Helmholtz Prize

The Helmholtz Prize is awarded to European scientists every two to three years for scientific and technological research work in metrology . It is endowed with 20,000 euros.

Research field precision measurements

Since 1973, the Helmholtz-Fonds eV has honored European scientists with this award every two years for precision measurements in physics, chemistry and medicine. It was proclaimed on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Helmholtz Fund eV. From 1987 onwards, with the support of the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft , it was awarded to several winners every three years in the categories “Precision measurement of physical quantities” and “Measurement technology in medicine and environmental protection”. In 1996 it was also awarded for "Computer science and mathematics in measurement technology". From 2001 to 2014, the Helmholtz Fund eV and the Stifterverband jointly awarded only one prize “for metrology” every two years. Helmholtz Prize 2016 and Helmholtz Prize 2018 were announced in two categories: Precision measurement in basic research in the fields of physics, chemistry and medicine and precision measurement in applied measurement technology in the fields of physics, chemistry and medicine. The prize in each category consists of a certificate and prize money of € 20,000.

Applications for current research results from theory or experiment, which make a basic contribution or are aimed at specific applications, can be submitted. The work must have been done in Europe or in cooperation with scientists in Germany. An expert committee decides on the award.

Helmholtz Fund eV

Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-1894)

The non-profit association Helmholtz-Fonds eV was founded in 1913 by members of the then board of trustees of the Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt (PTR). He was named after Hermann von Helmholtz in recognition of his great services to physical measurement technology and the tireless efforts he made with Werner von Siemens to found the PTR in 1887 . Albert Einstein , Carl von Linde , Walter Nernst , Max Planck , Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen and Wilhelm Wien were among the founding fathers of the Helmholtz Fund . Its purpose is to promote science and research in the field of physical-technical precision measurement.

Award winners

• 1973: Werner Farr - "A Rb-Magnetometer for magnetic field strength measurements with wide range and high sensitivity"
• 1975: Bruno Fuhrmann , Volkmar Kose - "Exact and long-term stable electrical direct current and direct voltage source"
• 1977: Hannes Lichte - "An electron incident light interference microscope for the precision determination of unevenness and potential differences on surfaces"
• 1980: David JE Knight , Gordon J. Edwards , Peter R. Pearce , Nigel R. Cross - "A +/- parts in 10 11 measurement of the frequency of the methane-stabilized, helium-neon laser at 88 THz"
• 1981: Frank Spieweck - "Development of a high-precision laser frequency standard in the visible spectral range at 582 THz"
• 1983: Günther Ebert , Thomas Herzog , Harald Obloh , Bernd Tausendfreund - "On the application of the quantized Hall effect in metrology "
• 1985: Günther Werth - "The ion cage as a frequency standard "
• 1987:
  • Fritz Riehle , Burkhard Wende - "An electron storage ring as the primary radiation standard for the realization of radiation-optical units"
  • Sergio N. Erné , Manfried Hoke - "Auditory evoked brainstem magnetic fields triggered by stimulation with short sound impulses"
  • Hans Förster , Henrikus Stehen - "Investigations into the course of turbulent gas explosions"
• 1990:
  • Manfred Klonz , Thomas Weimann - "Design and optimization of a planar multiple thermal converter for the precise return of the effective value of alternating quantities to equivalent constant quantities"
  • Hans-Jürgen Kluge , Norbert Trautmann - "A resonance ionization mass spectrometer as an analytical instrument for trace analysis "
  • Karl-Heinz Overhoff - "Ignition behavior of diving fuses"
  • Bodo Plewinsky - "Heterogeneous detonations and indirect ignition processes"
• 1993:
  • Thomas Andreae , Wolfgang König , Dietrich Leibfried , Ferdinand Schmidt-Kaler , Robert Wynands - "Absolute frequency measurement of the 1S-2S transition in atomic hydrogen and a new value for the Rydberg constant "
  • Hans Kästen , Ulrich Schurath - "A new type of ozone sensor for diverse applications in the environment"
  • Ulrich von Pidoll , Helmut Krämer - "The minimum ignition energy of powder coatings for electrostatic powder coating "
• 1996:
  • Eckhard Krüger , Wolfgang Nistler , Winfried Weirauch - "Determination of the fine structure constants by measuring the quotient of Planck's constant and neutron mass "
  • Werner Hemmert - "Three-dimensional vibration measurements in the inner ear: elucidation of the frequency selectivity of the hearing"
  • Aymeric Derville , Christian Willert , Markus Raffel , Jürgen Kompenhaus - "On the development of a digital evaluation system for three-dimensional particle image velocimetry"
• 1999:
  • Fritz Riehle , Harald Schnatz , Tilmann Trebst , Jürgen Helmcke - " Atomic interferometer in the time domain for precision measurements"
  • Uwe Titt , Volker Dangendorf , Helmut Schuhmacher - "Measurement and visualization of the microscopic ionization distribution of fast charged particles in matter"
• 2001:
  • Jochen Bonn , Christian Weinheimer - "High precision measurement of the tritium beta spectrum near its endpoint and upper limit on the neutrino mass"
  • Stefan W. Hell , Thomas A. Klar - "Breakthrough of the resolution limit in far-field fluorescence microscopy ( STED microscopy )"
• 2003: Wolfgang Rudolf Bauer - "Measurement of the microcirculation parameters intra-capillary volume, capillary recruitment and blood flow in the heart muscle by means of NMR tomography "
• 2005: Martin Heumann , Thomas Uhlig - "Measurement of hysteresis curves of individual magnetic particles in the nanometer range "
• 2007: Göstar Klingelhöfer ( University of Mainz ) - "Development of a miniaturized Mößbauer spectrometer "
• 2009: Tobias Kippenberg , Ronald Holzwarth , Pascal Del'Haye ( Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics ) - "Development of a mini frequency comb"
• 2012: Sven Sturm , Anke Wagner , Klaus Blaum - "Determination of the g-factor of the bound electron in highly charged ions"
• 2014: Lukas Fricke , Bernd Kästner , Ralf Dolata , Frank Hohls , Hans Werner Schumacher - "verifiable realization of the ampere using natural constants"
• 2016:
  • Maksim Kunitzki , Stefan Zeller , Jörg Voigtsberger , Till Jahnke , Reinhard Dörner - "Measurement of the binding energies of molecular quantum halos with neV precision"
  • Nicholas AW Bell , Ulrich F. Keyser - "Digitally encoded DNA nanostructures for multiplexed, single-molecule protein sensing with nanopores"
• 2018:
  • Axel Beyer , Lothar Maisenbacher - "The Rydberg constant and proton size from atomic hydrogen"
  • Dietmar Drung , Martin Götz , Eckart Pesel , Hansjörg Scherer - "Improving the Traceable Measurement and Generation of Small Direct Currents"
• 2020:
  • Christian Sanner , Nils Huntemann , Richard Lange - "Single atom spectroscopy with eighteen-digit accuracy for measuring the symmetry of spacetime"
  • Saskia F. Fischer , Peter Woias and colleagues - "Nanometrology: Absolute Seebeck coefficient of individual silver nanowires."

See also

• Helmholtz Medal of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences

Web links

• Hermann von Helmholtz Symposium and Prize at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (ptb.de)
• Helmholtz Prize at the Helmholtz Fund e. V.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Press release of the PTB on 16 August, 2008.
2. ↑ Helmholtz Prize 2001 awarded on uni-protocol.de, May 21, 2001.
3. ↑ Helmholtz Prize 2007 for the development of a miniaturized Mössbauer spectrometer at News Analytik, July 24, 2007.
4. ↑ Helmholtz Prize for the most accurate test of quantum electrodynamics with hydrogen-like ions. Press release of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (ptb.de) from January 9, 2012; Retrieved January 28, 2012.
5. ↑ Erika Schow: Helmholtz Prize for high-precision measurements on the theory of relativity and on nanomaterials. Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), press release from April 8, 2020 from the Science Information Service (idw-online.de), accessed on April 8, 2020.