Awards and Prizes

Stefan Münzer Appointed to PH Karlsruhe University Council

Eine Person trägt ein dunkelblaues Hemd sowie einen dunkelblauen Blazer und steht in einem Flur. Die Person heißt Stefan Münzer. — Prof. Dr. Stefan Münzer

The Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research, and the Arts appointed Stefan Münzer, Professor of Psychology of Education at the University of Mannheim, as a new external member of the University Council of PH Karlsruhe, effective 1 April 2022. He was proposed by an internal selection committee following authorization by the ministry’s University Senate. The PH Karlsruhe University Council has a total of nine members, five external and four internal. Their task is to support the university with strategic planning and decision-making.

Rosemarie Tracy Honored with Wilhelm von Humboldt Lifetime Achievement Award

Eine lächelnde Person trägt ein rot gemustertes Oberteil sowie eine rote Jacke und steht in einem Flur. Die Person heißt Rosemary Tracy.. — Prof. Rosemary Tracy

The German Linguistic Society (DGfS) has awarded the 2022 Wilhelm von Humboldt Lifetime Achievement Award to Professor Rosemarie Tracy for her contributions to the study of language acquisition and multilingualism. Her theoretical and applied research focuses primarily on mono- and multilingual language acquisition and language contact. As Mannheim’s first Chair of Contemporary English Linguistics, she has helped to build up and expand teaching and research on linguistics within her department. She is also cofounder and partner of the Mannheim Center for Empirical Multilingualism Research (MAZEM).

European Commission Appoints Marc Lerchenmüller to Expert Group

Eine lächelnde Person trägt ein weißes Hemd und steht vor einer weißen Wand. Die Person heißt Marc Lerchenmüller. — Prof. Marc Lerchenmüller

The European Commission has appointed Professor Marc Lerchenmüller to an international expert group on the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on gender equality. The group, which reports to Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education, and Youth, is due to publish an expert report with recommendations for the European Commission later this year. One topic of Lerchenmüller´s research is gender differences in the pandemic’s impact, given men’s and women’s different social roles. He published a widely read analysis on the topic last year in BMJ Open, along with coauthors from Harvard, Heidelberg, and Mannheim universities.

Michèle Tertilt Named One of the 100 Most Influential Women in German Business

Eine lächelnde Person trägt ein orange-farbenes Top sowie einen schwarzen Blazer und steht in einem Raum. Die Person heißt Michele Tertilt. — Prof. Michèle Tertilt, Ph. D.

Once a year, the Boston Consulting Group and Manager Magazin honor 100 women who have made an outstanding contribution to the German business world. This year, that list included Mannheim economist Professor Michèle Tertilt. Tertilt was appointed Professor of Economics at the university in 2010. Since then, she has worked on macro-economics, development economics, family economics, and finance. Her latest publication investigates the impact of Covid-19 on women’s employment in Nigeria.

VHB Textbook Award Goes to Matthias Brauer

Zwei Personen in Anzug stehen nebeneinander auf dem Ehrenhof. Eine Person hält ein Lehrbuch in der Hand, die andere Person eine Urkunde. — Prof. Dr. Matthias Brauer (left)

The German Academic Association for Business Research (VHB) awarded this year’s Textbook Award to Professor Matthias Brauer, Chair of Strategic and International Management, for his book Corporate Strategy, which he coauthored with Professor Günter Müller-Stewens. In the book, the authors use their corporate management model to identify ten value levers that management teams in diversified companies can use to generate long-term value for their whole company in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.

Martin Schlather Awarded the 2022 Ars Legendi Faculty Prize

Eine Person trägt ein flieder farbenes Hemd, eine lila gemusterte Krawatte sowie einen schwarzen Blazer und steht vor einem Fenster. Die Person heißt Martin Schlather. — Prof. Dr. Martin Schlather

This year’s Ars Legendi Faculty Prize for Mathematics was awarded to Professor Martin Schlather, Chair of Applied Stochastics at the University of Mannheim. The prize is conferred annually by a group of professional societies and honors for outstanding, innovative achievements in teaching of mathematics and the natural sciences at universities. Professor Schlather received the award for developing service learning models for mathematics education. Service learning is an approach that combines learning with community service.

Andreas Gerster Receives Best Paper Award for Junior Researchers

Eine lächelnde Person trägt ein blaues Hemd und steht vor einer grauen Wand. Die Person heißt Anreas Gerster. — Dr. Andreas Gerster

The Joachim Herz Foundation has awarded Dr. Andreas Gerster, Acting Chair of Quantitative Economics at the University of Mannheim, first place in the German Prize for Economics’ Best Paper Award for Junior Researchers category. In the winning paper, “Energy Tax Exemptions and Industrial Production,” Gerster and his co-author Dr. Stefan Lamp, postdoctoral researcher at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, investigate the effects of an energy tax exemption on manufacturing companies with high energy use.

Ralf Müller-Terpitz Reappointed to the Media Watchdog KEK

Eine lächelnde Person trägt ein flieder farbenes Hemd, eine gemusterte Krawatte sowie einen dunkelblauen Blazern und steht angelehnt an eine Wand. Die Person heißt Ralf Müller-Terpitz. — Prof. Dr. Müller-Terpitz

In April 2022, Professor Müller-Terpitz, Chair of Public Law, Law of Economic Regulation, and Media, was appointed by the Conference of Ministers-President for a fourth term as expert member of the Commission on Concentration in the Media (KEK). The KEK is a watchdog responsible for monitoring media concentration in Germany’s state broadcasters. Its mission is to ensure diversity of opinion in television programming and make sure no one point of view comes to dominate German television and media markets.

Boas Bamberger Wins Südwestmetall Prize

Zwei Personen in schicker Kleidung stehen vor einer Tafel. Eine Person hält eine Urkunde in der Hand. — Dr. Boas Bamberger (left)

In April, Dr. Boas Bamberger (30) was one of nine early-stage researchers from Baden-Württemberg to be honored with the Südwestmetall Prize, awarded by the metal industry association Südwestmetall. Bamberger received the award for the thesis he completed at the University of Mannheim: “Income Inequality and Customer Satisfaction – An Empirical Study of the Impact of Income Inequality on Customer Relations and Business Success.” The thesis investigates whether companies have a financial incentive to increase or decrease income inequality.

Volkswagen Foundation Awards Funding to Nils Schaks

Eine Person trägt ein weißes Hemd, einen dunkelblauen Blazer sowie eine rot blau gestreifte Krawatte und steht vor einem grauen Hintergrund. Die Person heißt Nils Schaks. — Prof. Dr. Nils Schaks

Nils Schaks, Junior Professor of Public Law at the University of Mannheim, was awarded a grant by the Volkswagen Foundation’s funding initiative Open Up – New Research Spaces for the Humanities and Cultural Studies. His project Law and Nature received EUR 97,000 of funding. The Open Up initiative aims to explore research spaces in the humanities and cultural studies that have not yet been tapped. Alongside Birgit Peters from Trier University, Schaks plans to research how legal studies can contribute to a greener, more sustainable world.

Remembering Dr. Harald Maurer

Zwei schick gekleidete Personen schütteln sich die Hand und stehen in einem Besprechungsraum. Die Person rechts hält eine Mappe sowie eine Münze in der Hand. — Dr. Harald Maurer (left)

The University of Mannheim and Friends of the University of Mannheim were deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. Harald Maurer on 24 March 2022 at the age of 90. Maurer completed his doctorate at Mannheim and contributed greatly to the university over the course of many years, in particular the Friends of the University of Mannheim and its predecessor group. He was named an honorary senator of the university in 1995 and awarded a gold university medal in 2007.