Awarded
Helmholtz awards Doctoral Prize
At Helmholtz, nearly 9,000 doctoral candidates conduct research. Eleven of them have now been honored. Each year, Helmholtz awards the best and most original doctoral theses with the Doctoral Prize.
Two Helmholtz Doctoral Awards go to researchers in Jülich
8 July 2025
This year’s Helmholtz Doctoral Awards were presented on 7 July at the Helmholtz Association’s headquarters in Berlin. Among the eleven winners were two early-career researchers with links to Forschungszentrum Jülich: Monica Keszler, a former doctoral researcher at the Institute of Energy Materials and Devices – Materials Synthesis and Processing (IMD-2), and Dr.-Ing. Laura Helleckes, who completed her doctorate at the Institute of Bio- and Geosciences – Biotechnology (IBG-1).
In her thesis, Monica Keszler explored how complex industrial waste can be directly recycled using field assisted sintering technology/spark plasma sintering (FAST/SPS). Her work focused on two challenging materials: steel grinding swarf and hot-deformed Nd-Fe-B magnets. These are usually considered difficult to recycle due to contamination or sensitive microstructures. Keszler collaborated with partners at RWTH Aachen University to remove oil from the steel swarf, leaving behind a steel-ceramic mix previously considered unusable for conventional direct recycling. By applying FAST/SPS, she was able to consolidate the material into new cutting tools. These tools – made entirely from recycled grinding sludge – were successfully tested at a mock tunnel boring facility at Ruhr University Bochum, where they proved effective on sandstone. She also demonstrated that FAST/SPS can be used to consolidate crushed hot-deformed Nd-Fe-B magnets into new permanent magnets while preserving their specialised microstructure. These newly produced magnets are now undergoing testing in a water pump motor at WILO SE. Her work contributes to a more resource-efficient circular economy in the energy sector.
Dr. Laura Helleckes developed a novel approach to speeding up the development of biotechnological processes. By combining automated high-throughput experimentation with Bayesian statistics and machine learning, she was able to drastically reduce the time and effort required for bioprocess optimisation. The predictive models she developed allow process conditions to be identified more efficiently and precisely, leading to faster and more sustainable innovation. Her research showcases the potential of artificial intelligence and machine learning in life sciences and environmental sciences – especially in the context of the bioeconomy.
About the Helmholtz Doctoral Award
At Helmholtz, nearly 9,000 doctoral candidates conduct research. The Helmholtz Association presents the Doctoral Award each year to honour the most original and outstanding doctoral theses across its six research fields. The award includes a €5,000 cash prize and the opportunity to undertake a funded research stay at a Helmholtz Centre of the recipient’s choice – a valuable step forward in an academic career.
Further Information
Contact Person
Media Contact
Last Modified: 08.07.2025