Eleven Young Scien­tists Are Start­ing Their Doctoral Projects This Autumn

Eleven partic­u­larly talented young acade­mics with above-average Master's degrees were success­ful in the selec­tion process for the 2024 doctoral positions. Tim Allet­zhäusser, Laure Ciernik, Florent Draye, Chris­tine Frank, Sebas­t­ian Koch, Katha­rina Kohlen­bach, Darius Rauch, Matthias Scherr, Salome Spaag, Martin Stecher and Yifan Zhu will start their doctoral projects this autumn and become members of the Hector Fellow Academy's inter­dis­ci­pli­nary research network. What makes doctoral studies at the Academy so special is that the young researchers will be super­vised by top-class scien­tists, winners of the Hector Science Award and the Hector Research Career Devel­op­ment Award. During the doctor­ate, which is funded by the Hector Fellow Academy for up to 4 years, the young scien­tists are given the oppor­tu­nity to continue their educa­tion in a train­ing programme tailored to the doctoral phase.

The Hector Fellow Academy supports doctoral projects in the natural and engineer­ing sciences as well as in the fields of medicine and psychol­ogy. Its aim is to strengthen inter­dis­ci­pli­nary exchange and pass on the knowl­edge of its members to the next gener­a­tion. The young scien­tists accepted in 2024 are working on a wide range of innov­a­tive research topics. They include quantum comput­ing, deep learn­ing, 3D print­ing to photon­ics as well as marine and plant biology. Other topics are novel gold catal­y­sis processes or gene and molec­u­lar cell research. The latest research is aimed at advanc­ing the devel­op­ment of thera­pies for vision impair­ment or cardio­vas­cu­lar diseases.

In addition to the doctoral positions funded by the HFA, Arno Munhoven, Juan José Lagos-Oviedo, Katja Kleespies, Klaudia Szkodzin­ska and Yi-Ting Hsiau have been accepted into the Academy network as Associ­ated Young Researchers. The five doctoral students will receive mater­ial resources for their research projects. They will also have the oppor­tu­nity to take part in the Hector Fellow Academy's train­ing programme and events.

In the coming year, the Hector Fellow Academy will once again fund outstand­ing doctoral projects and admit young researchers to its inter­dis­ci­pli­nary network for the duration of their doctor­ate. The appli­ca­tion period starts on January 15, 2025 and ends on March 31, 2025.