CONICET researchers awarded by the Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation of Germany

As every year, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation awarded the Georg Forster Research Prize 2023 destined to scientists from developing and transition countries who have obtained international recognition for their research work aimed at solving problems related to development. On this occasion, the distinction was obtained by two scientists and four male scientists, among them the researchers from the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) Andrea Bragas and Maristella Svampa.

Andrea Bragas, CONICET researcher and professor of the Department of Physics of the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), as winner of the award, will work together with specialist colleagues from the Nano-Institute Munich at the Ludwig-Maximilians -Universität München.

“It is a very competitive award in which I was lucky and honored to be chosen along with 5 other people from all over the world, from all areas, among which there are two Argentine researchers and women. It means recognition of my career in physics, in the area of ​​nanophotonics, in which I have worked since I obtained my doctorate, with contributions in ultrasensitive biochemical sensing, communications and photocatalysis with various applications, and with them having contributed in some way to my country. “, said Panties. And he added: “What is important for Argentine researchers is that having very active, powerful and funded collaborations gives a lot of visibility to their work.”

For her part, the Argentine sociologist and philosopher Maristella Svampa, whose work headquarters is the Center for Documentation and Research of Left Culture (CeDInCI-UNSAM), as winner of the Georg Forster research award, will work together with specialist colleagues in the field of international relations and socio-ecological problems, with special attention to Latin America and North-South relations, at the University of Kassel, Germany.

Regarding the award, Svampa highlighted: “I am very happy with this recognition because it means valuing Argentine public education, of which I am a product and, at a time when it is questioned, it is good to value the fact that we are one of the few peripheral countries that make a strong investment. And on the other hand, for all the resonances that the name Humboldt brings in history. And he concluded: “It implies a greater connection with researchers from Germany, with whom we have already been in contact when reflecting on issues such as the expansion of neo-extractivism, the Anthropocene and other issues. Now, above all, it will be time to engage in an in-depth debate on the limits and possibilities of a just ecosocial transition.”

Prize winners are nominated by fellow specialists in Germany and are invited to establish or expand collaborative projects with them. They are valued at 60,000 euros each and are financed by the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development.

Every year, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation enables more than 2,000 researchers from around the world to spend time conducting research in Germany. The Foundation maintains an interdisciplinary network of more than 30,000 Humboldtians in more than 140 countries around the world, including 59 Nobel Prize winners.