Jülich Excellence Prize overview

Since 2009, Forschungszentrum Jülich is annually awarding the Jülich Excellence Prize – endowed with € 5.000 (before tax) – to internationally successful young scientists whose ideas have provided decisive stimulus in their area of research and who belong to the top 5% of their peers in their field.

The distinction is based on an outstanding doctoral thesis, the main parts of which were written at Forschungszentrum Jülich, combined with excellent achievements during the subsequent up to two years of the postdoctoral phase. Based on external expert opinions, a high-ranking jury – comprising four internal and four external professors – decides on the nominees’ worthiness for the prize in international comparison. The Jülich Excellence Prize can be awarded to a maximum of five early career scientists. However, it will be only awarded if a nominee’s scientific achievements are beyond doubt and it will be only awarded to the maximum number of researchers if five nominees meet the high standards.

More information on previous Jülich Excellence Prize winners you can find here:

The Jülich Excellence Prize winner 2024

Dr. Rebekka Tesch has a firm eye on the progress of the energy transition: as part of her doctoral thesis, she has further developed computing methods that contribute to making materials for batteries and fuel cells more efficient and durable. From 2020 to 2023, Dr. Tesch was a doctoral researcher at Jülich’s former IEK-13 institute division (now “Theory and Computation of Energy Materials” (IET-3)). At the beginning of 2024, she successfully defended her doctoral thesis at RWTH Aachen University’s Faculty of Georesources and Materials Engineering.

“The Excellence Prize is a great recognition for my research and the research of my group,” says the 29-year-old. “I also had two children during my doctoral degree and I am pleased to demonstrate that, with the right support, it is still possible to conduct excellent research.”
The researcher was supported in her interdisciplinary project by an international team and the computing power of the Jülich supercomputer JURECA.

“With her outstanding research, Dr. Rebekka Tesch has made an important contribution to the development of high-performance and cost-effective energy storage systems and energy conversion devices. Her research demonstrates how innovative and interdisciplinary research approaches are driving the energy transition forward. We are proud to have supported such a talented young scientist and look forward to following her future career development.”
Astrid Lambrecht, Chair of the Board of Directors of Forschungszentrum Jülich

Video on the 2024 Excellence Prize winner: Dr. Rebekka Tesch

Simulations for the energy transition: refined methods

Batteries and accumulators require certain materials as catalysts to set electrochemical reactions in motion that make the storage and conversion of energy possible. With the help of computational chemistry, a better understanding of fundamental electrochemical processes can be achieved by using a supercomputer to simulate the behaviour of certain materials.

However, there is still considerable room for improvement in the methods used. Dr. Tesch refined existing quantum mechanical methods and used them to simulate the behaviour of materials on an atomic level, thus enabling an improved and more precise description of electrochemical processes. In the future, new materials for components could be identified more effectively, making energy conversion and storage more durable, efficient, and cost-effective.

More information on Dr. Rebekka Tesch you can find on the Forschungszentrum Jülich website.