Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal

Professorship for Human-Centered Technologies for Learning (TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology)

Prof. Dr. Enkelejda Kasneci received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Medaille 2024 in recognition of her „outstanding research in the field of digital teaching and learning as well as her commitment to the development of the TUM Center for Educational Technologies.“

Professorship for Topology of Correlated Systems (TUM School of Natural Sciences)

Prof. Dr. Christian Pfleiderer received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Medaille 2024 for his involvement in recognition of his „outstanding research in the field of experimental solid-state physics, his great commitment to the realization of the TUM Center for Quantum Engineering and as Scientific Director of the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Research Neutron Source.“

Professorship for Eductional Psychology (TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology)

Prof. Dr. Tina Seidel received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Medaille 2024 for her „outstanding research in the field of digital teaching and
Digital Teaching and Learning as well as her commitment to the establishment of the TUM Center for Educational Technologies.“

Professorship for IT Security (TUM School of Computation, Information and Technology)

Prof. Dr. Claudia Eckert received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Medal 2023 for her involvement "at her chair at TUM and as head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied and Integrated Security AISEC with the protection of IT systems against hacker attacks."

Professorship for Information-oriented Control (TUM School of Computation, Information and Technology)

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Sandra Hirche received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Medail 2023 in recognition of her "pioneering work" as an expert in control engineering and systems theory.

Professorship for Observational Cosmology (Faculty of Physics)

Prof. Dr. Sherry Suyu received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal 2022 in recognition of "her outstanding research in astronomy and her valuable contributions to the development of a new method of calculation of the Hubble constant."

Professorship for Data Analytics and Machine Learning (Faculty of Computer Science)

Prof. Dr. Stephan Günnemann received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal 2022 "in recognition of his outstanding research in the field of machine learning and data analysis as well as his contributions to the promotion of young researchers and to the societal and political involvement of AI in future-oriented application areas."

Professorship for Ethics in Medicine and Health Technologies (Faculty of Medicine)

Prof. Dr. Alena Buyx received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal 2021 in recognition of "her outstanding commitment to providing scientifically sound information to the public and advising policy makers on medical ethics issues related to corona measures and vaccination strategy, among other things, as chair of the German Ethics Council."

Professorship of Virology (Faculty of Medicine)

Prof. Dr. Ulrike Protzer received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Medal in 2020 "in recognition of her outstanding commitment to contain the corona pandemic, her scientifically sound and thoughtful information of the public and consultation of politicians, among others in the Expert Council of the Bavarian State Government, as well as her internationally renowned research in the field of virus-host interaction".

Chair of Nutrition and Immunology (TUM School of Life Sciences)

Prof. Dr. Dirk Haller received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Medal in 2020 "in recognition of his outstanding, internationally acclaimed research on the role of nutrition and the microbiome in the pathogenesis of chronic diseases”.

Chair of Animal Physiology and Immunology (TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan)

Prof. Dr. Michael W. Pfaffl received the Heinz Maier-Leibniz Medal in 2019 "in recognition of his outstanding, internationally recognized and well-cited research work on the relative quantification of mRNA by real-time RT-PCR ('A new mathematical model for relative quantification in real-time RT-PCR'; Nucleic Acids Research, 2001)".

Medical director of Klinikum rechts der Isar

Prof. Dr. Markus Schwaiger received the Heinz Maier-Leibniz Medal in 2019 "in recognition of his internationally acclaimed research work on the visualization and quantification of biological processes of cardiac and cancer diseases combined with the methodical expansion of the
nuclear medicine, as well as for the initiative and establishment of the "Center for Translational Cancer Research TranslaTUM".

• Press release on the laureates on the occasion of the Dies academicus 2019

Full Professor for Neuronal Cell Biology (School of Medicine)

Prof. Dr. Thomas Misgeld received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2018 “in recognition of his brilliant, internationally highly regarded research results on the mechanisms of the degeneration of axons and synapses in neurological diseases and his careful coordination of the research cluster "SyNergy – Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology" as part of the German Federal and State Excellence Strategy”.

Assistant Professor for Signal Processing in Earth Observation (Department of Civil, Geo and Environmental Engineering)

Prof. Dr. Xiaoxiang Zhu received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2018 “in recognition of her future-oriented, internationally effective research achievement on mathematical signal processing methods for earth observation, which are of particular value in monitoring natural hazards, mapping cities and in the analysis of urbanization dynamics, thus making valuable contributions to the development of global transformation”.

Professor of Experimental Physics with Cosmic Particles (Department of Physics)

Prof. Dr. Elisa Resconi received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2017 “in recognition of her internationally outstanding research achievements in neutrino astronomy as well as her successful initiative of the DFG Collaborative Research Center "Neutrinos and Dark Matter in Astro- and Particle Physics," for which she is a wise and passionate spokesperson”.

Full Professor of Soil Science (TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan)

Prof. Dr. Ingrid Kögel-Knabner received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2016 “in honour of her exceptional work as a pioneer of interdisciplinary soil science which she helped to advance methodically, inter alia, with secondary ion mass spectrometry”.

Prof. Dr. Peter Rutschmann and Albert Sepp from the Chair for Hydraulic Engineering and Water Management (Department of Civil, Geo and Environmental Engineering) received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2016 “in honour of their groundbreaking engineering work in the conception, planning and technical realisation of a new type of hydroelectric power station which optimally combines economic and ecological benefits”.

Full Professor of Organic Chemistry II (Department of Chemistry)

Prof. Dr. Stephan A. Sieber received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2016 “in honour of his work in revealing the complex mechanisms of action of bioactive substances in bacterial cells and the new strategy against multi-resistant bacteria which was developed on the basis of these discoveries, and also in recognition of the university spinoffs with which he consolidated our objectives as “entrepreneurial university” in top-level scientific research”.

Full Professor of Biotechnology (Department of Chemistry)

Prof. Dr. Johannes Buchner received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2015 “in honour of his exceptional and internationally recognised achievements in protein research which served as the basis for new approaches in the treatment of diseases”.

Professor Emeritus of Orthopaedy and Trauma Surgery (TUM School of Medicine)

Prof. Dr. Reiner Gradinger received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2015 “in recognition of his pioneering clinical achievements in the field of reconstructive orthopaedic surgery, notably the development of new operating techniques in the large-scale replacement of areas of bone affected by tumours, with which he helped to enhance and reinforce the international prestige of the university’s clinic”.

Full Professor of Heart and Vascular Surgery (TUM School of Medicine)

Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Lange received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2015 “in honour of his internationally respected pioneering achievements as heart surgeon and his eminent clinical successes in the field of heart and vascular surgery”.

Full Professor of Cognitive Systems (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering)

Prof. Dr. Gordon Cheng received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2014 “in honour of his outstanding and internationally respected academic achievements at the interface between robotics and neuroscience”.

Full Professor of Proteomics and Bioanalytics (TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan)

Prof. Dr. Bernhard Küster received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2014 “in honour of his exceptional academic achievements in the field of protein research and his contributions towards the decoding of human proteins”.

Full Professor of Automotive Technology (Department of Mechanical Engineering)

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Markus Lienkamp received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2014 “in honour of the technically innovative and internationally acclaimed contributions he made to electro-mobility research, with which he set new standards both for the art of engineering and for team building skills alike”.

Associate Professor (Emerita) for Plastic Surgery (School of Medicine)

Prof. Dr. Ursula Schmidt-Tintemann (1924–2017) received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2014 “in honour of her enterprising achievements in plastic surgery, a field which was first developed at TUM School of Medicine and its Rechts der Isar Hospital and went on to achieve international prominence, establishing itself across the globe and thus making Munich the birthplace of a new specialist clinical discipline”.

Associate Professor (Emeritus) of Physical Chemistry (Department of Chemistry)

Prof. Dr. Maria-Elisabeth Michel-Beyerle received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2013 “in recognition of her outstanding contributions over many decades to research in the field of physical chemistry”.

Full Professor of Computational Mechanics (Department of Mechanical Engineering)

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang A. Wall received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2013 “in honour of his internationally renowned academic achievements in the field of computational mechanics and for his successful endeavours as founding director of the Munich School of Engineering (MSE)”.

Full Professor of Theoretical Chemistry (Department of Chemistry)

Prof. Dr. Notker Rösch received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2012 “in honour of his exceptional academic achievements in the development and application of quantum chemical methods, which are now used in order to solve of chemical and physical questions. Most notably, he successfully opened up new and productive theoretical approaches for catalysis research at a high scientific level”.

Full Professor of Electronic Design Automation (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering)

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ulf Schlichtmann received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2012 “in recognition of his indefatigable and devoted endeavours in establishing new international study programmes, in particular at TUM Asia in Singapore, as well as in appreciation of his initiative and support in the implementation of the research base “Electromobility for Mega Cities” at TUM.CREATE in Singapore”.

Center of Allergy and Environment (ZAUM)

Prof. Dr. Heidrun Behrendt received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2011 “in honour of her exceptional scientific achievements in the field of allergy research and environmental medicine, and also in recognition of her work in establishing the Center of Allergy and Environment (ZAUM)”.

Full Professor of Biomedical Physics (Department of Physics)

Prof. Dr. Franz Pfeiffer received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2011 “in honour of his exceptional scientific and technological achievements in the field of ‘biomedical imaging’, especially in medical physics”.

Associate Professor of Videometry, Chair of Communications Engineering (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering)

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Reimar Lenz received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2010 “in honour of his exceptional scientific and technological achievements in the field of digital image and film processing, especially for the development of the film scanner ‘Arriscan’ which uses CMOS-semiconductor technology”.

Professor Emeritus of Plant Breeding (TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan)

Prof. Dr. Gerhard Wenzel received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2010 for outstanding academic services to the Technical University of Munich.

Full Professor of Biological Imaging (TUM School of Medicine)

Prof. Dr. Vasilis Ntziachristos received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2009 “in honour of his exceptional scientific and technological achievements in the field of ‘biological and medical imaging’, especially in the development of optoacoustic imaging techniques for functional and molecular imaging”.

Full Professor of Technical Electronics (Electrical and Computer Engineering)

Prof. Dr. Doris Schmitt-Landsiedel received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2009 “in honour of her outstanding scientific achievements in the field of technical electronics, notably in microelectronics and nanoelectronics, and in appreciation of her endeavours in promoting young female scientists”.

Full Professor of Plant Breeding (TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan)

Prof. Dr. Chris-Carolin Schön received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2009 “in honour of her exceptional scientific achievements in the field of molecular breeding research”.

Professor Emeritus of Hydraulic Engineering and Hydraulic Management  (Department of Civil, Geo and Environmental Engineering)

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Theodor Strobl received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2009 “in honour of his exceptional services to science, notably in the technically masterful conception and realisation of the Franconian Lake District, as well as in appreciation of his pioneering international engagement in Jordan and on the Arabian Peninsula”.

Former director of the Department for Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery (TUM University Hospital Klinikum rechts der Isar)

Prof. Dr. Edgar Biemer received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2008 “in honour of his outstanding achievements in the field of transplant medicine and as a pioneer of plastic surgery and hand surgery”.

Oberarzt of the Department for Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery (TUM University Hospital Klinikum rechts der Isar)

Dr. Christoph Höhnke received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2008 “in honour of his outstanding achievements in the fields of transplant medicine, plastic surgery and hand surgery.”

Director of the Department for Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery (TUM University Hospital Klinikum rechts der Isar)

Prof. Dr. Hans-Günther Machens received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2008 “in honour of his outstanding achievements in the fields of transplant medicine, plastic surgery and hand surgery.”

Oberarzt of the Department for Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery (TUM University Hospital Klinikum rechts der Isar)

Dr. Manfred Stangl received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2008 “in honour of his outstanding achievements in the field of transplant medicine”.

Full Professor of Technical Physics (E23) (Department of Physics)

Prof. Dr. Rudolf Gross received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2007 “in honour of his services as spokesman of the Collaborative Research Center 631, ‘Solid State Based Quantum Information Processing: Physical Concepts and Materials Aspects’”.

Full Professor of Product Development (Department of Mechanical Engineering)

Prof. Dr. Udo Lindemann received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2007 “in honour of his services as dean of the university and for successfully acquiring funds for the Collaborative Research Center 768 ‘Managing Cycles in Innovation Processes’”.

Full Professor of Ecophysiology of Plants (TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan)

Prof. Dr. Rainer Matyssek received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2007 “in honour of his groundbreaking research work in the field of biotic and abiotic interactions in plant physiology as well as in appreciation of his initiatives on behalf of the successful DFG
(German Research Foundation) Collaborative Research Centre 607 ‘Growth or Parasite Defense? Competition for Resources in Economic Plants from Agronomy and Forestry’”.

Full Professor of Cartography (Department of Civil, Geo and Environmental Engineering)

Prof. Dr. Liqiu Meng received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2007 “in honour of her outstanding services on behalf of the development of intensive research cooperations with numerous partner universities abroad, in particular with the most prestigious universities in China”.

Full Professor of Chemical-Technical Analysis and Chemical Food Technology (TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan)

Prof. Dr. Harun Parlar received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2007 “in honour of his outstanding chemical-analytical work in the field of environmental analysis and food analysis, notably for the development of numerous methods and standards as well as for his research into reaction mechanisms which led to a breakthrough in environmental analysis and food analysis”.

Full Professor of Biomaterials (Department of Engineering Science, University Bayreuth)

Prof. Dr. Thomas Scheibel received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2007 “in honour of the scientific breakthrough which he achieved at the Technical University of Munich by creating customised replicas of natural protein fibres as innovative biomaterials in biotechnology and the chemicals industry”.

Full Professor of Experimental Semiconductor Physics (Department of Physics) and Director of Walter Schottky Institute (WSI)

Prof. Dr. Gerhard Abstreiter received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2006 “in honour of his pioneering contributions to modern semiconductor physics, which had a significant impact on our fundamental understanding of low-dimensional semiconductor structures and their
application in contemporary microtechnology and nanotechnology, and also in appreciation of his decisive contribution to the success of the Excellence Cluster ‘Nanosystems Initiative Munich’”.

Full Professor of Automatic Control Engineering (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering)

Prof. Dr.-Ing./Univ. Tokio Martin Buss received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2006 “in honour of his groundbreaking discoveries in the field of control technology with particular application in robotics and telepresence systems, and also in appreciation of his determined coordination of the research cluster ‘Cognition for Technical Systems’ with which, together with a group of eminent scientists from Munich and in a multidisciplinary collaboration spanning Engineering, Natural Sciences, Medicine and Sociology, he successfully responded to the German federal and state Excellence Initiative and thus helped to enhance the scientific prestige of our university”.

Full Professor at the Friedrich Schiedel Endowed Chair of Neuroscience (TUM School of Medicine)

Prof. Dr. Arthur Konnerth received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2006 “in honour of his groundbreaking research work in the neurosciences, notably his pioneering work on calcium imaging in neuronal dendrites with the aid of two-photon microscopy, and also in appreciation of his outstanding achievements in experimental teaching for doctors”.

Full Professor of Experimental Physics I (Department of Physics)

Prof. Dr. Stephan Paul received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2006 “in honour of his exceptional, internationally respected research work on the structure of hadrons, and also in appreciation of his dedication in coordinating the research cluster ‘Origin of the Universe’, with which, together with a group of eminent scientists from Munich, he was immediately successful in the German federal and state Excellence Initiative and thus helped to enhance the scientific prestige of TUM”.

Full Professor of Computation in Engineering (Department of Civil, Geo and Environmental Engineering)

Prof. Dr. Ernst Rank received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2006 “in honour of his internationally respected, masterful research in the field of building informatics, in particular in the methodological grounding and advancement of finite element methods and computational fluid mechanics, and also in appreciation of his exceptional contributions to the restructuring project InnovaTUM-2008 and to the German federal and state Excellence Initiative.

Full Professor of Structural Technology (Department of Architecture)

Prof. Dr. Thomas Herzog received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2005 “in honour of his outstanding services in integrating technical and scientific knowledge in the art of draughtsmanship which allowed him to open up new dimensions for sustainable building, notably through the development of adaptable building envelopes and buildings systems”.

Professor Emeritus of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology (TUM School of Medicine)

Prof. Dr. Albrecht Struppler (1919-2009) received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2004 “in honour of his pioneering research work in the field of sensorimotor and pain conducting systems, in particular in the domains of electro-physiological diagnostics, the development of stereotaxy, in which he was far ahead of his time, and in recognition of the active role he played in shaping the Neurological Clinic and Policlinic of the Rechts der Isar Hospital as it grew to become an internationally renowned clinical-scientific institution”.

Full Professor of Real-time Computing (RTC) (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering)

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Georg Färber received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2004 “in honour of his internationally respected research work in the field of in-process computing systems and real-time computer systems, in particular in the domain of autonomously vision-controlled robots, and also in recognition of his valuable new ideas on how to implement them in the economy”.

Full Professor of Biological Chemistry (TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan)

Prof. Dr. Arne Skerra received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2004 “in honour of his groundbreaking research work in the fields of molecular biochemistry and biotechnology, notably in the area of rational and combinatorial protein design where he discovered the entirely new substance class of anticalins which he then used to develop a new basic technology in the life sciences”.

Full Professor of Neurosurgery (TUM School of Medicine)

Prof. Dr. Anna-Elisabeth Trappe received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2004 “in honour of her outstanding research work in the field of neurosurgery, especially in the domain of spinal and spine marrow diagnostics, also in recognition of her talented organisation and leadership of the Neurosurgical Clinic and Policlinic of the Rechts der Isar Hospital as it gained international renown, and also in appreciation of her work as a doctor for whom the respect for human dignity has always taken priority during the treatment of her often critically ill tumor patients”.

Full Professor of Communications Engineering (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering)

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Joachim Hagenauer received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2003. His theoretical and applied research work contributed to the development of efficient techniques for the coding and decoding of signals in transmission systems. Hagenauer’s research made a crucial contribution to the development of modern digital message transmission, for example for CDs, mobile communications and the Internet.

Full Professor of Water Quality and Waste Technology (Department of Civil, Geo and Environmental Engineering)

Prof. Dr. Peter Wilderer received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2003. He has dedicated a lifetime of scientific endeavour to the issue of sustainable water use by humans and the realisation and maintenance of a ‘healthy’ water cycle. In honouring Prof. Dr. Wilderer, the university honours a teaching and research personality who combines science with social engagement, since the pursuit of this objective requires not only an excellent scientist and engineer in the discipline of civil engineering. A comprehensive understanding of the interrelations between environmental factors, ecological and microbiological systems and of human intervention can only be achieved on the basis of interdisciplinary research in cooperation with natural scientists.

Full Professor of Microfabrication Technology and Microtechnology (Department of Mechanical Engineering)

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Joachim Heinzl received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2002 “in honour of his groundbreaking research in the field of microtechnology, notably for perfecting air-bearing technology, developing techniques for Drop On Demand ink printing and rapid prototyping, and also for his outstanding services on behalf of the advancement of the university”.

• Press release on Joachim Heinzl’s award (in German)

Professor of Proteomics (TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan)

Prof. Dr. Angelika Görg received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2001 “in honour of her groundbreaking research in the field of analytical 2D-electrophoresis, which paved the way for the innovative research field of proteomics and biotechnology in the medical, pharmaceutical, nutritional and agricultural sciences”.

• Press release on Angelika Görg's award (in German)

Professor Emeritus of Thermodynamics (Department of Mechanical Engineering)

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Franz Mayinger received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 1999 “in honour of his internationally renowned pioneering work on optical measuring techniques in multiphase flow and for heat transfer and mass transfer, and also in honour of his outstanding interdisciplinary achievements which significantly enhanced the university’s prestige”.

Special Consultant at the Klinik und Poliklinik für Mund-Kiefer-Gesichtschirurgie (TUM University Hospital Klinikum rechts der Isar)

Prof. Dr. Hans-Florian Zeilhofer received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 1998 “in honour of his achievements in facilitating interdisciplinary cooperation between the specialist fields of medicine, mathematics, computer science and materials research”.

Professor Emeritus of Mathematics und Computer Science

Prof. Dr. Friedrich L. Bauer (1924-2015) received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 1997 “for his pioneering achievements in computer science research, notably in the development of algorithmic concepts and formally founded system design processes, and in recognition of his lifelong endeavours on behalf of the promotion and development of computer science in Germany”.

Professor Emeritus of Landscape Ecology

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Haber received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 1997 “in honour of his world-renowned achievements in the field of nature-conservation orientated regional development planning, and also in honour of his highly acclaimed theory of differentiated land use”.