Professor Dr. Anna Köhler, experimental physicist at the University of Bayreuth and an Associate Investigator with the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science, was awarded the Max Born Prize 2020 by the German Physical Society (DPG) and the British Institute of Physics (IOP).

The prize, named after the German physicist, mathematician and Nobel Prize winner Max Born, has been awarded annually since 1973 for outstanding research contributions to physics.

After 47 scientists, Anna, who holds the chair for soft matter optoelectronics at the University of Bayreuth, is the first woman to receive this award.

Her receipt of the prize honours “groundbreaking work on the photophysics of organic semiconductors”.

Organic semiconductor materials have the advantage that they combine the technologically attractive properties of plastic with electrical conductivity.

They are used more and more frequently in TV screens, foldable displays in smartphones or flexible solar cells made from organic semiconductor films.

The DPG emphasised Anna’s achievements in basic research, in particular on "triplet states, the dissociation of excitons and the intermolecular interaction of chromophores in pi-conjugated polymers".

“I am very pleased that the DPG honours our basic physical research in Bayreuth with this highly respected award, which is an indispensable prerequisite for the development of high-tech materials and innovative products, for example in the communication and energy sectors.

The decision of the DPG is a great honour - not only for me, but also for all members of our research team, without whose years of commitment the previous research successes would not have been possible.

Dr. Anna Köhler

Anna coordinates an intercontinental research network in the field of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) at the University of Bayreuth, which is funded by the European Union. From 2013 to 2016 she was Vice President of the University of Bayreuth for International Affairs and Diversity.

This article originally appeared on the University of Bayreuth website, and is available here.