Two RWTH Researchers Inducted into "Junges Kolleg"
Two RWTH researchers have been newly accepted as young scholars into the “Junges Kolleg” of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts.
Dr. Wenwen Song is a research associate at IEHK, the Steel Institute at RWTH Aachen University. Dr. Malte Göttsche is Junior Professor of Experimental Physics at the RWTH Physics Institute III and a research group leader at the AICES Graduate School. At the award ceremony, Academy President Wolfgang Löwer and NRW Science Minister Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen congratulated Wenwen Song of the recognition. Malte Göttsche was unable to attend the event.
Junior Professor Dr. Malte Göttsche
Before completing his doctorate at the Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker Center for Science and Peace Research, University of Hamburg, in 2015, Malte Göttsche studied Physics at the University of Hamburg. Subsequently, he became a postdoctoral research associate in the Program on Science and Global Security at Princeton University, where he conducted research on the verification of nuclear warheads.
Since December 2017, he has been a junior professor at RWTH, leading the “Verification and Nuclear Disarmament” early-career research group funded through a Freigeist Fellowship from VolkswagenStiftung.
Verification is vital to enabling arms control and disarmament, as it can detect non-compliance with agreements, build confidence, and thus contribute to the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons.
As part of his activities in the Verification and Nuclear Disarmament research group, Malte Göttsche develops verification concepts and strategies in order to address future challenges in arms control. The scientific-technological work of the group is complemented by political scientific perspectives.
Dr. Wenwen Song
Before receiving her doctorate from RWTH Aachen University in 2014, Wenwen Song completed a Master’s degree in materials science and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics at Shanghai University. Subsequently, she worked as a visiting scholar at Cambridge University, UK.
In 2016, she established her own research group on nanostructured materials at the RWTH Steel Institute (IEHK). Furthermore, she heads the Cloud III sub-project of the Collaborative Research Center Steel ab initio funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).
As part of her research activities, Song develops new concepts of alloy and microstructure design for enhanced material performance by applying a combination of experimental and simulation tools.
One of the central goals is to explore the mechanisms that govern phase transformations and deformation behaviors within materials. This is done with the help of nanoscale characterization techniques combined with various simulation tools, such as ab initio theoretical calculation, the CALPHAD method, and phase field simulations, among others.
The Junges Kolleg
Up to 30 excellent young researchers of all disciplines can be elected into the Junges Kolleg of the Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts , for a maximum period of four years. They participate in the activities of the Academy and receive an annual stipend of 10,000 Euros.
Furthermore, members are given the chance to network with other outstanding researchers and benefit from the Academy's resources and infrastructure. A doctoral degree as well as exceptional academic and research achievement at one of the NWR universities or research institutions are among the prerequisites for acceptance into the College.