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Nanoscientist receives important award for young academics
The nanoscientist Laura Na Liu from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart is one of this year’s laureates of the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Prize of the German Research Foundation (DFG). Liu works in the field of nanophotonics, which covers the study, control and utilization of light on the nanometer scale. Particularly outstanding is her work on plasmonic sensors and the development and advancement of preparation techniques for nanostructures. Her current research focus is on DNA nanotechnology and biomolecular applications.
Laura Na Liu has studied and conducted research all over the world, including the Universities of Hong Kong and Stuttgart as well as the University of California at Berkeley. Since 2012, she is leader of a research group at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart. Liu has previously received a number of awards and honors for her work. In 2012, she was awarded the Sofia Kovalevskaja Price of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and a Marie Curie CIG Fellowship of the European Commission. Furthermore, she is a member of the Elisabeth Schiemann-Kolleg of the Max Planck Society.
The Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Prize has been awarded to outstanding young researchers in recognition of their work and as an incentive to diligently continue their scientific career since 1977. It is named after the nuclear physicist and former president of the DFG, Heinz Maier-Leibnitz. The prize includes a monetary award of 20 000 Euro and counts as the most important prize of its kind for young researchers in Germany.