During this special session the highest honours of the DPG - the Max-Planck-Medal and the Stern-Gerlach-Medal - as well the Dissertation Prize of the Matter and Cosmos Section will be awarded.

Programme

Music

Welcome

by Prof. Dr. Stefan Funk
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Local Organiser

by Prof. Dr. Joachim Hornegger
President of Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

by Dr. Florian Janik
Mayor of the city of Erlangen

Speech

by Prof. Dr. Klaus Richter
President of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft e.V.

Music

Awarding of the

Max-Planck-Medal 2026
to Prof. Dr. Kurt Kremer, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany

Stern-Gerlach-Medal 2026
to Prof. Dr. Andrea Cavalleri, Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Hamburg, Germany / University of Oxford, Great Britain

Dissertation Prize of the Matter and Cosmos Section 2026
The laureate will be announced at the award ceremony.

Ceremonial Talk

by Prof. Dr. Karl Jakobs, University of Freiburg, Germany
"The Higgs boson — Deciphering its nature at present and future colliders"

Music

Prize Talk

by Prof. Dr. Matthias Bartelmann, Heidelberg University, Germany
"Between fascination and abstraction. Is it possible to teach modern physics at high-schools?"

 

The Ceremonial Session will be in English.

This session is open to all conference participants and the interested public. Admission is free and registration for the conference is not necessary.