The physicist receives 200,000 euros. Honoring researchers in the early stages of their careers
The winners each receive prize money of 200,000 euros, which they can use for up to three years for their further research work. In addition, there is a 22 percent program allowance for indirect project expenses. A total of 180 researchers from all disciplines were nominated.
There are still some unsolved mysteries in particle physics: Why do neutrinos have such a tiny mass? Why is there so much more matter than antimatter in the universe? Junior professor Dr. Lena Funcke from the University of Bonn is on the trail of these and other unanswered questions. In her multifaceted research at the interface of theoretical physics, computer science and mathematics, she is working on new computer-aided calculation methods to investigate quantum field theories. Among other things, the physicist is developing algorithms for quantum computers and for "classical" computers based on machine learning, as well as new models beyond the standard model of particle physics. The aim is to gain predictions for future experiments that will provide important insights into the elementary processes of nature. Funcke’s research to date has already broken new ground in this area - among other things, she has developed a model to explain the tiny mass of neutrinos.
I warmly congratulate Lena Funcke on this outstanding award. Her groundbreaking research at the interface of theoretical physics, mathematics and computer science is of great importance for the development of new models beyond the standard model of particle physics and contributes to a new understanding of the fundamental processes of the universe," says h. c. Michael Hoch, Rector of the University of Bonn. "It is great that the research work of this outstanding scientist is now being honored with the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize."
Your way to the University of Bonn
After studying physics at the University of Münster and the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom), Lena Funcke completed her doctorate at the age of 23 at the Max Planck Institute for Physics and the LMU Munich. This was followed by four years as a postdoctoral researcher, first at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo (Canada) and then at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge (USA), where Funcke published numerous papers in scientific journals. Since fall 2022, Lena Funcke has been a Clausius Junior Professor in the Transdisciplinary Research Area (TRA) "Matter" at the University of Bonn. In the TRAs, researchers work together across disciplines and faculties on key scientific, technological and social topics of the future. Lena Funcke is also a member of the Cluster of Excellence "Matter and Light for Quantum Computing" (ML4Q). She is also involved in the "Color meets Flavor" Cluster of Excellence initiative of the Universities of Bonn, TU Dortmund and Siegen, which aims to get to the bottom of new phenomena in strong and weak interactions and is currently applying for funding in the Excellence Strategy.
