Personalia
Honorary Doctorate for Dirk Ifenthaler
For his research in the field of educational technology and learning analytics the business educator Prof. Dr. Dirk Ifenthaler was honored with an honorary doctorate from the University of Eastern Finland. Ifenthaler has been working with the members of the Learning, everyday life and work in a digitalized society research community (DIGS) at the University of Eastern Finland since 2019. This research group investigates new learning opportunities and tools, as well as the challenges of digitalization in different contexts and areas of life.
David Kretschmer Receives Lorenz-von-Stein Prize
Sociologist David Kretschmer has been granted this year’s Lorenz-von-Stein Prize for his outstanding thesis titled “Gender(ed) Segregation? Gender, Gender-Related Norms, and the Interreligious and Cross-Gender Friendships of Muslim Youth in Germany.” In his work he investigates the social dynamics affecting friendships of Muslim youth in Germany. Every year, the Lorenz-von-Stein Gesellschaft awards a prize of 1,000 euros to the best dissertation of the School of Social Sciences at the University of Mannheim.
Erik Röder Advises Federal Ministry of Finance on Simplifying Corporate Tax
Together with twelve other experts, the Mannheim lawyer Prof. Dr. Erik Röder prepared a nearly 200-page report with proposals for simplifying corporate taxation and lessen the bureaucratic burden on companies for the Federal Ministry of Finance. This was handed over to former Federal Minister of Finance Christian Lindner in July 2024. The Ministry of Finance set up the expert commission in September 2023 to develop proposals for a modern and future-proof tax law.
Historian Angela Borgstedt Appointed to Advisory Board
Historian Prof. Dr. Angela Borgstedt has become a member of the advisory board of the German Resistance Memorial Center in Berlin on 1 July 2024. In her new position, the expert in the field of Nazi resistance research will be jointly responsible for providing scientific advice on conceptual issues and the memorial’s program design. Her mandate runs for three years.
DGPs Honors four Mannheim Psychologists
Every two years, the German Psychological Society (DGPs) presents various awards to researchers who have made outstanding contributions to the field of psychology. In 2024, four researchers from the University of Mannheim were honored: The Martin-Irle Prize was awarded to Prof. Dr. Michaela Wänke for her great commitment to promoting young scientists in the field of psychology. Prof. Dr. Edgar Erdfelder received the Wilhelm-Wundt Medal for his outstanding services to experimental psychology. The Heinz-Heckhausen Prize was awarded to Dr. Jana Berkessel for her dissertation “Personal Determinants of Well-Being Across Sociocultural Contexts” and former Mannheim researcher Dr. Moritz Ingendahl for his dissertation “Robust and Replicable, but also Inexplicable? Articulation Dynamics and their Effects on (Evaluative) Judgments.”
Sabine Sonnentag Is Among the Most Cited Scientists Worldwide
According to the current list of “Highly Cited Researchers”, published yearly by Clarivate, Prof. Dr. Sabine Sonnentag, holder of the Chair for Work and Organizational Psychology, belongs to the top 1 percent of the most cited researchers worldwide. Sonnentag is listed in the “Cross-Field” category, which recognizes researchers whose work is of great interdisciplinary relevance.
Mourning the Loss of Roland Vaubel
The University of Mannheim and the Department of Economics mourn the loss of Prof. Dr. Roland Vaubel. He passed away on 14 September 2024 at the age of 76. After studying law and holding various positions at renowned universities, he was a professor of economics at the University of Mannheim from 1984 until his retirement in 2016. In the academic year 1986/
Mourning the Loss of Youzhe Heng
The University of Mannheim, the School of Business Informatics and Mathematics and the Chair of Practical Computer Science IV mourn the loss of Youzhe Heng. He passed away on 13 September 2024 at the age of only 28. Heng initially studied Information and Computer Science at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou (China) before moving to TU Eindhoven (Netherlands) in 2018 to take up his master's degree in Discrete Mathematics. Since December 2019, he had pursued his doctorate at the Chair of Practical Computer Science IV at the University of Mannheim. In his research, he dealt with security aspects in the processing of personal data.
Texts: Editorial Team / April 2025