CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter
Cluster of ExcellenceCUI: Advanced
Imaging of Matter
Imaging of Matter
Ceremonial presentation of the Mildred Dresselhaus Prize 2025
15 July 2025
Photo: UHH, Leonie Göttling
From left: Cluster spokesperson Prof. Henry Chapman, who greeted the audience, Prof. Martin Eckstein, Dr. Zala Lenarčič, Prof. Teresa Pellegrino, and Prof. Nadja Bigall.
Photo: UHH, Leonie Göttling
Prof. Martin Eckstein's laudatory speech was accompanied by a very high level of appreciation for the junior prizewinner.
Photo: UHH, Leonie Göttling
Congratulations from Prof. Martin Eckstein to Dr. Zala Lenarčič.
Photo: UHH, Leonie Göttling
Prof. Nadja Bigall emphasized the importance of role models in her very personal laudatory speech for Prof. Teresa Pellegrino.
Photo: UHH, Leonie Göttling
Prof. Nadja Bigall (right) sees Prof. Teresa Pellegrino as her mentor.
Photo: UHH, Leonie Göttling
Dr. Zala Lenarčič (left) and Prof. Teresa Pellegrino are looking forward to fruitful discussions with the cluster's scientists.
Prof. Teresa Pellegrino and Dr. Zala Lenarčič were awarded the Mildred Dresselhaus Prize 2025 for their outstanding research work at a ceremony hosted by the Cluster of Excellence “CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter”. Both expressed their gratitude for the recognition of their achievements and emphasized how honored they felt to receive this award named after Prof. Mildred Dresselhaus. Throughout her life, the renowned physicist worked to improve opportunities for women in the natural sciences.
The Mildred Dresselhaus Guest Professorship Program includes an extended research stay at the Cluster of Excellence, "CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter," as well as a prize of €20,000 for the senior prize and €10,000 for the junior prize. The program aims to honor international female scientists for their outstanding achievements, create role models, and open new opportunities for collaboration or expand existing connections.
Prof. Nadja Bigall also emphasized this importance in her very personal laudatory speech for Prof. Teresa Pellegrino. The senior award winner is a leading scientist at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia in Genoa, Italy, where she directs the "Nanomaterials for Biomedical Applications" research group. She collaborated with Prof. Wolfgang Parak early in her career and Prof. Nadja Bigall for whom she has been a mentor. She is very interested in making her research findings on nanoparticles and biomedical applications accessible to a wider audience. For this reason, she was particularly pleased with the “Arts & Science” exhibition organized by the cluster and is looking forward to fruitful discussions with its scientists during her research stay in Hamburg.
Dr. Zala Lenarčič is a research group leader at the Jozef Stefan Institute in Ljubljana and an expert in non-equilibrium phenomena in correlated quantum systems and their technological relevance. She is well known in Slovenia through newspaper and radio interviews and eager to create low-threshold opportunities that allow the public to grasp the ideas of her research, said Prof. Martin Eckstein in his laudatory speech, which was accompanied by a very high level of appreciation for the junior prizewinner. The two have known each other since her time as a PhD candidate, and are both looking forward to collaborate more intensely. Dr. Zala Lenarčič has always wished to come to Hamburg because of its excellent research conditions and abundant opportunities. She looks forward to contributing to the field and serving as a role model for young researchers.
