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. Manuel Buendía
Chair of Organic Chemistry II, September 2024
Dr. Manuel Buendía from Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), Spain, is performing research with a Humboldt Fellowship for postdoctoral researchers between September 2024 and August 2026 at the Institute of Advanced Materials and Processes (ZMP) in the group called Synthetic Carbon Allotropes led by Prof. Dr. Andreas Hirsch. During his stay at FAU, Dr. Buendía is focusing on the chemically structured functionalization of graphene with different robust and flexible aromatic molecules to obtain 2D materials and quasi-3D heterostructures with unprecedented electronic properties. He will place particular emphasis on their potential chiral properties.
Dr. Papia Haque
Institute of Biomaterials at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, September 2024
Dr. Papia Haque from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, is performing research with a Humboldt Fellowship from September 2024 to February 2026 at the Institute of Biomaterials at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering led by Prof. Dr. Aldo R. Boccaccini. She focuses on bioactive glass-based biomaterials for wound healing applications. During her stay at FAU, she will investigate cell activity on bioactive glass.
Dr. Karthikeyan Hariharan
Chair of Surface Science and Corrosion and Chair of Materials Science and Engineering for Metals, August 2024
From August 2024 until the end of July 2026, Dr. Karthikeyan Hariharan from the Fontana Corrosion Center at the Ohio State University, USA, is performing research at the Chair of Surface Science and Corrosion (Prof. Dr. Sannakaisa Virtanen) and at the Chair of Materials Science and Engineering for Metals (Dr.-Ing. Christopher Zenk) with a Humboldt fellowship for postdoctoral researchers. His research interests include corrosion, high temperature oxidation, superalloys and the development of alloys. Dr. Hariharan’s work during the Humboldt fellowship will focus on understanding high temperature corrosion mechanisms in newly developed Fe-based superalloys and Ni-based superalloys with emphasis on the role of metal 3D printing processing and microstructure.
Dr. Zhexin Zhao
Chair of Laser Physics, July 2024
Starting in July 2024, Dr. Zhexin Zhao will be researching with a Humboldt Fellowship for postdoctoral researchers at the Chair of Laser Physics led by Prof. Dr. Peter Hommelhoff. Her research interests lie in efficiently coupling photons and free electrons. As a theorist, she works at the interface between theory and experiments. During her stay at FAU, Dr. Zhao’s research will focus on setting up an experiment where a beam of electrons is passed through optical structures in order to generate interesting electron light states.
Prof. Dr. Maria Jennifer Falcone
Chair of Classical Philology, June 2024
With a Humboldt Fellowship for experienced researchers, Prof. Dr. Maria Jennifer Falcone will conduct research at the Chair of Classical Philology (Latin) under the direction of Prof. Dr. Christoph Schubert from June 2024 until August 2026. During her stay at FAU, Prof. Falcone will be undertaking a comprehensive study of the Ilias Latina in the form of a monograph. The work, which was composed during the reign of Emperor Nero, became an important means of teaching students about the subject of Troy during the Middle Ages as it was included in the educational canon of schools at that time. However, up to now, the work has not been researched in full. The study will examine the Ilias Latina in the context of Roman Hellenism, its literary aspirations and the creative translation process.
Prof. Dr. Chong Han
Chair of Digital Communications, July 2024
With a Humboldt fellowship, Prof. Dr. Chong Han from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China, is conducting research between July 2024 and July 2025 at the Chair of Digital Communications under the direction of Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Gerstacker. His research interests lie in the area of terahertz wireless communications. During his stay at FAU, Prof. Dr. Han will focus predominantly on cross near- and far-field communications, terahertz integrated sensing and communications.
Dr. Ashton Egan
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
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
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.
