Research Award of Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for Prof. Filippo Fraternali

Prof. Filippo Fraternali of the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute has been awarded the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Germany). This prestigious Research Award is awarded to scientists and scholars from abroad, internationally renowned in their field, who completed their doctorates less than 18 years ago and who in future are expected to continue producing cutting-edge achievements which will have a seminal influence on their discipline beyond their immediate field of work.

The Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award is presented to Prof. Fraternali because of his impressive research portfolio in the field of galaxy dynamics and evolution. Fraternali has provided crucial contributions to the understanding of how galaxies grow through the acquisition of gas from their environment. He has also helped to identify and characterize the physical processes that shape the evolution of galaxy scaling relations and govern stellar feedback in star- forming galaxies. His expertise in galaxy formation and evolution is recognized worldwide as testified by the high number of invitations to international conferences and a large network of collaborations.

Award winners are honoured for their outstanding research record and invited to conduct a research project of their own choice in Germany in close collaboration with fellow experts at a research institution in Germany. Prof. Filippo Fraternali will cooperate with the University of Heidelberg.

About the Humboldt Foundation

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation promotes academic cooperation between excellent scientists and scholars from abroad and from Germany, and is primarily funded by the German Federal Government. The Humboldt Foundation’s alumni network currently comprises more than 29,000 scientists and scholars from all disciplines in over 140 countries. The Humboldt Foundation grants about 20 Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Awards annually in all scientific fields.