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.
Current award winners and research fellowship holders
Dr. Oliver Townrow
Chair of Inorganic and Organometallic Chemistry, December 2022
Dr. Oliver Townrow from the University of Oxford has been conducting research since December 2022 as a Humboldt postdoctoral fellow at the Chair of Inorganic and Organometallic Chemistry led by Prof. Dr. Sjoerd Harder. His research focuses on using metal-vapor synthesis to activate metals, an area in which Harder’s group has made considerable advances to date. The aim is to synthesize complexes with metals in uncommonly low oxidation states. The extreme reactivity of such complexes is used to activate extremely stable molecules such as N2 or CO2, and may also lead to the discovery of entirely new concepts for catalysts.
Prof. Bikramjit Basu
Institute of Biomaterials, October 2022
Prof. Bikramjit Basu from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore has been awarded a Humboldt fellowship to conduct research from September 2022 until March 2023 at theInstitute of Biomaterials. He is a guest of Prof. Aldo R. Boccaccini. His research interests cover biomaterial science, bioengineering and research into computational analysis in the interdisciplinary area of engineering. During his stay at FAU, Prof. Bikramjit Basu will work together with Prof. Aldo R Boccaccini’s research group to carry out research into bioactive glasses, aimed at improving hybrid scaffolds based on calcium and silicon.
Dr. Carlos Lange Bassani
Chair of Multiscale Simulation of Particulate Systems, November 2022
After receiving a Humboldt Research Fellowship, Dr. Carlos Lange Bassani is to carry out research from November 2022 until October 2024 at the Chair of Multiscale Simulation of Particulate Systems under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Michael Engel. Dr. Carlos Lange Bassani completed his doctoral degree program within the context of the Joint International Research Program of Gas Hydrates and Multiphase Flow in collaboration with the Multiphase Flow Research Center (NUEM) at Universidade Tecnólogica Federal in Paraná, Brazil, the SPIN Centre of Chemical Engineering in Mines Saint-Etienne, France, and the Phases to Flow Laboratory at the Colorado School of Mines, USA. Whilst researching at FAU, he will focus on the connection between crystal growth on the molecular level and hydrodynamic-induced agglomeration on the meso and macro levels. The systems of interest here consist of gas clathrate hydrates, one of the most promising materials that are capable of binding carbon dioxide in order to soften the impact of global warming.
Prof. Dr. Zeev Zalevsky
Institute of Photonic Technologies, 2022-2023
After receiving a Humboldt Research Fellowship, Prof. Dr. Zeev Zalevsky from the Israeli Bar Ilan University in Ramat-Gan is to carry out research at the Institute of Photonic Technologies led by Prof. Dr. Michael Schmidt during several stays in 2022 and 2023. His main research focus is super high resolution and biomedical imaging as well as photoacoustic scanning using speckle interferometry, optical measuring methods for measuring very small changes in distance. At FAU, Prof. Dr. Zalevsky will work on implementing speckle-based biomedical sensors for high resolution photoacoustic detection and imaging.
Prof. Dr. Maryam Nasr Esfahani
Chair of Biochemistry, November 2022
Prof. Dr. Maryam Nasr Esfahani from Lorestan University in Khorramabad, Iran, has been awarded a Humboldt Research Fellowship for experienced researchers from November 2022 until June 2024 at the Chair of Biochemistry at FAU. While here, she will focus on her project aimed at modifying potato plants to cope with a lack of nutrients and heat-induced stress. Both these stress factors are of major significance when it comes to potato plants adjusting to the new climate and it is a topic that is currently being addressed intensively by the Chair of Biochemistry. It is hoped that their work will help to make potato plants that have evolved to suit a more temperate climate more heat-tolerant and nutrient-efficient.
Dr. Sara Pourshahrestani
Chair of Biomaterials, October 2022
Dr. Sara Pourshahrestani from the University of Malaya, Malaysia is conducting research on a Humboldt Research Fellowship from June 2022 to May 2024 at the Chair of Biomaterials in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Aldo R. Boccaccini. Her research interests are in the development of biomedical materials in various forms of particles, sponges or hydrogels for hemostatic, wound healing and tissue engineering applications At FAU, her focus is on the development of antibacterial mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticle-containing injectable hydrogels and the evaluation of their potential by various physical, chemical and biological methods for hemostatic and wound healing applications.
Dr. Farnaz Ghorbani
Chair of Biomaterials, October 2022
With a Humboldt Research Fellowship, Dr. Farnaz Ghorbani from the Chinese Fudan University in Shanghai is conducting research at the Chair of Biomaterials in the field of tissue engineering, i.e. the cultivation of artificial tissue, from July 2021 to June 2023. She is a guest of Prof. Aldo R. Boccaccini.
Her research focuses on osteoarthritis, a chronic joint disease caused by poor condition of the cartilage and underlying bone. Osteochondral tissue does not regenerate well on its own, which is why it is difficult to treat this disease effectively. With the Humboldt Research Fellowship, Dr. Ghorbani hopes to use tissue engineering to develop tissue scaffolds to help osteochondral tissue regenerate.
Dr. Ghorbani chose to conduct research at FAU because Prof. Aldo R. Boccaccini is himself an expert in the field of tissue research and FAU works closely with regional partners in the research field.
Dr. Yongcun Song
Chair of Dynamics, Control and Numerics, September 2022
Dr. Yongcun Song will be researching as a Humboldt research fellow at the Chair of Dynamics, Control and Numerics led by Prof. Dr. Enrique Zuazua from September 2022 until August 2023. His focus lies on the development of new numerical methods for optimization problems that are limited by partial differential equations. His work combines machine learning in conjunction with modern optimization methods for control problems and physics-informed learning in control.
Dr. Ani Özcelik
Chair of Organic Chemistry I, September 2022
Dr. Ani Özcelik is visiting FAU from September 2022 until August 2024 with a Humboldt research fellowship for postdoctoral researchers at the Chair of Organic Chemistry I led by Prof. Dr. Henry Dube. Her main areas of research are molecular machines with the aim of miniaturizing the functions of machine processes to the molecular scale. During her stay at FAU, Dr. Özcelik will work on developing a new molecular motor powered by light that can be used to transport nanoscopic objects.
