The Helmholtz Prize sets standards in the realm of metrology – for this reason alone, it is the flagship of the Helmholtz Fund. The prize was first awarded in 1973 on the occasion of the Fund's 60th anniversary. Since then, the jury’s choices have been unfailingly outstanding, as evidenced by the list of prizewinners. All prizewinners have sustainably advanced the art of measurement, and many today are among the most renowned researchers in metrology. Stefan Hell, for example, was awarded the Helmholtz Prize in 2001, long before he was honoured with the Nobel Prize in 2014 for his work titled “Breaking the diffraction barrier in fluorescence microscopy”.
The call for proposals for the 2020 Helmholtz Prize in both categories (“fundamentals” and “applications”) has just been published and will remain open until 7 January 2022. For each category, the prize consists of a certificate and €20,000. This prize will be awarded during the WE Heraeus Seminar on "High-precision measurements and the search for a New Physics", scheduled for 12 May at the Physikzentrum in Bad Honnef, Germany.
The Helmholtz Fund promotes the professional equality of women and men and is thus especially interested in receiving applications from women.
Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Joachim Ullrich
Chair of the Helmholtz Fund