Kiel's Christian-Albrechts-Universität (CAU) has awarded EmpowerMINT prizes for outstanding theses by female students and graduates in mathematics, natural sciences, engineering and technical (MINT) subjects.
In this area in particular, the proportion of women is often far below 50%. The award and the prize money of €500 for a Bachelor's thesis and €750 for a Master's thesis are intended to create an incentive to continue an academic career. In addition to individual recognition, the awarding of the six prizes is intended to increase the visibility of female STEM students. Professor Catherine Cleophas, CAU Vice President for Digital Transformation, Gender Equality and Diversity, encouraged the prizewinners to pursue their careers at the university. Four of the prizes awarded for a Bachelor's and Master's thesis each from the Faculty of Engineering (TF) and the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (MNF) are funded by the Federal and State Government's Female Professors Program III, and there are also two awards donated by the MNF.
Award winner Lucie Bangert with Prof. Martina Gerken, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Kiel University.
Lucie Bangert was honored for her bachelor thesis 'Thermo-mechanic and thermo-optical dependencies of flexible photonic crystal slabs'. An interview with Ms Bangert on the topics of skills shortages and women studying electrical engineering appeared in the January issue of PLUS 2024. Further awards went to Karin Hansen for her Bachelor's thesis 'Characterization of Plasmas in Aeromaterials', Maria Hergert and her Master's thesis 'Dual-Ligand Enabled Nondirected C-H', Annika Huch for her Master's thesis 'Nyldon Words and their Variants', Jule Kuhn for her Master's thesis 'Automated High Pressure Setup for Hydrogenative PHIP Relayed via Proton Exchange' and Hannah Völkel with her Bachelor's thesis 'Diffusive behavior of various elements in olivine in crystal mushes: an experimental study to unravel pre-eruptive conditions'.
