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JGU awards 2025 research prize to top international researcher!
JGU awards the Gutenberg Research Award 2025 to Prof. Dr. Anna Balazs for outstanding research in Mainz.
JGU awards 2025 research prize to top international researcher!
On March 10, 2025, the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) announced that the Gutenberg Research Award 2025 would go to Prof. Dr. Anna Balazs from the University of Pittsburgh, USA. The Gutenberg Research Award is one of JGU's most important research prizes and is endowed with 10,000 euros. The annual award is made by the Gutenberg Research College (GFK) to honor outstanding international researchers for their innovative contributions.
Prof. Dr. Anna Balazs will receive the award, which she will accept on May 12, 2025 as part of the GFK's annual celebration. During her stay in Mainz, the scientist plans to exchange ideas with colleagues and give a lecture at the JGU Physics Colloquium. Prof. Dr. In this context, Mita Banerjee, Director of the GFK, emphasizes Balazs' significant contributions to materials theory and soft matter science.
Research and awards
Anna Balazs has made a name for herself through her research in the field of polymer composite materials and their computer-aided modeling. Her most recent projects include 'Confine', which is supported by the German Research Foundation and the National Science Foundation. Her academic career began with a bachelor's degree in physics from Bryn Mawr College in 1975, followed by a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1981. Since 1987, she has been a professor of chemical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh.
Balazs' research achievements have already received numerous awards. These include the Polymer Physics Prize from the American Physical Society and the Langmuir Lectureship Award from the American Chemical Society. She was also elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2021, an honor that recognizes her significant contributions to predicting the behavior of soft materials.
History of the Gutenberg Research Awards
The Gutenberg Research Award was established in 2006 by the Graduate School of Excellence “Materials Science in Mainz” and has been awarded by the Gutenberg Research College (GRC) since 2012. The GRC is seeking suggestions from all JGU faculties. In recent years, numerous outstanding scientists have been honored, including Johannes Kabatek (2024) and Paola Arlotta (2023), to name just a few.
| Year | Prize winner | Subject area | institution |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | John Kabatek | Ibero-Romance Linguistics | University of Zurich, Switzerland |
| 2023 | Paola Arlotta | Stem Cell Biology | Harvard University, USA |
| 2022 | Rainer Blatt | physics | University of Innsbruck, Austria |
| 2021 | Wil Roebroeks | archeology | Leiden University, Netherlands |
| 2019 | Corine Defrance | story | CNRS and Université de Paris 1-Panthéon-Sorbonne, France |
This prize promotes international exchange among scientists and has established itself as an important platform for research and development in materials science. Prof. Christopher K. Ober, who was awarded in 2009, gave a keynote speech on environmentally friendly materials in microelectronics, demonstrating the breadth of topics covered by this award.
The continued awarding of the Gutenberg Research Award reinforces JGU's commitment to promoting excellent research and strengthening international collaborations in science. The upcoming celebrations for the awarding of the prize to Anna Balazs promise not only to honor her life's work, but also to provide further scientific impulses for the research community.