Personalia
Dissertation Awards for Vera Vogel and Jette Völker
Vera Vogel received first prize from the Division of Differential Psychology, Personality Psychology, and Psychological Assessment of the German Psychological Society (DGPs) for her dissertation “Person-Culture Match and Well-being.” Her research examines the factors that contribute to human happiness. Jette Völker’s dissertation “The Rhythm Is Gonna Get You: Circadian Mismatches at the Work–Nonwork Interface” was awarded third prize by the DGPs Division of Work, Organizational, and Economic Psychology. Her findings show that when individuals’ internal biological rhythms do not align with work schedules, both recovery and work–life balance suffer.
Schmölders Foundation Prize for Wladislaw Mill
Together with Yulia Evsyukova (ZEW) and Felix Rusche (formerly of the University of Mannheim), Professor Wladislaw Mill received the Schmölders Foundation Prize for the study “LinkedOut? A Field Experiment on Discrimination in Job Network Formation.” The jury recognized the project’s innovative research design and its strong societal relevance. The large-scale field experiment investigated discrimination in online career networks, finding that LinkedIn profiles belonging to Black individuals systematically receive fewer contact requests.
Irena Kogan Elected to the Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur
In 2025, Irena Kogan, Professor of Sociology and Comparative Social Research in the School of Social Sciences and former Director of the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES), was elected to the Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur in Mainz. The academy is a non-university research institution and learned society dedicated to advancing scholarship in the sciences and humanities, as well as literature, and to preserving and promoting cultural life.
Seminar Series Named after Dr. Hans-Peter Wildt
The University of Mannheim honors the entrepreneur and supporter Dr. Hans-Peter Wild: The renowned “Marketing Research Series” seminar series will be continued under the name “Dr. Wild Marketing Research Series”. By renaming the series, the University of Mannheim is honoring Dr. Hans-Peter Wild's many years of important support, which have contributed significantly to strengthening marketing research and teaching at the university.
Award for Jane Ossandon-Schönfeld
Jane Ossandon-Schönfeld of the University of Mannheim’s International Office received the Award for Outstanding Commitment in Higher Education Coordination from the Association of Friends and Scholarship Holders of the Baden-Württemberg STIPENDIUM. Presented annually since 2018, the award recognizes international office staff who demonstrate exceptional dedication to supporting scholarship recipients. Ossandon-Schönfeld has overseen the Baden-Württemberg STIPENDIUM at the University of Mannheim since July 2021. In total, she supports more than 1,000 scholarship holders across various funding programs and manages scholarship funds totaling approximately €2 million.
Sabine Sonnentag Is Among the Most Cited Researchers Once Again
Sabine Sonnentag, professor of Work and Organizational Psychology at the University of Mannheim, is one of the world’s most cited scientists according to the current list of “Highly Cited Researchers” published annually by the company Clarivate. For the second time in a row, Sonnentag is listed in the “Cross-Field” category, which honors researchers whose work has been particularly influential across various disciplines.
Humboldt Research Fellow Meridith LaVelle Researching in Mannheim
In 2023, Mannheim political scientist Professor Sabine Carey, Ph.D., received approval from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to select up to three international researchers for a fellowship and thereby expand her team. Following Elena Barham, Ph.D., the second postdoctoral researcher from the United States has now joined the chair: Meridith LaVelle, Ph.D., moved from the University of Georgia to Mannheim in October 2025 and will be part of Carey’s team until September 2027. LaVelle focuses on human rights and political violence, with particular attention to how technology is used to violate human rights.
Honorable Mention for Jack Schropp
As part of the 2025 Junior Research Awards South Tyrol/
Tabea Bucher-Koenen Appointed to Pension Commission
In December 2025, the Federal Government announced the creation of its Pension Commission. A total of 13 experts are to present a package of measures aimed at making the pension system future-proof and fair across generations by 30 June 2026. Prof. Dr. Tabea Bucher-Koenen, Professor of Financial Markets at the University of Mannheim and Head of the research unit „Pensions and Sustainable Financial Markets“ at the ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research in Mannheim, is also a member of the high-profile commission.
In Memoriam: Theodor Stemmler
The University of Mannheim and the School of Humanities mourn the passing of Professor Theodor Stemmler, who died on 26 December 2025, at the age of 89. Stemmler studied English, Romance, and Scandinavian languages at the University of Bonn and at the Sorbonne in Paris. He earned his doctorate at the University of Bonn in 1961 with a dissertation on medieval English poetry. In 1967, he received the venia legendi in English philology from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. That same year, he was appointed to the Chair of English Studies I at the University of Mannheim, which he held for 37 years until his retirement in 2005.
Texts: Editorial Team / April 2026