Young Scientists in NRW Academy

Philologist, Chemist and Biomedical Ethicist appointed to “Junges Kolleg” of NRW Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts

Münster (upm), Di, 22 Jan 2013

Soon after receiving two Leibniz Prizes in the Humanities and Natural Sciences, Münster University has now achieved another accomplishment: with Chemist Dr. Pol Besenius, Biomedical Ethicist Dr. Alena Buyx and Philologist Susanne Paulus, the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy for Sciences, Humanities and the Arts welcomes three outstanding young scientists to the "Junges Kolleg". This was announced by the Academy on December 17th.

"Admission to the Junges Kolleg is a prestigious award for young scientists and scholars in North Rhine-Westphalia. We are proud that three out of eleven candidates studied at Münster University," Vice-Rector for Research Prof. Stephan Ludwig emphasized. The Vice-Rector for International Affairs and Young Researchers, Prof. Cornelia Denz, adds: "The three of them are from very different departments. This shows not only that our research profile is quite diversified, but also that we produce outstanding young researchers in the humanities, natural sciences and life sciences." According to the Academy, more than 100 applications were submitted this year. On 22 January 2013, the young scientists will be officially admitted to the Junges Kolleg as part of the New Year's Concert in Düsseldorf.

Pol Besenius

Pol Besenius (31) takes nature as his example: together with his junior research group, he wants to produce organic nanomaterials according to the pattern of biological molecules. In the future, the special properties of these functional nanomaterials are to allow for new applications, including biomedical imaging or as biodegradable carriers for pharmaceuticals. To produce such "biomimetic" nanomaterials the Chemists use processes of self-assembly and self-organization. This means that very complex systems form themselves from molecular components. The researchers see a great potential in this. These compounds could not only serve as a drug carrier, but also, with a molecular switch turned "on" or "off", allow a targeted release of active agent.

Pol Besenius, born in Luxembourg, became head of an independent junior research group at the Organic Chemistry Institute of Münster University and the interdisciplinary Center for Nanotechnology (CeNTech) in May 2011. He is supported by a Liebig fellowship from the Chemical Industry Fund. Pol Besenius studied Chemistry at Vienna University of Technology (Austria) and the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow (Scotland) where he received his doctorate at the WestCHEM Graduate School in 2008. Afterwards, he moved to Eindhoven University of Technology as a postdoctorate, where he was active until 2011 as a Marie Curie Fellow at the Institute for Complex Molecular Systems. The "Thieme Chemistry Journal Award 2013" is just one of his several awards.

Alena Buyx

Alena Buyx's field of research is Biomedical Ethics. Goals of the Emmy Noether Research Group – which she directs – include contributions to the theoretical foundations of the fledgling/undeveloped subject of Biomedical Ethics. The 35-year-old also addresses ethical issues that arise from innovations in biomedical sciences, for example in the field of personalized medicine or new neuro-technology. Furthermore, she deals with the challenges of environment and energy ethics.

Since 2012, Alena Buyx has been head of the Emmy Noether Junior Research Group "Political Philosophy and Bioethics" at Münster University. She is also an honorary senior research associate at University College London and an advisor of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics (English Ethics Council). She studied Medicine, Philosophy, Sociology and Health Economics in Münster, York and London. After receiving her state examination in Medicine (2004), her Dr. med. (2005) and an MA in Philosophy (2005) she became a research assistant at the Institute of Ethics, History and Theory of Medicine at Münster University, and a visiting scholar in the Program in Ethics and Health at Harvard University in Boston (US). From 2009 to 2012 she was Vice-Director of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics in London.

Susanne Paulus

Susanne Paulus (30) explores the cuneiform scripts of Babylonia (now Iraq) in the 2nd millennium BC. One focus of her work is collecting primary sources that are scattered around the world and evaluating them under legal, social, cultural and historical aspects. By contributing to the history, the chronology and the international relations of the hitherto neglected so-called middle Babylonian period (1500-1000 BC), she is laying the foundations for further exploration of Babylonia. In the future she wants to dedicate herself especially to the editing and analysis of Sumerian literary texts from the early 2nd millennium BC.

Susanne Paulus is a research assistant at the Institute of Philology of the Ancient Orient and Ancient History of Western Asia of Münster University. After studying Philology of the Ancient Orient, Egyptology, Ancient History of Western Asia and Applied Cultural Studies, which was funded by the German National Academic Foundation, she completed her Dr. phil. in 2011 with a basic edition and study of the Babylonian Kudurru inscriptions. The work was awarded a Dissertation Award of Münster University and the International Prize of Ancient Legal History at the University of Innsbruck.

The Junges Kolleg

The Junges Kolleg of the NRW Academy was founded in 2006 to promote young researchers with financial support from the Stiftung Mercator. Up to 30 outstanding young scientists from all disciplines can be appointed for a maximum period of four years. At the time of admission, they may not be over 36 years old. In the Junges Kolleg they have the opportunity to discuss their projects in interdisciplinary working groups at the Academy and to interact with the established academic elite. The fellows receive an annual 10,000 euros research grant and travel fund.

Translated by: Martin Hölzen, Constanin Feuerborn, Frederik Strakerjahn

Contacts

• :: Recommend Page
• :: Comment on this page, Link will be opened in a new window