Otto Schmeil Prize

In 2016, the Schmeil Foundation(external link) established the Otto Schmeil Prize to promote young scientists in biological and medical research.
It is awarded every two years by the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and is endowed with 15,000 euros.

The Otto Schmeil Prize is awarded every two years.

Who can be nominated?

The prize is awarded to a young researcher with existing qualifications for outstanding scientific work. The proposed works must have been published or submitted for publication in the past two years.

The people nominated for the award should not be older than 40 years of age. If several candidates have contributed equally to the project, the award may be shared equally among them.

Who is allowed to make suggestions?

All members of the Mathematics and Natural Sciences Class of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences
the management of all academic institutions at universities in Baden-Württemberg (rectorates, deaneries, executive directors, institute directors)
the management of all non-university research institutions in Baden-Württemberg (executive directors)
Unsolicited applications are not accepted.

The prize founder

Otto Schmeil (external link) (1860-1943) followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather by pursuing a career as a teacher. At that time, there was a significant gap between the state of knowledge in biology and teacher training. Otto Schmeil was one of the first in his field to use detailed and vivid illustrations to present even complex topics in biology in a more understandable way.

Schmeil's textbooks for natural history lessons focused on observing nature and discovering causal relationships.
Schmeil's books "Der Mensch" (Man) and "Pflanzenkunde" (Botany) quickly became widely read. Even today, they are still among the highest-circulation textbooks worldwide. "Der Schmeil" has accompanied generations of schoolchildren through their school years.

Otto Schmeil had three children: Johannes (1886-1957), Margarethe (1893-1976), and Werner (1896-1968). Johannes, the eldest, was the initiator of the Schmeil Foundation(external link), which was established to commemorate his father Otto Schmeil and his three sons who were killed in the war. Following the professional orientation of Otto and Johannes Schmeil, the foundation's mission was established as supporting biological and medical research.

The award winners

Since 2016, the prize has been awarded every two years for outstanding work by scientists in the fields of medicine and biology.

All previous award winners:

year	Name	Title
2024	Sepp, Mari	Cellular development and evolution of the mammalian cerebellum using single-cell sequencing technologies
2022	Bertolini, Matilde	Interactions between nascent proteins translated by adjacent ribosomes drive homomer assembly
2022	Fenzl, Kai	Interactions between nascent proteins translated by adjacent ribosomes drive homomer assembly
2020	Cardoso-Moreira, Margarida	Gene Expression Across Mammalian Organ Development
2018	Haas, Simon	Revising classical models of hematopoietic stem cell commitment by single cell analyses
2018	Velten, Lars	Revising classical models of hematopoietic stem cell commitment by single cell analyses
2016	Cryle, Max	Work on the biosynthesis of glycopeptide antibiotics

nomination deadline

Every two years March 1 - June 30

What needs to be submitted?

Justification of the proposal, maximum two pages
resume
list of publications
award-worthy work

The documents should be submitted as a single PDF file and sent to hadw[at]hadw-bw.de.

When will the decision be made?

The Academy will announce its decision at the beginning of the year. The winner and their mentor will be notified of the result in writing.

Do you have any questions?

You can reach us by phone at +49 (0)6221 54-3265 or by email at hadw[at]hadw-bw.de.

If you wish to send the documents by mail, please send them to:

Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities
Executive Secretariat
Karlstraße 4
69117 Heidelberg