Excellent pupil research: Young researcher Svenja wins the Hans Riegel prize

“Jugend forscht” was not enough for her! In spring 2020, Svenja Paulsen and her classmate Lill-Marie Phillips won the first prize in physics at the “Jugend forscht” regional competition Bremen-Mitte. Svenja Paulsen then developed the research work further as part of her school coursework. Now this coursework has also been a winner: On Friday, December 3, 2021, Svenja was awarded the Dr. Hans Riegel Specialist Prize. She takes second place in the category Physics. We cordially congratulate her on this remarkable achievement!

The Dr. Hans Riegel-Fachpreise result from a cooperation between the Dr. Hans Riegel Foundation and the University of Bremen. The prizes are awarded for outstanding coursework from the secondary level in the subjects biology, chemistry, geography, computer science, mathematics and physics. A jury of scientists selects the best works from each field. In doing so, it pays particular attention to a creative topic and a clearly recognizable practical contribution in the form of experiments. The cooperation is intended to discover and promote young talent and introduce them to university studies.

“I am very happy about this award. Working on my project and collaborating with researchers and technicians from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology and various other research institutes was enriching and exciting,” Paulsen said after the award ceremony. And she hasn't had enough yet. In a new “Jugend forscht” project entitled “The faster the more effective?” she wants to continue her research and her cooperation with our institute. The first project involved transferring a clever solution from nature to deep-sea research equipment: The scales of shark skin served as a model for making underwater gliders glide more efficiently. “In my new project, I want to investigate how the flow behavior changes at different speeds,” says Paulsen. We are already looking forward to the collaboration!