130,000 euros in prize money for the best student theses at TU Dresden

_{Author: Jenny Detzer}

On June 25, 2026, the Gisela and Erwin Sick Foundation’s awards were presented in the Rectorate Ballroom of the TUD Dresden University of Technology. For the past 13 years, the Gisela and Erwin Sick Foundation has been supporting students at TU Dresden with prestigious awards totaling 10,000 euros annually. Prof. Niels Modler, Vice-Rector Research of TU Dresden, opened the awards ceremony and emphasized the importance of excellent research and the support of young scientists for TU Dresden’s innovative strength. Wolfgang Bay, a member of the board of trustees of the Gisela and Erwin Sick Foundation, spoke about the foundation’s commitment to supporting students in the fields of technology and the natural sciences. Prof. Jürgen Czarske moderated the event, which was organized in collaboration with Dr. Eric Starke of Endress+Hauser SICK GmbH+Co. KG, Ottendorf-Okrilla.

This year, the following four early-career researchers were honored for their outstanding scientific achievements:

• Dr. Clemens Bilsing received the University Award for his dissertation “3D Localization Microscopy with Real-Time Adaptive Optical Correction for Multiphase Microfluidic Flows.”
• Dr. Simon Oster was awarded the Prize for Measurement and Sensor Technology for his dissertation “Suitability of Thermographic In-Situ Process Monitoring for Predicting Local Porosity Using Machine Learning in Powder-Bed-Based Metal Melting.”
• Maarten Mittmann also received the Prize for Measurement and Sensor Technology for his master’s thesis “Dendritic Polymer Fiber Networks in Free-Standing Films for Infrasound Sensing.”
• Bowen Yang was honored with the Young Researchers’ Award for Measurement and Sensor Systems Technology for his diploma thesis “Reference-less Digital Optical Phase Conjugation for Information Transmission through Multimode Fibers.”

Following the awards ceremony, the award recipients, their families, representatives of the foundation, and the scientists in attendance had the opportunity to continue their conversations in a relaxed atmosphere over pretzels and beer at the Bärengarten. We would like to extend our very special thanks to Dr. Eric Starke and Ms. Reimers from Endress+Hauser SICK GmbH+Co. KG in Ottendorf-Okrilla, who made this get-together possible and helped organize it.

© Sebastian Kaskens

© GES

The 2026 awards ceremony also marks the end of a significant chapter in the collaboration between the Gisela and Erwin Sick Foundation and TU Dresden. The foundation has decided to phase out its long-standing commitment to the promotion of early-career researchers at the university and to focus on other funding priorities in the future. TU Dresden extends its heartfelt thanks to the Gisela and Erwin Sick Foundation for the trusting collaboration, the generous support, and the valuable contribution to strengthening early-career researchers. Special thanks go above all to Mr. Wolfgang Bay for his many years of collaboration, as well as to Prof. Jürgen Czarske, who has shown great dedication over many years to the presentation of the Sick Prizes and the support of early-career researchers at TU Dresden. These awards have highlighted the achievements of many young researchers and will be remembered as an important catalyst for research and innovation.