Dr. Aleksi Vuorinen
Physicist at the University of Bielefeld, winner of the Sofja Kovalevskaja Award 2008
Helsinki, Washington, Vienna, Geneva and now Bielefeld: at just 30 years of age the Finn has a remarkable research career behind him. Two years ago he received the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s renowned Sofja Kovalevskaja Award for outstanding young researchers from outside Germany. Vuorinen says: “Compared with most other countries, research support in Germany is generous and, thanks to organizations like the Humboldt Foundation and the DFG, extraordinarily good.”
Dr. Kazuaki Tarumi
Physicist, team leader at Merck and winner of the 2003 Future Prize
The Japanese physicist revolutionized television technology – and received the Future Prize, Germany’s research Oscar, for his work. Tarumi, who has worked for the Merck chemicals and pharmaceuticals group in Darmstadt since 1990, developed liquid crystals that very significantly improve the quality of the displays used in flat-screen televisions. “Luck and persistence are what a researcher needs,” says Tarumi who studied in Bremen as a DAAD scholarship-holder and then completed a doctorate there.
Prof. Dr. Wangari Maathai
Scientist, politician and 2004 Nobel Peace Prize laureate
“We have a special responsibility for the ecosystem of this planet.” This is the maxim of the Kenyan woman who championed environmental protection and nature conservation – and became the first woman in East Africa with a doctorate in biology, the founder of the environmental organization Green Belt Movement and Kenya’s assistant environment minister. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who also worked as professor at the University of Nairobi, was a DAAD scholarship-holder and studied veterinary medicine in Germany.
Prof. Dr. Vassilios Skouris
Legal scholar and President of the European Court of Justice
He is the European Union’s top judge. The Greek legal expert has been President of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, which interprets EU law, since 2003. Skouris completed most of his legal training in Germany. He studied law in Berlin with support from the DAAD and then completed a doctorate at Hamburg University. “A German doctorate is definitely advantageous for your subsequent professional career,” says the judge who also taught at Bielefeld.
