Professor Patrizio Antici - Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Award

“I want to expand my knowledge within the field of laser-generated particle sources and meet other experts from my field. Germany has a very good infrastructure, considerable funding for highly qualified personnel, a large network of universities, many excellent scientists, and almost everyone speaks English. In addition, it is a nice place to live.”  

Patrizio Antici is a professor at the University of Quebec, Canada. The physicist is an expert in the field of laser ion acceleration. As part of the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award, he will be working at LMU Munich on the interdisciplinary applications of proton and radiation pulses. 

Adrià Bellvert, Ph.D. - Principal Investigator in an Individual Research Grant

„I chose Germany to advance my career because it offers the opportunity to collaborate with world-leading experts. In addition, fellowships such as those offered with the Global Minds Initiative Germany provide early-career scientists with valuable opportunities to lead independent projects, which is essential for my professional development. My goal here is to consolidate my career as an independent researcher and contribute new evidence on the group I study, strengthening its value as a model for understanding species evolution.“

In his research group at Greifswald university Adrià Bellvert investigates the evolutionary processes that drive species diversification, using spiders as a model system. He completed his Ph.D. in biodiversity, specializing in evolutionary biology, at the University of Barcelona. After that he worked  as an postdoctoral researcher at the Water Research Institute (IRSA-CNR) in Verbania, Italy. 

Dr. Sevgi Gökçe Kafalı - Humboldt Research Fellowship

“Germany is one of the leading countries in magnetic resonance imaging research, offering solid industry-university partnerships and technical infrastructure. It provides an open and supportive research environment that encourages independent thinking and interdisciplinary collaboration. This independence is essential for innovative and impactful scientific work, especially in a rapidly evolving field such as artificial intelligence in medicine. During my fellowship, I hope to strengthen my expertise in medical imagining while developing leadership and project management skills.”

Biomedical engineer Sevgi Gökçe Kafalı (Turkey) is coming from the University of California in Los Angeles, USA, to the Technical University of Munich on a Humboldt Research Fellowship. She is conducting research at the department of Daniel Rückert, Humboldt Professor for AI in Medicine and Healthcare.

Dr. Girlie Eunice Lopez - Walter Benjamin Programme

»As an early-career researcher, the Global Minds Initiative Germany will help me strengthen my skills, gain independence, and collaborate with leading researchers, which I see as a key step toward establishing my own research direction in the future.«

Chemist Girlie Eunice Lopez, who was a postdoctoral researcher at the Université de Lorraine in France, focuses her work on photocatalytic reactions, particularly the use of graphene quantum dots as catalysts for oxidation processes. She aims to deepen her expertise in catalysis, reaction optimisation and modelling – with applications in water remediation and sustainable energy systems. She chose Germany for its strong applied research landscape and access to state-of-the-art facilities, excellent technical support and a highly collaborative environment.

Dr. Johannes Stein - Emmy Noether Programme

»This support enables me to pursue ambitious ideas, and deepen interdisciplinary  collaborations within Germany and across Europe. It also allows me to grow as a scientist and mentor, and to expand the imaging toolkit required to address the biological questions at the heart of our work.«

The biophysicist Johannes Stein is leading an Emmy Noether Junior Research Group at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin. Previously, he worked at Harvard Medical School and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering (Boston, USA). He was a visiting scientist at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Research Campus in Ashburn (USA), as well as at the Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB) of the Max Delbrück Center. He completed his doctoral studies at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried and at Ludwig Maximilian University Munich.

Dr. Luca Terenzi - Walter Benjamin Programme

»This funding allows me to focus entirely on research for the next two years. My research field is a bit niche. However, it is well-represented in some European universities, especially in Germany.  In fact, I pursued my PhD in Germany and had a very positive experience here.«

Mathematician Dr. Luca Terenzi chose to continue his academic path in Germany. He works in the theory of motives - a highly specialised field situated at the interface of algebraic geometry, number theory and representation theory and conducts his research at the University of Regensburg. 

Dr. Esma Ugur - Emmy Noether Programme

"This program empowers me to launch an independent research group dedicated to unlocking the long-term stability of perovskite solar cells. By investigating fundamental material degradation and fostering interdisciplinary collaborations across the globe, we are addressing a critical challenge for next-generation devices. This milestone allows me to push the boundaries of semiconductor physics while growing as a scientific leader and mentor."

Physicist and materials scientist Dr. Esma Ugur is currently an Emmy Noether Group Leader at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, focusing on the long-term operational stability of perovskite photovoltaics. She completed her doctoral studies in Material Science and Engineering at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia, where she also conducted postdoctoral research on perovskite-based tandem solar cells at the KAUST Solar Center. Her independent research group brings a fundamental scientific approach to establishing structure–property–stability relationships that enable the rational design of stable perovskite materials for advanced next-generation photovoltaic technologies.

Professor Donna Whitney - Humboldt Research Award

“A research stay in Germany allows for access to state-of-the-art facilities with excellent technical support and a chance to visit and interact with many interesting scientists in my field and in related fields. Germany is a very attractive research location. The recent decline in support for scientific research in the US has increased my interest in spending more time in a place that values scientific research, including infrastructure.”  

Donna Whitney is a professor in the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences at the University of Minnesota, USA. As part of the Humboldt Research Award, she is visiting Max Wilke at the Institute of Geosciences at the University of Potsdam. 

Information on Funded Projects

In the project information system Gepris of the DFG you find all DFG-funded 

• projects(externer Link)
• persons(externer Link)

Additionally the webpage Facts and Figures (interner Link)shows statistical information on the funded persons.

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