Honor Honorary Professorship for Physicist Johanna Stachel
15 October 2025
Central China Normal University in Wuhan honors scientist for her achievements in research and international exchange
Prof. Dr Johanna Stachel, an internationally acclaimed expert in the field of nuclear and particle physics, has been appointed Qiu Yongxi Honorary Professor of Central China Normal University (CCNU) in Wuhan. Prof. Stachel, a scientist at Heidelberg University’s Institute for Physics and Senior Professor distincta of Ruperto Carola, received the academic honor for her research achievements and commitment to international exchange. It especially recognizes her decades of scientific cooperation with members of the College of Physical Science and Technology. CCNU Vice-President Prof. Dr Liu Sanya presented the document during a ceremony in honor of Prof. Stachel.
Johanna Stachel has maintained close scientific contacts with CCNU for many years. She regularly visits Central China Normal University for public presentations and guest lectures for students. She was, moreover, involved in organizing international research conferences in Wuhan. Recently the scientist took the opportunity to hold a discussion with physics students. At a “science salon” organized by CCNU with about 100 participants, she and her scientific colleagues Prof. Dr Peter Braun-Munzinger and Prof. Dr Krzysztof Redlich answered questions around the topics of degree courses, research, career planning and work-life balance.
For almost three decades Prof. Stachel’s scientific research has been based at the Institute for Physics of Heidelberg University. Her special research interest is in what is known as quark-gluon plasma – a primeval state of matter that can only be produced today with the aid of particle accelerators like the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the European research center CERN in Geneva (Switzerland). The physicist has received multiple awards for her LHC research in the context of the ALICE collaboration, and for her activities in the scientific arena. Examples are her multi-facetted involvement in institutions to promote research and as a member of high-ranking academies and umbrella organizations, likewise as a reviewer and consultant for national and international scientific research institutions.
Johanna Stachel studied physics and chemistry at ETH Zurich (Switzerland) and the University of Mainz, where she also obtained her doctorate in 1982. She then spent thirteen years in the United States as a professor at the State University of New York at Stony Brook (USA), before, in 1996, she was appointed to a professorship for experimental physics at Heidelberg University. From 2012 to 2014 Prof. Stachel served as president of the German Physics Association (DPG) as the first woman elected to this office. In 2021 she was honored with the Cross of Merit 1st Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. For her work as an outstanding scientist, her commitment to university interests and her exemplary role for many young researchers, Heidelberg University appointed Johanna Stachel as Senior Professor distincta in 2024.
CCNU awarded the honorary professorship at a ceremony in Wuhan in early September 2025.