27.11.2025
The Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Dissertation Prize 2025 has been awarded by the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy to Eva-Marie Metz and Björn Hassfeld, honouring two exceptional doctoral theses distinguished by their scientific excellence, originality and relevance. Each prize is endowed with €2,000.
The award ceremony took place during the Physics Colloquium on Friday, 21 November, providing a fitting setting to celebrate the achievements of the Faculty’s early-career researchers. The Faculty extends its sincere thanks to Dr. Stefan Jorda of the Heraeus Foundation for his presence and continued support of young scientists.
Eva-Marie Metz, who completed her doctoral research at the Institute of Environmental Physics, investigates the drivers of land–atmosphere CO2 exchange in the Southern Hemisphere. Her work combines satellite-based CO2 flux estimates with dynamic global vegetation models to better quantify carbon fluxes in semiarid regions. She demonstrates that soil moisture and soil rewetting processes play a key role in controlling both seasonal and interannual variability of the carbon cycle, thereby contributing to improved climate projections and a more robust assessment of the global carbon budget.
Björn Hassfeld, who carried out his doctoral work at the Institute for Theoretical Physics, addresses fundamental questions in contemporary theoretical physics. His research focuses on the measure problem in multiverse scenarios, proposing a novel theoretical framework that links quantum mechanics, gravity and string theory to enable meaningful predictions in landscapes of possible universes.
The final symposium also featured several outstanding candidates, who were recognised as runners-up: Tristan Daus (cosmic large-scale structure formation), Oliver Drozdowski (force generation in biological systems) and Hannes Keppler (random tensors and quantum field theory).
The Faculty gratefully acknowledges the work of the jury: Prof. Dr. Astrid Eichhorn (Chair), Prof. Dr. André Butz, Prof. Dr. Ralf Klessen, Prof. Dr. Klaus Reygers and Prof. Dr. Belina von Krosigk.
The Faculty warmly congratulates the prize winners and celebrates this occasion as a testament to the high calibre and diversity of doctoral research in physics at Heidelberg University.
