In 2022, two students each were awarded a Dr Reuß-Prize as well as a scholarship from the Kaufmann-Peters-Foundation.

Since 2017, the Dr Reuß Prize has been awarded thanks to the Dr Nikolaus and Dr Mira Reuß-Foundation. This foundation is part of the assets of Heidelberg University and was established by Dr Mira Reuß with the aim of permanently supporting the renowned Department of Chemistry at Heidelberg University. The founder herself was involved in research and development on the coroporate side for many years. The Dr Reuß-Prize is aimed at above-average graduates in organic and inorganic chemistry. This year, Claudius and Lilliana received the award for their outstanding achievements in their bachelor’s.

The scholarships from the Kaufmann-Peters-Foundation have also been awarded at Heidelberg University for several years. The legally dependent foundation in the assets of Heidelberg University goes back to the last will of Hanna Kaufmann. The purpose of the foundation is to support and promote university students and doctoral candidates in the fiel of chemistry at Heidelberg University. The foundation’s elite support programme is one such support measure and is aimed at particularly high-achieving and motivated Master’s students in the field of chemistry. Since the winter semester 2015 | 2016, up to four students per year, receiving € 300 per month, have the chance to be accepted into this programme for a maximum period of two years. One of the two award recipients of this year is Lilliana.

Claudius completed his bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 2022 with a thesis on “Orthogonal Photoswitches for 4D Printing“ in Professor Eva Blasco’s group at Heidelberg University. Currently, he is pursuing a bachelor’s in chemistry at ETH Zürich. His passion for chemistry was already awakened in school and in the Oberstufe (upper secondary level) he knew that he wanted to study this subject. Heidelberg was his first choise as a place of study, not only because of the university’s reputation as a university of excellence but also as it was close to home. And then, there was also his sister that was not entirely innocent when it comes to his decision in favour of Heidelberg University as she had been studying at Heidelberg herself for several years and raved about student life, there. In retrospect, Heidelberg had been the right choice for Claudius, too.  What he liked most about his studies was the high propotion of practical work which implies learning many methods and techniques as well as exchanging ideas with fellow students. Besides, he liked the fact that it was always important to the professors and assistants to prepare their students for their future careers in the best possible way.

Lilliana is currently pursuing a master’s degree in chemistry at Heidelberg University. She had previously completed her bachelor’s in chemistry with a thesis on “Monokationen guanidinstabilisierter Diboran(4)-Derivate mit N-haltigen Lewisbasen”. Lilliana received the Dr Reuß-Preize for her performances in her bachelor’s which she mainly considers to be a recognition of the often stressful time during her studies over the last the years, not least because of the pandemic. She also decided to study at Heidelberg University because of the high proportion of practical work. This was also the reason why she decided to stay in Heidelberg for her master’s since the focus is on research. Also, the chemical institutes with their divers working groups offer ideal conditions. The opportunity to gain insights into institutions such as the IMSEAM of Heidelberg University or the MPI, HITS and DKFZ represent an enrichment to her. Furthermore, Lilliana plans to do a research internship abroad during her master’s. After completing her studies, she would like to pursue a PhD. Currently, she is particularly interested in interdisciplinary research with a focus on sustainability. Lilliana does not want to rule out an academic career in the future.