Karl Heinz Beckurts Prize 2023 awarded at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics Greifswald
Christof Paar from the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy in Bochum receives the prestigious award
On 26 August 2024, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christof Paar received the Karl Heinz Beckurts Prize 2023, worth 30,000 euros, at a ceremony at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Greifswald. The Chairman of the Board of the Karl Heinz Beckurts Foundation, Prof. Christian Stegmann, praised the prizewinner from the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy: "He is an international pioneer in the field of applied cryptography. He has made fundamental scientific contributions and significantly advanced the practical implementation of security solutions in industry. His work combines profound theoretical knowledge with a strong practical approach".
Representatives from science, politics, industry and the Beckurts family talked to each other, found out about the current status of fusion research and visited the Wendelstein 7-X research facility.
About the Karl Heinz Beckurts Foundation
Prof. Karl Heinz Beckurts devoted most of his professional life to two major research institutions, the Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Centre (now the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) and the Jülich Nuclear Research Centre (now the Jülich Research Centre). From 1973 to 1976, he was chairman of the Working Group of Major Research Institutions. In 1980, he joined the Managing Board of Siemens AG, where he was responsible for research.
After his violent death in a terrorist attack on 9 July 1986, the Helmholtz Association and Siemens AG jointly established the Karl Heinz Beckurts Foundation in memory of the researcher and manager. The Foundation's Board of Directors currently consists of Prof. Christian Stegmann (DESY Director for Astroparticle Physics), Dr. Roland Busch (CEO of Siemens AG, Germany) and Prof. Sibylle Günter (Scientific Director of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics). Since 1989, the Foundation has awarded the Karl Heinz Beckurts Prize every two years for outstanding scientific and technical achievements that have had a significant impact on innovation in Germany and have been promoted by the prizewinners.