Research award of the faculty
The Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences awards annual awards for the best Bachelor's and Master's theses and the best doctoral dissertations.
The Department of Natural and Environmental Sciences honors up to six theses each year:
two outstanding Bachelor's theses in the field of subject-specific sciences and subject-specific didactics
two outstanding Master's theses in the field of subject-specific sciences and subject-specific didactics
two outstanding dissertations in the field of subject-specific sciences and subject-specific didactics.
The prizes recognize the academic achievements of the candidates and are awarded annually as part of the department festival.
The prize winners are given the opportunity to present their research results to the department (the prize-winning dissertations in a short presentation, the prize-winning diploma theses in the form of a short presentation on the graphic abstract, see below).
The graphic abstracts of the diploma theses and dissertations will then be made available in a digital Hall of Fame of the Department of Natural and Environmental Sciences at the request of the award winners. These are non-material prizes that are not associated with prize money.
Prerequisites
Work completed at the Department of Natural and Environmental Sciences between April 1 of the previous year and March 31 of the respective calendar year can be considered for the current prize.
The prizewinners are selected at one of the meetings of the Commission for Research and Promotion of Young Researchers in the summer semester.
Only dissertations that have been assessed as “very good” and also contain special achievements are eligible for the prize.
Nomination
For all categories, the Department's Committee for Research and Promotion of Young Researchers accepts nominations from the supervisors of the respective theses at any time.
Nominations are made using this form.
The supervisors write a statement for the nomination. Please use the form for this purpose.
The nominees write an approx. 1-page summary and a graphic summary (approx. 1/3 to 1/2 page). Please also use the form for this.
When nominating for the prizes, it must be stated for all work whether it is a scientific or didactic work in the subjects represented in the Department of Natural and Environmental Sciences. The classification depends on the focus of the work.
The main criteria for awarding prizes for the best Bachelor's or Master's theses are the scientific quality and connectivity of the work for further research as well as the generally understandable presentation of the topic and the results in the nomination documents.
In addition to the above criteria, the main criteria for awarding the prize for the best dissertation are the originality of the topic or research design, relevance of the research question, gain in knowledge and implementation in practice as well as the general comprehensibility of the presentation in the nomination documents.
The completed form must be submitted by the supervisor of the thesis (email to nuw-dekanat(at)rptu.de, subject Research Award)
Previous award winners
Best Master's thesis in the scientifics disciplines category:
Michael Urs Lars Kastor: "Mathematische Modellbildung für ein Verkehrsflussmanagement". (Evaluation: Prof. Dr Engelbert Niehaus / Prof. Dr. Anna Hundertmark) --> Grafical Abstract
Best doctoral dissertation:
Dr. Narjes Tayyebi: "Investigation of Interactions of TiO2 Nanoparticles with Dissolved Components of Surface Waters under Natural Conditions“. (Evaluation: Prof. Dr. Gabriele E. Schaumann, / Dr. Allan Philippe)
Best Bachelor's thesis in the didactics category:
Lena Bolz: "Vergleich zweier Lernumgebungen zur Förderung des funktionalen Denkens mit dem Fokus Argumentieren über Kovariation bei leistungsschwachen Lernenden". (Supervision: Dr. Susanne Digel / Henrik Ossadnik)
Best Master's thesis in the didactics category:
Johannes Kempf: "Die Fähigkeit zur mentalen Hemmung fehlerhafter Vorstellungen zur Klima- und Vegetationsgeographie – Entwicklung und Einsatz eines digitalen Messinstruments". (Supervision: Prof. Dr. Dirk Felzmann / Dr. Isabelle Koller)
Best doctoral dissertation in the environmental field:
Dr. Zacharias Steinmetz: "Agricultural plastic covers – source of plastic debris in soil?". (Evaluation: Prof. Dr. Gabriele E. Schaumann (Environmental- and soil chemistry), Prof. Dr. Geert Cornelis (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences), Prof. Dr. Denise M. Mitrano (ETH Zurich))
Best Bachelor's thesis in the didactics category:
Celine Hell: "Geogames für den geografischen Sachunterricht - eine kriteriengestützte Analyse". (Supervision: Dr. Isabelle Kollar / Prof. Dr. Dirk Felzmann)
Best Bachelor's thesis in the scientifics disciplines category:
Tristan Probst: "Numerische Simulation des Blutflusses in der Karotisarterie mit Comsol Multiphysics". (Supervision: Prof. Dr. Anna Hundertmark / Kevin Richter)
Best Master's thesis in the scientifics disciplines category:
Sven Korz: "Polyphenols control the Nitrogen Dynamics in Fallopia Japonica during Copper Contamination: the Role of Emodin and Resveratrol". (Supervision: Dr. Katherine Munoz / Dr. Melanie Brunn)
Best Master's thesis in the didactics category:
Katrin Vollmar: "Förderung des räumlichen Vorstellungsvermögens mit Hilfe einer Lernumgebung mit Blue-Bots – Eine empirische Untersuchung mit Schülerinnen und Schülern der zweiten Jahrgangsstufe". (Supervision: Prof. Dr. Björn Risch)
Best Master's thesis in the scientifics disciplines category:
Eric Bollinger: "Do antibiotics contribute to greenhouse gas emissions? A case study with benthic bacterial communities and potential changes in their methane and carbon dioxide production". (Supervision: Prof. Dr. Mirco Bundschuh)
Best doctoral dissertation in the education category:
Dr. Alexander Engl: "CHEMIE PUR – Unterrichten in der Natur". (Supervision: Prof. Dr. Björn Risch)
Best doctoral dissertation in the environment category:
Dr. Verena Schreiner: "Occurrence, monitoring and effects of pesticide mixtures in agricultural streams". (Supervision: Prof. Dr. Ralf Schäfer)
Best thesis in the didactics category:
Svenja Hundemer: "Untersuchungen zur Zustandsdichte im k-Raum in ein bis fünf Dimensionen". (Supervision: tba)
Best thesis in the scientifics disciplines category:
Adrian Jie Yeen Foong: "Trends in consumption-based emissions in agricultural food systems". (Supervision: tba)
Best doctoral disssertation in the education field:
Dr. Anna Noll: "Lesebarrieren in einem inklusiven Mathematikunterricht überwinden – Ergebnisse einer qualitativen und einer quantitativen Studie". (Supervision: tba)
Best thesis in the scientifics disciplines category:
Julius Albert: "Combined strategy to remediate a lindane polluted soil with the white rot fungus Pleurotus ostreatus and biochar“. (Supervision: Prof. Dr. Schaumann/Prof. Dr. Roland Kubiak - RLP Agroscience)
Best doctoral disssertation in the education field:
Dr. Michaela Lichti: "Funktionales Denken fördern – Experimentieren mit gegenständlichen Materialien oder Computer-Simulationen“. (Supervision: Prof. Dr. Jürgen Roth / Prof. Dr. Bärbel Barzel - Universität Duisburg-Essen)
Best thesis in the didactics category:
Sascha Neff : "Gewässeranalytik für die Sekundarstufe II am Schülerlabor Freilandmobil“. (Supervision: Prof. Dr. Bjrön Risch)
Best thesis in the scientifics disciplines category:
Miriam Schaefer: "Effect of Mulching Systems on Soil Microbial Community Structure, via PLFA Analysis“. (Supervision: tba)
Best doctoral disssertation in the education field:
Dr. Tobias Rolfes: "Der Einfluss von statischen und dynamischen Repräsentationen auf das funktionale Denken“. (Supervision: tba)