Göttingen: Professor Maurer receives prestigious Humboldt professorship

Göttingen: Professor Maurer receives prestigious Humboldt professorship

Göttingen, Deutschland - On June 5, 2025, the University of Göttingen announced that Prof. Dr. Reinhard Maurer was nominated for an Alexander von Humboldt professorship. This award, which is supported by the University of Göttingen and the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Natural Sciences (MPI-Nat), is endowed with five million euros over a period of five years. Funding takes place from the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space.

Prof. Maurer is considered a pioneer in the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence in theoretical chemistry. His research approaches are not only important for computer -aided material research, but also transferable to other specialist areas. At the Campus Institute Data Science (CIDAS) in Göttingen, he plans to set up a platform for "Scientific Ai and Predictive Modeling".

research focus

The research of masons focuses on the theory and simulation of molecular reactions on surfaces and in materials. Particularly noteworthy is his new approach in which Deep Learning is used to predict experimental results. The developed algorithm enables the inverse design of molecular structures that have specific chemical properties.

After his doctorate in 2014 at the Technical University of Munich, Maurer Postdoc was at Yale University. At the University of Warwick, he initially held the position of an Assistant Professor and was appointed Associate Professor and 2022 as full professor in 2020. He currently held a double professorship for computer-aided surface chemistry and interface physics. His previous awards include a Future Leaders Fellowship (2019), an ERC Starting Grant (2022) and Faraday Early Career Prize: Marlow Prize (2024).

machine learning in research

Machine learning (ML) also plays a central role outside of theoretical chemistry. In a broader context, ML is viewed as a decisive key technology for cognitive systems based on artificial intelligence. It influences many areas from goods production to logistics to medical technology and is therefore essential for economic development worldwide.

Research in this area is not only promoted by masons, but also by scientists such as Suvrit SRA, who will work as a professor of "Resource Aware Machine Learning" at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). SRA has done significant methodological work on optimization problems and will promote cooperation between mathematics and machine learning in the future.

The TUM is already a leader in artificial intelligence in Germany, and SRA's professorship will concentrate on robustness, reliability and resource efficiency of ML. The cooperation with the computer scientist Stefanie Jegelka, who also holds a Humboldt professorship, is supposed to shape ML research sustainably.

The need to clarify ML technologies is a recurring topic, especially in the debate about their acceptance in society. A study by the Fraunhofer Institute, which deals with the skills and challenges of mechanical learning, shows the relevance of these technologies for the international competitiveness of Germany and Europe. A fact -based discussion about ML is therefore considered indispensable in order to counteract misjudgment and myths.

The awards and nominations of researchers such as Maurer and SRA are an expression of the growing meaning and recognition of machine learning in the academic world and beyond. The developments in this area will continue to have a significant influence on different disciplines.

For more information on the topics of machine learning and the associated research projects, the following links can be visited: University of Göttingen , Humboldt Foundation , Fraunhofer-Institut .