The STRUCTURES Fellows programme is one of the cornerstones of the STRUCTURES Cluster of Excellence. It empowers STRUCTURES researchers through the provision of resources, time, and academic freedom. By relieving fellows of routine academic duties at the university for one year, the programme enables them to devote most of their time to research on their STRUCTURES topics, and to interact with other cluster members, in particular with the early-career researchers. In addition, office space and an individual budget is made available to support the fellows in their research, and/or to employ a teaching replacement.
Goals
The programme aims to:
- Free up time to allow STRUCTURES fellows to focus on their cluster projects and their subsequent contribution to the research-oriented teaching programme of the cluster.
- Facilitate interaction with other STRUCTURES members, fostering collaboration and idea exchange.
- Provide space and additional funding for their activities, and/or for employing teaching replacements.
Duties
Fellows are expected to:
- Dedicate a year to research directly aligned with STRUCTURES themes
- Teach specialized courses that translate their expertise into graduate education, enriching the training of early-career researchers.
Organization
Fellowships are awarded through an annual call, with recipients selected by the STRUCTURES general assembly. Every member can apply to the directorate of STRUCTURES College for becoming a fellow. The directorate reviews the applications, based on the research plans submitted, and preselects those to be funded, which are then to be confirmed by the general assembly.
Highlights of Previous Fellowships
Fred Hamprecht
Achieved remarkable success in research on Orbital-Free Density Functional Theory (OF-DFT), realigning his group's focus and yielding significant scientific advances. His Exploratory Project (EP) on OF-DFT has developed into a broader new research direction of STRUCTURES, planned as a new Comprehensive Project (CP) titled CP µ (Molecules: Conformational and electronic structure). His specialized lectures on Geometric Machine Learning in Quantum Chemistry bridged disciplines, and he praised the fellowship as a highlight of STRUCTURES.
Tilman Enss
Utilized the fellowship for advancing research on transport theory, which is often used to describe out-of-equilibrium dynamics of quantum systems – a topic that is at the heart of Comprehensive Project CP 4 (Quantum Structure and Dynamics). Furthermore, he used his fellowship to host guest collaborations, enhancing the Cluster's international visibility. His fellowship led to the development of a new master's seminar on Transport Theory and described the fellowship as a valuable opportunity for individual academic growth.
Impact
The STRUCTURES Fellows programme has been fundamental in spearheading state-of-the-art research, cross-disciplinary exchange, and teaching innovation. Giving the freedom and resources to pursue dedicated inquiry, the fellows are at the center of the contribution to STRUCTURES' mission to understand structure, collective phenomena, and complexity. The fellowship has not only led to new collaborations between research groups and to remarkable advances in STRUCTURES Comprehensive and Exploratory Projects, but also to the development of various new specialized lectures and seminars. These cover topics ranging from lattice theory to cosmic structure formation.
Wish to become a STRUCTURES fellow? We are looking forward to receiving your application!
