Clara Immerwahr Award

The Clara Immerwahr Award, launched by UniCat in 2011, is an award for promoting equity and excellence in catalysis research fostering young female scientists at an early stage of their career. The award is dedicated to Dr. Clara Immerwahr (1870-1915), who was the first woman in Germany to earn a doctorate in Physical Chemistry in 1900.

The Clara Immerwahr Award is now by UniSysCat conferred annually to a young female scientist from Germany or abroad at an early stage of her career (postdoctoral fellow, junior researcher) for outstanding results in Catalysis Research. It is associated with a financial support of 15.000 Euro for a research stay at UniSysCat and thought to establish close collaborative links with UniSysCat working groups.

We are grateful to BASF SE for sponsoring the Clara Immerwahr Award in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Congratulations to Dr. Reshma Rao for the Clara Immerwahr Award 2023!

We are pleased to congratulate this year's awardee, Dr. Reshma Rao. She receives the Clara Immerwahr Award 2023 for her outstanding achievements in catalysis research.

Since October 2022, Dr. Rao is a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow in the Department of Materials at Imperial College London.

Interested in more info on Reshma Rao's academic career?


* The money may only be used for the winning research project as follows:

  • Payment of an allowance to cover the living costs during the stays in UniSysCat incl. reimbursement of travel costs (round-trip ticket).
  • Consumables (regarding the project)

The Selection comittee

Prof. Dr. Holger Dau 
FU Berlin
Department of Physics
Arnimallee 14
14195 Berlin
+49 (0)30 838-53581
+49 (0)30 838-56510
holger.dau(at)fu-berlin.de

Prof. Dr. Peter Hegemann 
HU Berlin
Department of Biology
Invalidenstraße 42
10115 Berlin
+49 (0)30 2093-8681
hegemann(at)rz.hu-berlin.de

Prof. Dr. Beatriz Roldan Cuenya
Fritz Haber Institute
Department of Interface Science
Faradayweg 4–6
14195 Berlin
+49 (0)30 8413-4123
roldan(at)fhi-berlin.mpg.de

Prof. Dr. Arne Thomas
TU Berlin
Institute of Chemistry, Office BA 2
Hardenbergstraße 40
10623 Berlin
+49 (0)30 314-25118
+49 (0)30 314-29271
arne.thomas(at)tu-berlin.de

Prof. Dr. Petra Wendler
U Potsdam
Institute of Biochemistry and Biology
Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 24–25
14476 Potsdam-Golm
+49 (0)331 977-5130
+49 (0)331 977-5128
pewendler(at)uni-potsdam.de