Leibniz Prize for Britta Nestler

KIT Scientist Is Granted Most Important Research Prize in Germany for Her Contribution to Computer-Aided Materials Research – Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize Comes With Prize Money Totaling EUR 2.5 Million
Prof. Dr. Britta Nestler, Institutsleitung am Lehrstuhl für Mikrostruktursimulation in der Werkstofftechnik (Foto: Sandra Göttisheim, KIT)

Professor Britta Nestler of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is granted the 2017 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize by the German Research Foundation (DFG). With this highest endowed German science prize in the amount of EUR 2.5 million, DFG honors the mathematician and physicist for her research into computer-aided materials modeling.

“Professor Britta Nestler most successfully conducts interdisciplinary computer-aided materials research and is among the top scientists in her discipline,” says the President of KIT, Professor Holger Hanselka. “In 2001, she was Germany’s youngest professor and since then has been granted a number of prizes, including the State Research Award of Baden-Württemberg in 2007. She very much deserves the Leibniz Prize and we are proud of Britta Nestler.”

Further information in the Press Release 172/2016.

Update (July 4, 2017: Leibniz Prize Finally Presented to Britta Nestler 

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has fully exculpated Professor Britta Nestler of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences from alleged scientific misconduct. Therefore, an award ceremony will be held at the annual DFG meeting in Halle tonight (July 4) where the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize 2017 will be conferred belatedly upon Britta Nestler. The awarding of the most important German research prize had been halted in March after anonymous hints in conjunction with Britta Nestler’s research work had been disclosed to DFG at extremely short notice prior to the ceremony. As a result of an intensive review conducted by DFG that also involved external experts, the allegations now proved to be absolutely untenable. For full information see Press Release 091/2017.


le / kes / lg, 08.12.2016 (Update: 04.07.2017)