Awarding of the Ernst Patzer Prizes 2024

In 2024, three scientists were again awarded the Ernst Patzer Prize for the support of young scientists. The award ceremony took place on November 29 during the traditional ceremonial colloquium at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) in Heidelberg. The awardees are Maximilian Häberle (MPIA), Jose Eduardo Mendez-Delgado (ARI/ZAH) and Brooke Polak (ITA/ZAH).

The Ernst Patzer Foundation awards its prizes annually to young scientists at the MPIA and other institutes in Heidelberg. The aim is to support research, especially in the field of astronomy.  The prizes are awarded to the best publications by scientists that were produced during their doctoral or first postdoc phase and that were also published in a renowned peer-reviewed journal. The Ernst Patzer Prize was endowed by the philosopher and art lover Ernst Patzer and established by his widow. The award is decided by a selection committee consisting of two members of the MPIA and one external member from Heidelberg institutes.

This year's award winners are:

• Maximilian Häberle of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) for his publication „Fast-moving stars around an intermediate- mass black hole in Omega Centauri“, 2024, Nature, 631, 285;
• Jose Eduardo Mendez-Delgado of the Astronomisches Recheninstitut (ARI) of the Center for Astronomy/Heidelberg University (ZAH) for his publication „Gas-phase Fe/O and Fe/N abundances in Star-Forming Regions: Relations between nucleosynthesis, metallicity and dust“, 2024, Astronomy & Astrophysics, in press
• Brooke Polak of the Institut für theoretische Astrophysik (ITA) of the Center for Astronomy/Heidelberg University (ZAH) for her publication „Massive star cluster formation II. Runaway stars as fossils of subcluster mergers“, 2024, Astronomy & Astrophysics 690, A207

 

KJ