TUD Award for Excellent Science Communication
TU Dresden researchers are making a valuable contribution to solving global challenges with their excellent research. And thanks to science communication, their findings are made understandable and accessible to politicians, economists and the general public.
The TUD Award for Excellent Science Communication aims to recognize and honor this commitment. The objective is to make best practice examples of science communication at TUD more visible, to promote existing initiatives, and to encourage TUD researchers to actively communicate their research results to the public. The award is funded as part of TUD's Excellence Strategy.
TUD Award for excellent Science Communication 2026
A jury of renowned external experts in science communication reviewed the 21 submissions for the TUD Award for Excellent Science Communication on July 17, 2026.
The jury has nominated six projects for this year’s award:
- Katharina Porepp (Research Assistant & Ph.D. Candidate, Chair of Technical Design) with the interactive exhibit “Double Harvest”,
- Sandra Schulz (Research Group Leader at the Center for Open Digital Innovation and Participation (CODIP)) with the participatory exhibition “‘Unsichtbare Held:innen – zwischen Alltag und Pflege“ – Junge Erwachsene mit Pflegeverantwortung erzählen ihre Geschichte'",
- Christin Baumgärtel (Research Assistant, Chair of General Microbiology) with the interactive exhibition in a converted shipping container titled “Bakteriopolis - The Hidden World of Microbes“,
- Melanie Humann (Professor of Urbanism and Design) with the dialogue project „Erzgebirge Atlas - Wissenschaft auf der Walz“,
- Thomas Henle (Professor of Food Chemistry) with the podcast “Food Facts - the TU Dresden Food Chemistry Podcast",
- Matthias Vojta (Professor of Theoretical Solid-State Physics & Spokesperson for the ctd.qmat Cluster of Excellence) and Katja Lesser (Press Spokesperson & Head of Communications of ctd.qmat) with the Escaperoom „Kitty Q“.
The 2026 jury included (from left to right in the photo below): Sonja Kastilan (Head of the Department of Science Communication at the Leopoldina National Academy of Sciences), Sebastian Grote (Head of Communications at the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers), Robert Denk (Head of Department 3 for Higher Education at the Saxon State Ministry of Science, Culture, and Tourism, on behalf of Heike Grassmann, State Secretary), Simon Meier-Vieracker (Professor of Applied Linguistics and winner of the 2025 TUD Award for Excellent Science Communication), Marc Hasse (Editor in the Knowledge Department at SPIEGEL), Tim Gabel (Editor at Research.Table and Space.Table).
The recipients of this year’s TUD Award for Excellent Science Communication will be announced at the awards ceremony on September 1, 2026, as part of TUD's Science Communication Day.
Review: TUD Award for Excellent Science Communication 2025
In 2025, the main award for excellent science communication and the second prize for PhD students and postdocs were awarded for the first time as part of the first Science Communication Day at TUD.
Prof. Simon Meier-Vieracker, Chair of Applied Linguistics, received the main prize of 5,000 euros for his exemplary and very innovative communication of linguistic findings and phenomena on the TikTok platform to young people in particular.
Dr. Hannah Muti, a doctor in advanced training in visceral surgery at Dresden University Hospital, and Dr. Chiara Löffler, a clinical scientist at the Else Kröner Fresenius Center (EKFZ) for Digital Health at TUD, received the second prize for PhD students and postdocs endowed with EUR 2,500. The two doctors received the award for their podcast "AbendVisite".
If you have any questions about the TUD Award for Excellent Science Communication, please contact the Directorate Communication and Marketing by e-mail at .
Funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) and the Free State of Saxony as part of the Excellence Strategy of the Federal and State Government