Humboldt research fellowships and awards
Funding for international research collaborations
With its Humboldt research fellowships and awards, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation provides funding for research collaborations between German and international researchers. Fellowship holders and award winners look for project partners and hosts in Germany with whom they can collaborate in places they believe are the most suitable for implementing their projects. FAU welcomes a large number of excellent researchers as a host university every year.
In June 2023, Prof. Andreas Hirsch, Chair of Organic Chemistry II, and Prof. Dr. Bernhard Egger, Professorship of Cognitive Computer Vision, have also been selected as scouts for the Henriette Herz Scouting Program. They can now recruit up to three junior researchers from abroad for their research group with a Humboldt Research Fellowship.
The most recent award winners and research fellowship holders
Dr. Ashton Egan
![Portrait of Dr. Ashton Egan](https://www.fau.de/files/2024/06/Dr.-Ashton-Egan-300x300.jpg)
Chair of Materials Science and Engineering: Institute for General Materials Properties, Institute of Micro and Nanostructure Research, May 2024
Dr. Ashton Egan from the Center for Electron Microscopy and Analysis (CEMAS) at Ohio State University, USA, will be performing research from May 2024 to May 2026 with the working groups of Prof. Dr. Mathias Göken, Dr. Steffen Neumeier and Prof. Dr. Erdmann Spiecker with a Humboldt fellowship for postdoctoral researchers. The focus of his research is on new cobalt and nickel-based superalloys, electron microscopy (SEM and S/TEM), local phase transformation and mechanical deformation. During his stay at FAU, Dr. Egan will focus on the design and multiscale characterization of new cobalt-based superalloys for high temperature applications using electron microscopy methods, for example for application in turbine engines. This design leverages a phenomenon called local phase transformation strengthening, whereby atomic scale phase formation at crystalline defects created under loading inhibits further deformation. The goal is to increase the operating temperature regime of these alloys, leading to more sustainable turbine engines via reduced fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.
Dr. Maria Stella Adamo
![Portrait of Dr. Maria Stella Adamo](https://www.fau.de/files/2024/06/Maria-Stella-Adamo_Photo_fertig-300x300.jpg)
Chair of Mathematics (Lie Groups and Representation Theory), May 2024
Dr. Maria Stella Adamo from the University of Tokyo, Japan, will be conducting research at the Chair of Mathematics (Lie Groups and Representation Theory) headed by Prof. Dr. Karl-Hermann Neeb from May 2024 to April 2026 with a Humboldt fellowship for postdoctoral researchers. During her stay at FAU, Dr. Adamo will investigate the properties of mathematical realizations of symmetries in the context of quantum physics. One of these properties is something known as reflection positivity, which demands positivity with respect to a reflection of spacetime. Reflection positivity can be used to investigate quantum models in various mathematical descriptions. Dr. Adamo plans to construct a class of models with several symmetries known as conformal symmetries. She will construct quantum fields by using reflection positivity and the correspondence between classic models and quantum models. Furthermore, Dr. Adamo wants to investigate when deformations of states in quantum field theory (QFT) that describe thermal equilibrium produce thermal states again.
Dr. Shaoxiong Xie
![Bild eines Mannes](https://www.fau.de/files/2024/05/1.-Dr.-Shaoxiong-Xie-at-the-Institute-of-Glass-and-Ceramics-Taken-by-Dr.-Lixu-Xie_fertig-300x300.jpg)
Chair of Glass and Ceramics, April 2024
Dr. Shaoxiong Xie, from Kyushu University, Japan, has been granted a Humboldt Fellowship to conduct research from April 2024 until September 2025 at the Chair of Glass and Ceramics, under the direction of Prof. Dr. Kyle Grant Webber. His research interests lie in the development of novel antiferroelectric materials for energy storage applications. He is also interested in the design and optimization of piezoelectric ceramics for sensing applications. During his stay at FAU, Dr. Xie will work at developing a new class of organic-inorganic hybrid antiferroelectric perovskite materials for energy storage applications using a high throughput robot platform and machine learning methods. Dr. Xie hopes to advance science and make a valuable contribution to solving the energy crisis.
Dr. Pannan Isa Kyesmen
![Bild von einem Mann](https://www.fau.de/files/2024/05/Kyesmen_fertig-300x300.jpg)
Chair of Materials Science (Corrosion and Surface Technology), April 2024
Dr. Pannan Isa Kyesmen from the Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi, Nigeria, has been granted a Humboldt Fellowship to conduct research from April 2024 until March 2026 at the Chair of Materials Science (Corrosion and Surface Technology), under the direction of Prof. Dr. Patrik Schmuki. His research interests focus on nanomaterials for energy applications, photocatalysis, hydrogen generation and harnessing solar energy. During his stay at FAU, Dr. Kyesmen will research the heterostructure of Ti-doped α-Fe2O3 and TiFe-bimetallic metal-organic frameworks modified with Pt single-atom co-catalysts for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production.
Dr. Maicon Sonego
![Porträt eines Mannes](https://www.fau.de/files/2024/05/Maicon_fertig-300x300.jpg)
Chair of Dynamics, Control, Machine Learning and Numerics, April 2024
Dr. Maicon Sonego has been granted a Humboldt Fellowship to conduct research from April 2024 to June 2025 at the Chair of Dynamics, Control, Machine Learning and Numerics, under the direction of Prof. Dr. Enrique Zuazua. During his research stay, Dr. Sonego will conduct research into differential equations and control theory. He will concentrate on equation systems that simulate the phenomena of population dynamics. Using mathematical analyses and manipulations, Dr. Sonego hopes to be able to predict and influence the development of populations over time, thereby making a contribution in areas such as ecological preservation and strategies for public health.
Dr. Marco Bresciani
![Porträt eines Mannes.](https://www.fau.de/files/2024/05/Bresciani_fertig-300x300.jpg)
Chair of Applied Mathematics (Modeling and Numerics), March 2024
Dr. Marco Bresciani has been granted a Humboldt Fellowship for postdoctoral researchers to conduct research at the Chair of Applied Mathematics (Modeling and Numerics) under the direction of Prof. Dr. Manuel Friedrich. His research project “A variational approach to failure and evolution of magnetoelastic solids” aims to develop the mathematical theory of deformable ferromagnets further in order to describe the behavior of such materials in an effective manner. He will focus in particular on the rigorous analysis of models that take major deformations into consideration. His research will combine techniques and methods for the calculus of variations and the theory of partial differential equations.
Dr. Yubiao Zhang
![Yubiao Zhang](https://www.fau.de/files/2023/11/Zhang_fertig-320x320.jpg)
Chair of Dynamics, Control, Machine Learning and Numerics, October 2023
With a Humboldt Fellowship for experienced researchers, Dr. Yubiao Zhang will conduct research at the Chair of Dynamics, Control, Machine Learning and Numerics under the direction of Prof. Dr. Enrique Zuazua from October 2023 to March 2025. During his stay, Dr. Zhang will mainly focus on control theory, which not only has a broad range of applications in engineering, business, machine learning and other areas, but also involves several mathematical problems of its own. In particular, his research will be investigating the following three topics: Neural control for deep learning, controlled PDEs with memory, and output stabilization.
Prof. Dr. George Karagiannidis
![George Karagiannidis](https://www.fau.de/files/2023/10/George-Karagiannidis_2-e1698228083640.jpg)
Department of Electrical Engineering, September 2023
Prof. Dr. George Karagiannidis from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, is researching with a Humboldt Fellowship from September 2023 until March 2025 at the Department of Electrical Engineering led by Prof. Dr. Robert Schober. His research interests focus on the theory of wireless communication, optical wireless communication, the convergence of communication and data processing, and mathematics and statistics with applications in communication theory.
During his stay, Professor Karagiannidis will be performing research into improving the connectivity and reliability of the next generation of wireless networks. This involves proposing communication paradigms that are based on optical wireless communication (OWC), reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), distributed artificial intelligence (AI), over the air computing (AirComp) and the joint optimization of communication and computing resources.
Prof. Dr. Tomas Torres Cebada
![A man with his arms folded smiles into the camera](https://www.fau.de/files/2023/09/Tomas-Torres_fertig-300x300.jpg)
Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, September 2023
Prof. Dr. Tomas Torres Cebada from the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain, who has received a Humboldt Research Award, started researching in September 2023 in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Dirk Guldi at the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy. His research focuses on organic materials and the photophysical properties of porphyrinoids with applications in molecular photovoltaic systems and singlet fission. Prof. Torres Cebada will be be visiting FAU sporadically between September 2023 and July 2024 with the aim of strengthening the collaboration already set up with Prof. Guldi in the above areas.