Hugo Geiger Prize 2013

The Bavarian government instituted this prize in 1999 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. It is named for former Bavarian secretary of state Hugo Geiger – patron of the inaugural assembly of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft on March 26 1949. The Hugo Geiger Prize is awarded for outstanding, application-oriented doctoral theses or dissertations – up to now only in the life sciences. From this year on, prizes will also be awarded for papers that cover other research areas of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. The prizewinning papers are selected on the basis of scientific quality, industrial or economic relevance, novelty and an interdisciplinary approach. The work must be directly related to a Fraunhofer Institute or have been written at one. This year, the first-placed winner will receive 5000 euros in prize money, the second winner 3000 euros and the third 2000 euros.

• First place has gone to Andrea Hickisch, who has come up with new ways of naturally preserving fresh foods with hops extracts.
• René Berlich’s ultra-compact microscope has made it possible to examine hundreds of prepared samples simultaneously. Thanks to the microscope‘s integrated lighting, even non-transparent specimens are easily studied.
• Third prize has been awarded to Yannick Bantel, whose research has nipped fungal pathogens in the bud: his protein-protein interaction analysis provides an important basis for the development of potential remedies.

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