On 18 September 2025, the Magnetic Resonance Division of the German Chemical Society (GDCh) awarded the 2025 Otto-Stern Award to Prof. Dr. Paul Heitjans, formerly of the Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry at Leibniz University Hannover, Lower Saxony Professor and member of the Laboratory for Nano and Quantum Engineering.
The GDCh's laudatory speech states:
„In recognition of his fundamental work on ion dynamics and diffusion in solids using NMR, as well as the establishment of β-NMR for the study of mobility in solid ion conductors. Professor Heitjans has systematically investigated diffusion processes in detail over long timescales using an arsenal of complementary NMR techniques and achieved groundbreaking results, particularly on lithium ion conductors, long before their enormous importance as battery materials became apparent. He has also performed pioneering work in β-NMR, in particular using 8 Li as an ideal nuclear spin probe for relaxation processes for the first time to comprehensively study ion mobility. Overall, he has pursued magnetic resonance with exceptional breadth and depth over many decades, using an interdisciplinary approach in a highly topical research field.“
The Otto-Stern Award is an award presented by the Magnetic Resonance Division of the GDCh. It is named after Nobel Prize winner Otto Stern, who, among other things, demonstrated the directional quantisation of spin as a fundamental prerequisite for the use of magnetic resonance. The aim of the prize is to honour the professional life's work of internationally outstanding personalities who have made extraordinary scientific contributions to magnetic resonance. Otto Stern ( staff member of Albert Einstein in Prague and Zurich, habilitation in physical chemistry, re-habilitation in theoretical physics) was the first of a total of eight Nobel Prize winners in the field of magnetic resonance and, like Prof. Paul Heitjans, a ‘border crosser’ between physics and (physical) chemistry.
Congratulations from the LNQE!
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