This news release is available in German.
Three young researchers had two reasons to celebrate at this year's awards ceremony for Germany's "Jugend forscht" competition in Leverkusen. Not only did the young researchers place first in their respective fields, they were also awarded the Europa-Preis of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation).
Lennart Kleinwort from the Friedrich Koenig Gymnasium in Würzburg, who is just 14 years old, Michael Laue (17) from Walter Rathenau Gymnasium in Bitterfeld and Daniel Pflüger (18), from the Johanneum School in Lüneberg, all received this twofold distinction.
Lennart Kleinwort from Würzburg was awarded the "German President's Prize for Outstanding Work" for his project "FreeGeo", software which is used to display and modify geometric shapes on smartphones and tablets, the ubiquitous communication tools of our age. Michael Laue won the national award in the field of chemistry for a process he developed to manufacture conductive layers of carbon with the chemical conversion of graphene oxide. Daniel Pflüger won the national award in the field of physics. He used lasers and digital cameras to look at the complex development of waves which arise when a drop falls onto the surface of water.
The Europa-Preis was presented to the three "Jugend forscht" award winners in Leverkusen by DFG Vice President Professor Peter Funke. Established by the DFG in 2010, the Europa-Preis was created to highlight the importance of international experience for a successful career in research. The winners will each receive €1,000 in prize money, and the opportunity to participate in the European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS), which will be held from 20 through 25 September 2013 in Prague. In the run-up to this event, the young researchers will be tutored by special mentors, who will also accompany them to Prague. These mentors are carefully selected by the DFG from the early career researchers which it funds, with the aim of facilitating the development of lasting networks between generations of researchers.
Further Information
Information on all of the prizewinners in this year's national "Jugend forscht" competition can be found at: http://www.jugend-forscht.de
Further information on the Europa-Preis:
Marco Finetti, Head of DFG Press and Public Relations
Tel. +49 228 885-2230
Marco.Finetti@dfg.de