Prize winner Dr. Schellhammer: Innovative physics lessons at TU Dresden!

Prize winner Dr. Schellhammer: Innovative physics lessons at TU Dresden!

On April 24, 2025, Dr. Sebastian Schellhammer from the Institute for Applied Physics at the Technical University of Dresden (TUD) was awarded the Ars legendi Faculty Prize 2025 in the Physics category. This prestigious award recognizes his outstanding commitment to teaching and his ability to present socially relevant physics topics in a way that is close to students. In addition, the prize is awarded annually to outstanding teachers in the natural sciences, including biology, chemistry and mathematics, and is endowed with 5,000 euros dpg-physik.de reported.

Dr. Schellhammer has been teaching at TU Dresden since 2011 and has already been awarded the teaching award by the Society of Friends and Supporters of TU Dresden e.V. twice. In 2015 he received the prize for his handling of heterogeneity in the course “Concepts of Molecular Modeling” and in 2025, together with Prof. Gesche Pospiech, for “Applications of Physics and its Didactics” for teacher training students. His didactics not only promote the understanding of complex relationships, but also enable students to refute false arguments, especially about climate change, in a scientifically sound manner.

Interdisciplinary approaches to teaching

A central element of Schellhammer's teaching approach is the choice of interdisciplinary research fields such as climate physics and nanotechnology. These topics make it possible to convey larger contexts and promote the targeted use of physical knowledge. This is how Dr. Pauleo Nimtz emphasizes that Schellhammer builds bridges between universities and schools as well as between theory and practice. This enables prospective teachers to convey complex topics in a fact-based and experimental manner.

His courses benefit from his enthusiasm for science and his understanding of the needs of students. The commitment to improving teaching is also reflected in initiatives such as the Lehr@MINT regulars' table. Through these and other measures, Schellhammer contributes to the didactic qualifications of the supervisors in the physics internship and promotes a creative, research-oriented learning space.

Importance of higher education

The Ars legendi Faculty Award represents a significant aspect of higher education, which occurs in a variety of scientific and artistic institutions. Higher education influences changing living conditions, for example through digitality and networking. It contributes to the scientific formation of individual and collective relationships to the world and acts as a connection between professional fields of action and science, whereby the need for inter- and transdisciplinary skills is increasingly required. These transformations in higher education come in the context of broader social, cultural and environmental changes, such as transcript-open.de explained.

Schellhammer's award is not only a personal success, but also reflects the important role that good university teaching plays for society, as Prof. Dr. Erich Runge emphasized. Teacher training is crucial to imparting knowledge and skills to the next generation. In this sense, the award has a far-reaching significance that goes beyond physics and makes a valuable contribution to improving higher education.