[AWARD] Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award (Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung)

31.12.2023

Deadline ongoing

 

for internationally recognised researchers of all countries (excluding Germany); €45,000 award money (research stay of up to 12 months in Germany possible)

 

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation presents approximately 20 Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Awards annually to internationally renowned academics from abroad in recognition of their outstanding accomplishments in research. The award is named for German astronomer and mathematician Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel (1784–1846) and funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Nominations for a Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award may be initiated by established researchers at research institutions in Germany. Humboldt Foundation award winners working abroad are also eligible to submit nominations jointly with a researcher working in Germany.

Eligible for nomination are researchers whose outstanding academic qualification is internationally recognised and can be demonstrated through corresponding successes in research. Nominees must moreover offer a well-founded expectation of future outstanding academic achievements that will have a lasting impact on their discipline beyond their immediate research area. The individual nominated must additionally meet the following criteria:

     

  • The nominated individual must have gained her/his doctorate no more than 18 years ago. An exception to this rule may be made where justified
    (e.g. in the case of career breaks to raise children).
  • The nominee may not previously have received an award from the Humboldt Foundation for her/his academic work.
  • The nominee must have lived and worked outside Germany for over five years at the time of nomination.
  • The nominee must not yet have entered permanent employment in Germany at the time of selection.

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation grants about 20 Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research
Awards annually, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, to internationally
renowned academics from abroad in recognition of their outstanding accomplishments in
research to date and their exceptional promise for the future.
Academics can be nominated for the award if their accomplishments in research
to date have earned them recognition as internationally outstanding specialist
researchers, and if they are expected to continue producing cutting-edge
academic achievements and have a lasting impact beyond their area of
specialisation.
Academics from abroad, regardless of their discipline or nationality, may be nominated for a
Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award, provided that they have received their doctoral
degree within the past 18 years. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation particularly
encourages the nomination of qualified female academics.
In addition, award winners are invited to conduct a research project of their own choosing in
Germany in close collaboration with a specialist colleague. The project duration of six to twelve
months may be divided into segments.
The award amount totals 45,000 EUR. In Germany, research awards are generally exempt from
income tax under German tax law. In addition, further expenditures (such as travel or language
courses) are covered in the context of the invitation to stay in Germany for research purposes.