Division Award
The Division of Analytical Chemistry of the German Chemical Society (GDCh) recognises outstanding and independent achievements by committed and talented scientists at the beginning of their scientific careers with the Analytical Chemistry Division Award. The award is generally presented every two years as part of ANAKON and includes a certificate and prize money of 2,000 euros. All members of the Division are entitled to submit nominations. The Board of the Division decides on the presentation of the award.
Award for young scientists in analytical chemistry
Submission deadline: 31 October 2026
Objective
The Division of Analytical Chemistry of the German Chemical Society (GDCh) generally presents the Division Award for Analytical Chemistry every two years as part of ANAKON, in order to recognise, support and motivate early-career researchers. The award is presented for outstanding and independent scientific achievements by committed and talented scientists in the field of analytical chemistry, demonstrated through publications in analytical journals, contributions to analytical conferences and awards.
The award
The award includes a certificate, prize money of 2,000 euros and an invitation to the next ANAKON, which is scheduled to take place from 5–8 April 2027 in Mainz . Following the formal presentation, the awardee will have the opportunity to present the award-winning research in a short lecture. The Division Board decides on the award.
Nomination/application
The selection criteria are outstanding scientific achievements in analytical chemistry during doctoral studies and in subsequent research (postdoctoral work at a university, research institution or in industry), as well as completion of studies within a short period. Changing the research topic and working environment (e.g. a period abroad) will also be viewed favourably. All members of the GDCh Division of Analytical Chemistry are entitled to submit nominations. Self-nominations are also possible. All nominations must include the following documents:
Submission
Please send your nominations by email and consolidated into a single PDF file to the GDCh Office, for the attention of Maike Fries.
The Analytical Chemistry Division Award was presented to Dr Anika Retzmann on 12 March 2025 at ANAKON in Leipzig: "in recognition of her outstanding and pioneering research in the field of elemental and precise isotope analysis using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. By optimising and developing new methods, particularly in the area of separation techniques for the purification of different isotope systems, Dr Retzmann made important contributions to the advancement of isotope analysis – above all in the automation of separation techniques, with which the isotope systems strontium, neodymium and lead are isolated in a single run and prepared for analysis using multi-collector ICP-MS. This enabled large sets of samples to be processed for the first time at high throughput. She also developed new methods for the precise analysis of stable calcium isotopes at low calcium concentrations in biological samples, based on double-spike thermal ionisation MS, to investigate medical and clinical questions. Dr Retzmann has published numerous high-ranking papers in the leading journals in the field. The grants and awards she has already received underscore the quality and relevance of her research."
The Division Award for Analytical Chemistry was presented to Prof. Dr Nicole Strittmatter on 12 April 2023 on the occasion of ANAKON in Vienna "in recognition of her outstanding, original and forward-looking research in the field of imaging mass spectrometry. Professor Strittmatter used her impressive instrumental and methodological work on Rapid Evaporative Ionisation Mass Spectrometry to distinguish bacteria on the basis of their spectral fingerprint. Her developments in the field of imaging using desorption electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry led to entirely new applications in pharmacy, among other areas, by increasing sample throughput and sample stability. In addition, Professor Strittmatter developed imaging methods for mass cytometry to determine the distribution of drugs in dendrimer nanoparticles using a new metal label. Her highly interdisciplinary work with numerous collaboration partners has been published in numerous papers in leading journals in analytical chemistry and the life sciences and is regularly cited."
The Division Award of the Division of Analytical Chemistry was presented to Ass.-Prof. Dr. David Clases on 23 June 2022 at the analytica conference 2022 "in recognition of his outstanding, original and pioneering research in the field of single-cell and single-particle analysis using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Professor Clases made significant contributions by optimising instruments and methods, and in particular by developing and improving software tools for analysing the large volumes of data, thereby considerably advancing the current state of research in single-particle and single-cell analysis. Professor Clases also developed powerful new analytical methods in the fields of elemental speciation analysis and elemental bioimaging and applied them to current biomedical and environmental research questions. His work has been published in numerous publications in the leading journals in our field."
Presentation of the Division award by Dr. Joachim Richert (left), Chairman of the GDCh Division of Analytical Chemistry, to Dr. Björn Meermann (right). The award ceremony took place as part of ANAKON 2019 in Münster.
Photo: University of Münster
| Year | Awardee, location* |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Dr. Anika Retzmann, Calgary, CA |
| 2023 | Prof. Dr. Nicole Strittmatter, Munich |
| 2022 | Ass.-Prof. Dr. David Clases, Graz, AT |
| 2019 | Dr. Björn Meermann, Koblenz |
| 2017 | Prof. Dr. Kevin Pagel, Berlin |
| 2015 | Dr. Romana Schirhagl, Groningen, NL |
| 2013 | Dr. Carolin Huhn, Jülich |
| 2011 | Dr. Nina Käppel, Ludwigshafen |
| 2009 | Dr. Carsten Engelhard, Bloomington, US |
| 2007 2007 | Dr. Heiko Hayen, Dortmund Dr. Thomas Letzel, Munich |
| 2005 | Dr. Christian Temme, Geesthacht, NL |
| 2003 2003 | Dr. Mag. Herbert Franz Oberacher, Saarbrücken Dr. Oliver Trapp, Tübingen |
| 2001 2001 | Dr. Steffen Friedrich, Dresden Dr. Ulrich Engel, Frankfurt |
*at the time of the award