The Gutenberg Research College (GRC), established in 2007, serves as a central strategic instrument to promote cutting-edge research at JGU. It runs an annual budget of EUR 2 million, provided in equal parts by the state of Rhineland-Palatinate and by Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). Its executive committee is made up of outstanding researchers from JGU and its partner research institutions. Committee members are appointed by the University President with the agreement of the University Senate based on their research achievements.

The GRC has two functions: It advises the President and the Senate in strategic matters concerning research and furthers individual excellence by awarding fellowships to excellent researchers and artists.

The following list provides an overview of all current GRC fellows:

The GRC annually awards the Gutenberg Research Award to outstanding international researchers. It is continuing the tradition of the Graduate School of Excellence “Materials Science in Mainz” who initiated the Gutenberg Research Award in 2006 and granted it to outstanding researchers in the field of materials science. In 2012, the responsibility for the Gutenberg Research Award has been transferred to the GRC, who will be eliciting proposals from all faculties of JGU.

On May 12, 2025, we will grant the Gutenberg Research Award 2025 to Anna Balazs, materials scientist from the University of Pittsburgh.

The GRC is organized as a college of outstanding academic fellows. The Executive Committee consists of members of the university and of external research institutes that closely cooperate with JGU. The Executive Committee takes all decisions concerning the GRC. It recommends potential fellows to the President and decides upon the amount of their financial support.

The Academic Advisory Council follows the work of the GRC and advises its Executive Committee.

The members of the Executive Committee are appointed by the President in consultation with the Senate. The faculties and collaborative research projects are entitled to nominate members. The Executive Committee elects the Academic Advisory Council. Membership in the Executive Committee and in the Academic Advisory Council is temporary as is the GRC fellowship itself. Each board member is elected to one three year term. While board members can be elected to multiple terms, only one of the terms can be successive. Only in exceptional cases, where the members have joined the Executive Committee at the end of a three year term, a second re-relection is possible.

Director: Prof. Mita Banerjee

Deputy Director: Prof. Tobias Bopp

Members

  • Prof. Mita Banerjee; Faculty 05
  • Prof. Petra Beli; Faculty 10, IMB
  • Prof. Stephan Grabbe; Faculty 04
  • Prof. Silvia Hansen-Schirra; Faculty 06
  • Prof. Andreas Lehnardt; Faculty 01
  • Prof. Marcus Maurer, Faculty 02
  • Mariá de Lourdes Ortega Méndez; Faculty 08, student
  • Prof. Dirk Schneider; Faculty 09
  • Prof. Concettina Sfienti; Faculty 08
  • Dr. Lars von der Wense; Faculty 08

Deputy members (substituting for …)

  • Prof. Tobias Bopp; Faculty 04 (Grabbe)
  • Dr. Chiara Ferella; Faculty 07 (von der Wense)
  • Prof. Hanna Kokko; Faculty 10 (Maurer)
  • Prof. Matthias Krings; Faculty 07 (Beli)
  • Prof. Birger Petersen; HfM (Hansen-Schirra)
  • Prof. Andreas Rödder; Faculty 07 (Lehnardt)
  • Prof. Friederike Schmid; Faculty 08 (Sfienti)
  • Prof. Katharina Spieß; Faculty 03, BiB (Banerjee)
  • Markus Vieth; Faculty 08, student (Ortega Méndez)
  • Prof. Tanja Weil; MPI-P (Schneider)

None of the members can be on the Executive Committee and a GRC fellow at the same time.

Consultant

  • Vice President for Research and Early Career Academics, Prof. Stefan Müller-Stach
  • Gender Equality Representative of the Senate, Prof. Sylvia Thiele

Deadline for proposals for new GRC fellows

  • 15 June (presentation to the Executive Committee in July)
  • 15 December (presentation to the Executive Committee in January)

Upcoming Meetings of the GRC Executive Commitee

  • 2 June 2025
  • 7 July 2025 (Presentation of new proposals for GRC Fellowships)

Upcoming events of the GRC Network (usually mondays, 6 p.m.)

  • 12 May 2025: Annual celebration of the GRC, presentation of the Gutenberg Research Award 2025 and welcoming of new GRC fellows