Jochen Mannhart Awarded the 2008 Gottfried-Wilhelm Leibniz Prize

December 21, 2007 (H17).  Professor Jochen Mannhart of the University of Augsburg, Germany, was awarded this week the highly coveted Gottfried-Wilhelm Leibniz Prize of the German DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, a loose equivalent of National Science Foundation in the US).   This award is for his many important contributions to physics of functional interfaces in oxides, and especially oxide superconductors.  The award will be presented to the laureate on February 11, 2008, at the Brandenburg’s Academy of Sciences in Berlin, Germany.

Jochen Mannhart obtained his PhD and DSc (habilitation) at the University of Tübingen, Germany.  He was a postdoc at IBM T. J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights and later a researcher at the IBM Research Laboratory in Zurich, Switzerland.  Since 1994 he occupies the Chair of Experimental Physics at the Center for Electronic Correlations and Magnetism of the Augsburg University.  Among his many achievements we cite here only one: the investigation of Ca-doping effect on grain boundaries and critical current density enhancement in 123 cuprates.  His work has been important for fundamental understanding of electronic correlations in solid state physics, and also for R&D towards electronic, optoelectronic and spintronic applications in the technologies of the future.

The Leibniz prize is the highest in amount (up to 2.5 millions EURO) awarded in Germany.  Up to 10 such awards can be made every year.  The purpose is to improve working conditions of exceptionally talented researchers, expand their research possibilities, e.g., by permitting them to hire especially qualified young research personnel (postdocs), and to reduce their administrative load.

The “News Forum” warmly congratulates the laureate.  Well done, Jochen!