deutsche Philologie, Universität München - Professor Dr. Gabriele Metzler
Institut für Geschichtswissenschaften, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Professor Dr. Silke Ospelkaus-Schwarzer
Institut für Quantenoptik, Universität Hannover - Professor Dr. Werner Porod
Institut für Theoretische Physik und Astrophysik, Universität Würzburg - Professor Dr. Christian Seidel
Institut für Philosophie, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT), Karlsruhe - Professor Dr. Karen A. Shire
Fakultät für Gesellschaftswissenschaften, Institut für Soziologie, Universität Duisburg-Essen - Professor Dr.-Ing. Kai Sundmacher
Max-Planck-Institut für Dynamik komplexer technischer Systeme, Fachgruppe Prozesstechnik, Magdeburg
Non-specialist Voting Committee Members
Representatives of our funders:
- Federal Ministry of Education and Research
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Liaison Office, Bonn
- Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan
Non-specialist Non-voting Committee Members
Representatives of the following partner organisations:
- German Academic Exchange Service
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
The central instrument for conferring Georg Forster Research Fellowships and Georg Forster Research Awards is an interdisciplinary selection committee.
The members are assigned certain applications, on which they report to the committee. All decisions are discussed and taken jointly by the interdisciplinary committee; the Foundation’s Board of Trustees must approve the committee’s choices for research fellowships and awards.
The selection committee is composed of:
- specialist members: recognized researchers of various disciplines (= specialist selection committee members)
- non-specialist members: voting representatives of public and private funders; non-voting representatives of other science (funding) organisations.
This composition ensures the necessary scientific expertise to review the applications, complemented by institutional expertise on strategic-structural aspects.
The total number and the representation of disciplines by experts on the committees is based on the average number and subject representation of the applications received. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s choice of expert committee members forms the basis for recognising and selecting excellence in its sponsorship programmes. The selection of specialist selection committee members is, therefore, a core process at the Foundation that seeks to identify the finest scientific minds. The Selection Department takes great care to regularly include domestic and international researchers on its committees who are new to the Foundation’s broader network in order to remain open to new perspectives and angles.
For each new appointment or replacement, the Foundation consults numerous experts as well as representatives of science organisations to draw up a shortlist. Scientific excellence is a basic prerequisite for a candidate to be considered. Other core prerequisites are:
- international contacts and experience, as possible extended academic professional activity abroad
- experience in scientific cooperation with developing and transition countries
- preferably broad scientific expertise
- willingness and ability to engage in interdisciplinary discourse
- willingness to actively support the work of the Humboldt Foundation
- sufficient availability.
The following additional aspects are also considered when appointing committee members:
- gender and age balance
- balanced regional representation
- complementing existing expertise on the committee
- • including researchers who work abroad whilst ensuring the necessary familiarity with the German science system.
The decision to appoint a new member is approved by the Board of Trustees. The appointment is for an initial term of three years and can be renewed twice.
As of: July 2024
Chair
Professor Dr. Ute Spiekerkötter
(Proxy: Professor Dr. Franc Meyer)
Specialist Committee Members
- Professor Dr. Aranzazu del Campo Becares
Leibniz-Institut für Neue Materialien gGmbH (INM), Saarbrücken - Professor Dr. Heike Drotbohm
Institut für Ethnologie und Afrikastudien, Universität Mainz - Professor Dr. Ute Fendler
Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Lehrstuhl für Romanische Literaturwissenschaft und Komparatistik, Universität Bayreuth - Professor Dr. Nicola Fohrer
Ökologie-Zentrum, Fachabteilung für Hydrologie und Wasserwirtschaft, Universität Kiel - Professor Dr. Anamaria Font
Department of Physics, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas - Professor Dr. Simone Göttlich
Institut für Mathematik, Universität Mannheim - Professor Dr. Katrin Heer
Institut für Forstgenetik, Universität Freiburg - Professor Dr. Lutz Heide
Pharmazeutisches Institut, Universität Tübingen - Professor Dr. Florian Jeßberger
Lehrstuhl für deutsches und internationales Strafrecht, Strafprozessrecht und Juristische Zeitgeschichte, Humboldt-Universität Berlin - Professor Dr. Franc Meyer
Institut für Anorganische Chemie, Universität Göttingen - Professor Dr. Bryce Sydney Richards
Lichttechnisches Institut (LTI), Campus Süd, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT) - Professor Dr. Katharina Röltgen
Swiss TPH - Schweizerisches Tropen- und Public Health-Institut, Allschwil - Professor Dr. Norbert Sewald
Institut für Organische und Bioorganische Chemie, Universität Bielefeld - Professor Dr. Stefan Siebert
Abteilung Pflanzenbau, Department für Nutzpflanzenwissenschaften, Universität Göttingen - Professor Dr. Ute Spiekerkötter
Klinik für Allgemeine Kinder- und Jugendmedizin, Universitätsklinikum Freiburg - Professor Dr. Thomas Stodulka
Institut für Ethnologie, Universität Münster - Professor Dr. Hildegard Westphal
Leibniz-Zentrum für Marine Tropenforschung (ZMT) GmbH, Bremen - Priv. Doz. Dr. Maria Wurzinger
- Institut für Nutztierwissenschaften, Universität für Bodenkultur Wien (BOKU), Wien
Non-specialist Voting Committee Members
Representatives of our funder:
- Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
Non-specialist Non-voting Committee Members
Representatives of the following partner organisation:
- German Academic Exchange Service
The central instrument for conferring the Alexander von Humboldt Professorship is an interdisciplinary selection committee.
The members are assigned certain applications, on which they report to the committee. All decisions are discussed and taken jointly by the interdisciplinary committee; the Foundation’s Board of Trustees must approve the committee’s choices for the bestowal of Alexander von Humboldt Professorships.
The selection committee is composed of:
- specialist members: recognised researchers of various disciplines (= specialist selection committee members)
- non-specialist members: voting and non-voting representatives of public and private funders as well as representatives of other science (funding) organisations and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
This composition ensures the necessary scientific expertise to review applications, complemented by institutional expertise on strategic-structural aspects.
The total number and the representation of disciplines by experts on the committees is based on the average number and subject representation of the applications received. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s choice of expert committee members forms the basis for recognising and selecting excellence in its sponsorship programmes. The selection of specialist selection committee members is, therefore, a core process at the Foundation that seeks to identify the finest scientific minds. The Selection Department takes great care to regularly include domestic and international researchers on its committees who are new to the Foundation’s broader network in order to remain open to new perspectives and angles.
For each new appointment or replacement, the Foundation consults numerous experts as well as representatives of science organisations to draw up a shortlist. Scientific excellence is a basic prerequisite for a candidate to be considered. Other core prerequisites are:
- international contacts and experience, as possible extended academic professional activity abroad
- preferably broad scientific expertise
- willingness and ability to engage in interdisciplinary discourse
- willingness to actively support the work of the Humboldt Foundation
- sufficient availability.
The following additional aspects are also considered when appointing committee members:
- gender and age balance
- balanced regional representation
- complementing existing expertise on the committee
- including researchers who work abroad whilst ensuring the necessary familiarity with the German science system.
The decision to appoint a new member is approved by the Board of Trustees. The appointment is for an initial term of three years and can be renewed once.
As of: July 2024
Chairperson
Professor Dr. Robert Schlögl
President of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
Specialist Committee Members
- Professor Dr. Markus Aspelmeyer
Fakultät für Physik, Institut für Quantenoptik und Quanteninformation, Universität Wien - Professor Dr. Marlene Bartos
Institut für Physiologie I, Universität Freiburg - Professor Dr. Jürgen Eckert
Erich Schmid lnstitute of Materials Science, Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW), Leoben - Professor Dr. Mario Gollwitzer
Lehrstuhl für Sozialpsychologie, Universität München - Professor Dr. Gesine Hansen
Zentrum Kinderheilkunde und Jugendmedizin, Klinik und Poliklinik für Kinderheilkunde und Jugendmedizin, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover - Professor Dr. Gerhard Huisken
Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach (MFO) - Professor Dr. Kristian Kersting
Fachbereich Informatik, Technische Universität Darmstadt - Professor Dr. Dr. Thomas Lengauer
Abteilung 3: Bioinformatik und Angewandte Algorithmik, Max-Planck-Institut für Informatik, Saarbrücken - Professor Dr. Jörg Matthes
Institut für Publizistik- und Kommunikationswissenschaft, Universität Wien - Professor Dr. Carien Niessen
CECAD Forschungszentrum, Universität Köln - Professor Dr. Markus Reichstein
Max-Planck-Institut für Biogeochemie Abteilung für Biogeochemische Systeme, Jena - Professor Dr. Ruth Signorell
Laboratorium für Physikalische Chemie, ETH Zürich - Professor Dr. Peter Strohschneider
Institut für Deutsche Philologie, Universität München - Professor Dr. Benedikt Stuchtey
Fachgebiet Neuere und Neueste Geschichte II - Neueste Geschichte, Universität Marburg - Professor Dr. Maria-Roser Valenti
Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Frankfurt am Main
Non-specialist Voting Committee Members
Representatives of our funders:
- Federal Ministry of Education and Research
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- German Rectors' Conference
- Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder
Non-specialist Non-voting Committee Members
Representatives of the following partner organisations:
- Federal Foreign Office
As of January 2023
Chair
Professor Dr. Robert Schlögl
(Co-Chair: Professor Dr. Martin Stratmann)
Voting Non-specialist Committee Members
- Professor Dr. Robert Schlögl
Präsident der Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung - Professor Dr. Martin Stratmann
Präsident der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft - Professor Dr. Peter Strohschneider
Institut für Deutsche Philologie, Universität München - Professor Dr. Jörg Hacker
Alt-Präsident der Leopoldina - Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften
Representative of our funder:
- Federal Ministry of Education and Research
Voting Specialist Committee Members
up to three specialist academics who are newly appointed in each selection round
Representative of the following partner organisation:
- Max Planck Society (chair of the nomination committee, no voting right)
As of April 2024
Chair
Dr. Thomas Hesse
Secretary General ad interim
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
Committee Members
- University of Cologne:
Professor Dr. Konrad Brockmeier
Director of the Clinic and Polyclinic for Pediatric Cardiology - University of Wuppertal:
Prof. Dr. phil. Matei Chihaia
Professor of Spanish and French Literature - German Academic Exchange Service:
Dr. Christian Hülshörster
Director of the Scholarship Programmes Southern Hemisphere - German Rectors' Conference:
Prof. Dr. Angela Ittel
Vice-President for International Affairs, Gender Equality, Diversity
President of Technische Universität Braunschweig - Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft:
Dr. Johanna Kowol-Santen
Head Physics and Chemistry and Deputy Head Scientific Affairs - University of Potsdam
Professor Dr. Jürgen Mackert
Professor of Sociology - German National Academy of Sciences – Leopoldina:
Dr. Ruth Narmann
Head of International Relations Department - Leipzig University:
Prof. Dr. Solveig Richter
Heisenberg Professor for International Relations and Transnational Politics
As of May 2022
Chair
Dr. Steffen Mehlich
Leiter der Abteilung Förderung und Netzwerk der Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung
Further Committee Members
- Auswärtiges Amt,
Wissenschaft und Hochschulen:
Stefan Delfs - Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung,
Europäischer Hochschulraum, Internationalisierung:
Dr. Lisette Andreae - Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung,
Hochschulbildung und Wissenschaft:
Daniel Braun - Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft,
Wissenschaftliche Geräte und Informationstechnik:
Dr. Johannes Janssen - Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst,
Entwicklungszusammenarbeit und überregionale Projekte:
Dr. Ursula Paintner - Hochschulrektorenkonferenz,
Internationale Angelegenheiten:
Marijke Wahlers
As of: May 2023
Chair
tba
Further Committee Members
- Professor Dr Fraya Frehse
Departamento de Sociologia, Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP), São Paulo - Rafael Gontijo de Andrade Brasil
Distrito Consultoria de Relacoes Governamentais, Brasilia - Dr Christian Roschmann
Mayer Brown, São Paulo - Dr Petra Schaeber
Honorary Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany , Salvador - Dr Claudia Bärmann Bernard
Deutsch-Brasilianische Industrie- und Handelskammer, São Paulo - Representative of the Federal Foreign Office, Berlin
As of May 2023
Chair
Michael Maeder
Ward Howell International China, Shanghai
Further Committee Members
- Chenxi Gong
Zhuantang Straight Street School of Architecture, China Academy of Art, Linping Town - Professor Yang Liu
University of Europe for Applied Sciences GmbH, Berlin - Michael Maeder
Ward Howell International China, Shanghai - Professorin Dr. Kristin Shi-Kupfer
Fachbereich II – Sinologie, Universität Trier - Christian Sommer
German Centre for Industry and Trade, Shanghai - Representative of the Federal Foreign Office, Berlin
As of: May 2023
Chair
tba
Further Committee Members
- Piyush Dhawan
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Jakarta - Professor Dr. Renuka Kamath
S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai - Birgid Uccia
Asian Contemporary fine Arts GmbH, Zürich - Representative of the Federal Foreign Office, Berlin
As of: May 2023
Chair
Dr. Stefan Meister
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik (DGAP), Berlin
Further Committee Members
- Angelina Davydova
Office of Environmental Information, Sankt Petersburg - Olga Kizina
Creative Industries Agency, Moscow - Dr. Stefan Meister
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik (DGAP), Berlin - Dr. Martin Schneider
Hauptgeschäftsführer, Verein Deutscher Zementwerke e.V., Düsseldorf - Representative of the Federal Foreign Office, Berlin
As of: May 2023
Chair
Dr. Duane Jethro
University of Cape Town, Cape Town
Committee Members
- Matthias Boddenberg
Southern African-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Johannesburg - William Roy Goldstone
Durban University of Technology, Durban - Dr. Duane Jethro
University of Cape Town, Cape Town - Lerato Moloi
Standard Bank Group, Johannesburg - Dr. Melanie Müller
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Berlin - Louisa Barbara Zondo
Diaz Reus and Targ International Alliance of Law Firms, Johannesburg - Representative of the Federal Foreign Office, Berlin
As of: May 2023
Chair
tba
Committee Members
- Sudha David-Wilp
German Marshall Fund of the United States, Berlin - Stormy-Annika Mildner
Aspen Institute Germany, Berlin - Dr. Andrea Lynn Stith
Khoury College of Computer Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston - Mark Tomkins
German American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest, Inc., Chicago - Representative of the Federal Foreign Office, Berlin
As of January 2023
Chair
Professor Matias de Oliveira Pinto
Universität Münster
Commitee Members
- Professor Márta Gulyás
Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spanien - Professor Koh Gabriel Kameda
Musikhochschule Münster, Universität Münster - Professor Elena Mendoza Lopez
Fakultät Musik, Universität der Künste Berlin - Professor Maria José Rielo Blanco
Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu, Barcelona, Spanien - Professor Dr. José A. Rodriguez-Quiles y Garcia
Universidad de Granada, Spanien
The central instrument for conferring International Climate Protection Fellowships is an interdisciplinary selection committee.
The members are assigned certain applications, on which they report back in writing. All decisions are discussed and taken jointly by the interdisciplinary committee; the Foundation’s Board of Trustees must approve the committee’s choices for the bestowal of International Climate Protection Fellowships.
The selection committee is composed of:
- specialist members: recognised researchers of various disciplines as well as individuals who, due to their background and personal qualifications, are particularly well suited to assess young leaders and their potential as mediators and multipliers in the broader field of climate protection and resource conservation (= specialist selection committee members)
- non-specialist members: voting representatives of the public funder as well as of other science (funding) organisations.
This composition ensures the necessary scientific expertise to review applications, complemented by institutional expertise on strategic-structural aspects.
The total number and the representation of disciplines by experts on the committees is based on the average number and subject representation of the applications received. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s choice of expert committee members forms the basis for recognising and selecting excellence in its sponsorship programmes. The selection of specialist selection committee members is, therefore, a core process at the Foundation that seeks to identify the finest scientific minds. The Selection Department takes great care to regularly include domestic and international researchers on its committees who are new to the Foundation’s broader network in order to remain open to new perspectives and angles.
For each new appointment or replacement, the Foundation consults numerous experts as well as representatives of science organisations to draw up a shortlist. Scientific excellence is a basic prerequisite for a candidate to be considered. Other core prerequisites are:
- international contacts and experience, as possible extended academic professional activity abroad
- broad scientific or practical expertise in the field of climate protection and resource conservation
- willingness and ability to engage in interdisciplinary discourse
- willingness to actively support the work of the Humboldt Foundation
- sufficient availability.
The following additional aspects are also considered when appointing committee members:
- gender and age balance
- balanced regional representation
- complementing existing expertise on the committee
The decision to appoint a new member is approved by the Board of Trustees. The appointment is for an initial term of three years and can be renewed twice.
As of: July 2024
Chair
Professor Dr. Martin Zimmer
(Proxy: Dr. Ines Dombrowsky)
Specialist Committee Members
- Dr.-Ing. Richard Arthur
Department of Energy Systems Engineering, Koforidua Technical University, Ghana - Dr. Adam Ceesay
Institut des Sciences de la Terre, Universite Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, Dakar, Senegal - Dr. Ines Dombrowsky
Programmbereich Umwelt-Governance, Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik gGmbH (DIE), Bonn - Professor Dr. Peter Fiener
Institut für Geographie, Universität Augsburg - Dr. Johannes Flacke
Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation, University of Twente, Enschede, Niederlande - Professor Dr. Angela Francke
Fachbereich 14 Bauingenieur- und Umweltingenieurwesen, Universität Kassel - Dr. Amol A. Kulkarni
Chemical Engineering and Process Development Division, National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, Indien - Professor Dr. Markus Lederer
Institut für Politikwissenschaft, Technische Universität Darmstadt - Professor Dr. Denise Margaret Matias
Fachbereich für Wald und Umwelt, Hochschule für nachhaltige Entwicklung Eberswalde - Dr. Safietou Sanfo
West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL), Universite Thomas Sankara, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso - Professor Dr. Thomas Schomerus
Institut für Nachhaltigkeitssteuerung, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg - Dr. habil. Stefan Sieber
Programmbereich 2 „Landnutzung und Governance“, Leibniz-Zentrum für Agrarlandschaftsforschung (ZALF)e. V., Müncheberg - Professor Dr. Britaldo Silveira Soares Filho
Instituto de Geosciencias-CPTMC, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brasilien - Professor Dr.-Ing. Yujun Yi
School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, VR China - Professor Dr. Martin Zimmer
Leibniz-Zentrum für Marine Tropenökologie (ZMT) GmbH, Bremen
Non-specialist Voting Committee Members
Representatives of our funder and partner organisations:
- Renewables Academy AG, Berlin
- Federal Foreign Office, Berlin
- Centre for Postgraduate Studies of Environmental Management,
Technische Universität Dresden - Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, Osnabrück
- Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie e.V. (BDI), Berlin
- Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Eschborn
- German Academic Exchange Service, Bonn
Non-specialist Non-voting Committee Members
Other representatives of the federal departments interested in the programme:
- Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection
- Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action
As of: July 2024
Chair
Professor Dr. Simone Fulda
(Proxy: Professor Dr. Bernd Kortmann)
Specialist Committee Members
- Professor Dr. Barbara Albert
Rector Universität Duisburg-Essen - Professor Dr. Flavio Anselmetti
Institut für Geologie, Universität Bern - Professor Dr. Susanne Bruckmüller
Institut für Psychologie, Lehrstuhl für Sozialpsychologie mit Schwerpunkt Gender und Diversity, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg - Professor Dr. Lucas Brunsveld
Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Eindhoven University of Technology - Professor Dr. Silke Bühler-Paschen
Institut für Festkörperphysik, Technische Universität Wien - Professor Dr. Laura Covi
Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Göttingen - Professor Dr. Simone Fulda
Medizinische Fakultät, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel - Professor Dr. Christoph Halbig
Philosophisches Seminar, Universität Zürich - Professor Dr. Michael J. Hoffmann
Institut für Angewandte Materialien IAM, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT) - Professor Dr. Christoph Jacob
Fakultät für Lebenswissenschaften Institut für Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie, Technische Universität Braunschweig - Professor Dr. Heike Klüver
Kultur-, Sozial- und Bildungswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Institut für Sozialwissenschaften Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Professor Dr. Bernd Kortmann
Philologische Fakultät, Englisches Seminar, Universität Freiburg - Professor Dr. Tosso Leeb
Institut für Genetik, Universität Bern - Professor Dr. Holger Rauhut
Lehrstuhl für Mathematik der Informationsverarbeitung, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen
Non-specialist Voting Committee Members
Representatives of our funder:
- Federal Ministry of Education and Research