Support on the way to the top

Mentoring network for women in the natural sciences

Within the Elisabeth Schiemann Kolleg scientiﬁc members of the Max Planck Society foster the careers of excellent female scientists after their postdoc phase, helping them to succeed on their way to an appointment as a tenured professor or as a director of a research institution.

The Schiemann Kolleg supports activities which help its fellows successfully establish themselves in the scientiﬁc community. Additionally, the Kolleg offers a platform for transdisciplinary scientiﬁc exchange. The support of the Elisabeth-Schiemann-Kolleg is of non-material nature; the fellows are not supported financially.

The Kolleg is named after Elisabeth Schiemann (1881-1972) who was appointed as a Scientific Member of the Max Planck Society in 1953. She already conducted research in the former Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut für Kulturpflanzenforschung since 1943 and was not only an excellent scientist, but also a courageous woman and a person of integrity who openly resisted the Nazi regime.

What we offer

The main program includes mentoring, networking, scientific exchanges and regular plenary meetings. Within this framework, the young fellows have a significant influence on the shaping of the contents. A centerpiece is the hierarchy-free interaction of the members in the Kolleg. Present activities in the Kolleg comprise:

intensive rounds of introductions with focus on the previous career, personal experiences and expectations
in-depth discussions of topics that develop during the meeting, e.g. appointment procedure or organising a research group
the offer to contact the directors at any time for specific questions
the opportunity of extended visits at a director's group (job shadowing)
scientific talks of the fellows
time for the fellows to talk to each other
leadership coaching by an external moderator

Your profile

The ideal Elisabeth Schiemann Fellow has excelled in research after her PhD as a postdoc in chemistry, physics, mathematics, computer science or a technical discipline. She is about to start supervising PhD students independently. She is at the end of her postdoc phase or at the beginning of her phase as a group leader, junior professor or working towards her habilitation. Her current place and status of employment are not relevant. Only tenured researchers are excluded.

How do I join?

Every year, a call for nominations for the Elisabeth Schiemann Kolleg is published. All professors and directors of research institutions worldwide can nominate candidates. A nomination includes the candidate’s résumé, a letter of motivation, and a brief summary of her scientific activities, as well as two recommendation letters: one from the nominator and one from another professor. One of the letters should come from a German research institution or university.

The Schiemann fellows are selected by the members of the Kolleg. Usually, five new fellows are admitted every year. The first female scientists joined the Elisabeth Schiemann Kolleg in 2013. The membership of the fellows normally expires after five years. Obtainment of a permanent job automatically leads to termination.

Our fellows

Jessica Agarwal
Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Göttingen
Research Area: Solar System Research, Astronomy
Ana Akrap
University of Fribourg (CH)
Research Area: Condensed Matter Physics
Claire Donnelly
University of Cambridge (UK)
Research Area: Condensed Matter Physics, Magnetism
Sandra Eibenberger-Arias
Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, Berlin
Research Area: Molecular Physics
Hanieh Fattahi
Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, Garching
Research Area: Laser Physics, Laser Spectroscopy
Julijana Gjorgjieva
Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt
University of Munich
Research Area: Computational Neuroscience
Tanja Hinderer
University of Amsterdam (Netherlands)
Research Area: Gravitational Waves
Ulrike Kraft
Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz
Research Area: Organic Electronics, Bioelectronics
Denise Kühnert
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena
Research Area: Phylogenetics and Infectious Disease Dynamics
Julia Mahamid
European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Heidelberg
Research Area: Structural Biology, Macromolecular Phase Separation
Kimberly Modic
Institute of Science and Technology Austria, Klosterneuburg (AT)
Research Area: Condensed Matter
Ursula Neu
Free University of Berlin, Berlin
Research Area: Biochemistry, Structural Biology
Kirstin Petersen
Cornell University, Ithaca (New York, USA)
Research Area: Robotics, Artificial Intelligence
Paola Pinilla
Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg
Research Area: Astrophysics
Maria Rodriguez
Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, Potsdam-Golm
Reseach Area: Theoretical Physics, General Relativity, Black Holes
Constanza Rojas-Molina
University of Cergy-Pontoise (France)
Research Area: Mathematical Physics, Random Schrödinger Operators
Mariana Rossi
Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, Berlin
Research Area: Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics, Chemical Physics
Veerle Sterken
ETH Zurich (CH)
Research Area: Cosmic Dust, Heliosphere
Dora Tang
Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden
Research Area: Synthetic Biology, Origin of Life, Biophysics

Alumni

Karen Alim
Research Area: Biological Physics
Fellow from 2013 to 2018

Maria Bergemann
Research Area: Astrophysics
Fellow from 2015 to 2019

Aránzazu Del Campo
Research Area: Biomaterials
Fellow from 2013 to 2015

Katrin Domke
Research Area: Electrochemical Surface Science
Fellow from 2014 to 2019

Karin Everschor-Sitte
Research Area: Spintronics
Fellow from 2017 to 2021

Katherine Fitch
Research Area: Algebraic Graph Theory
Fellow from 2018 to 2020

Elena Hassinger
Research Area: Condensed Matter Physics
Fellow from 2015 to 2020

Saskia Hekker
Research Area: Stellar Astrophysics
Fellow from 2014 to 2019

Franziska Lautenschläger
Research Area: Biophysics
Fellow from 2016 to 2020

Laura Na Liu
Research Area: Smart Nanoplasmonics
Fellow from 2013 to 2015

Nicole Megow
Research Area: Combinatorial Optimization and Efficient Algorithms
Fellow from 2013 to 2016

Nadine Neumayer
Research Area: Astrophysics
Fellow from 2015 to 2020

Ruzica Piskac
Research Area: Computer Science
Fellow from 2014 to 2019

Viola Priesemann
Research Area: Statistical Physics, Neural Networks
Fellow from 2015 to 2020

Nina Rohringer
Research Area: Nonlinear Optics with X-Rays
Fellow from 2013 to 2017

Hilke Schlichting
Research Area: Astrophysics and Planetary Sciences
Fellow from 2014 to 2016

Sabine Storandt
Research Area: Applied Computer Science
Fellow from 2016 to 2018

Seraphine Wegner
Research Area: Synthetic Biology
Fellow from 2016 to 2019