2026 Alumni Awards Ceremony of the Department of Chemistry and Biology
On June 29, 2026, the Department of Chemistry and Biology at the University of Siegen honored the top bachelor’s and master’s degree recipients in its chemistry programs. Department spokesperson Prof. Dr. Manuela Killian presented the certificates and praised the outstanding achievements of the award recipients. The Alumni Award is endowed with 250.00 EUR.
For the second time, the Karl-Heinz Drexhage Prize, worth 500.00 EUR, was awarded for the best master’s thesis. The Drexhage family makes this prize possible through their willingness to provide funds and donations for it.
The following individuals were honored with a certificate and prize money:
- Victoria Büdenbender, B.Sc. in Chemistry, Class of 2026
Bachelor’s thesis topic: “Influence of Additives on the Solubility of Calcium Sulfate Hemihydrate,” advisor: Prof. Dr. Manuela Killian - David Laubach, M.Sc. in Chemistry, “Karl-Heinz Drexhage Prize” 2026
Master’s thesis topic: “Investigation of Self-Sorting Toward Lower-Symmetry Spin-Crossover Metal-Organic Cages,” Advisor: Jun.-Prof. Dr. Anna McConnell - Paola Carolina Zamudio Franco, M.Sc. in Chemistry 2026 (international)
Master’s thesis topic: “Hydrogels in TINTs as Mechanically Stable Antifouling Surfaces,”
Advisor: Prof. Dr. Manuela Killian - Annika Kölsch, M.Ed. in Chemistry 2026 (Teacher Education)
Master’s thesis topic: “Investigation of photoswitchable DNA ligands,”
Advisor: Prof. Dr. Heiko Ihmels
The award ceremony took place as part of a scientific colloquium organized by the local chapter of the German Chemical Society (GDCh). Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Zeier from the University of Münster was invited as a guest speaker. He gave a presentation on the topic “Toward solid-state batteries: understanding material transport and transport limitations.”
Alumni Award
The Department of Chemistry and Biology awards the Alumni Prize to outstanding graduates of the chemistry programs. In an anonymous selection process, the department’s professors selected the top candidates based on their final grades and the duration of their studies. The prize money amounts to 250.00 EUR.
The Alumni Award traces its origins to the Alumni Chemie Siegen (ACS) e.V. association, which honored particularly talented chemists for many years. Since the association was dissolved, the department has continued this tradition. The department is deeply grateful to all of the association’s board members and members.
Karl-Heinz Drexhage Award
The Karl-Heinz Drexhage Prize has been awarded since 2025 for the best master’s thesis. The prize is endowed with 500.00 EUR and is funded by the Drexhage family. Prof. Drexhage was an expert in the field of dyes and made numerous groundbreaking contributions to science. From 1978 to 1999, he was a full professor of physical chemistry. Even after his retirement in [year], he continued his successful work as a researcher and academic instructor with unwavering enthusiasm. Together with his team at ATTO-TEC GmbH, he remained involved even after his retirement in the development of improved fluorophores, which paved the way for the STED microscopy technique—a method that was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. His dyes make living cells glow—both now and in the future. He passed away in March 2022 at the age of 88.