Professor Horst Weller receives the 2018 ECIS-Solvay Prize

Professor Horst Weller was presented with the 2018 ECIS-Solvay Prize at this year's conference of the "European Colloid and Interface Society" (ECIS) held from September 2 to 7 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Since 2001, the prize has been awarded to European scientists who have been long-standing pioneers in the field of colloids and interfaces.

© Fraunhofer IAP
Prof. Dr. Horst Weller

Weller has become well-known throughout the scientific world for his outstanding work in the production, characterization and self-assembly of colloidal nanocrystals. His work on surface modification and the use of nanoparticles for medical applications and in hybrid materials was highlighted at the award ceremony.

A highpoint of his career has been the development of nanoparticles used in medical diagnoses and treatment, for example to combat autoimmune diseases, which was done in cooperation with the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. Weller achieved another breakthrough in a collaborative research center in cooperation with the Hamburg University of Technology. Here he succeeded in developing a nanoparticle-based hybrid material that is superior to all previously published systems in terms of its load-bearing capacity under high and uniform mechanical loads.

"The award is a great incentive to continue this successful research", says Weller. Professor Weller heads the Center for Applied Nanotechnology CAN, a research division at Fraunhofer IAP, and also holds a chair at the Institute of Physical Chemistry at the University of Hamburg

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