On the evening of 21 January 2026, a celebratory ceremony was held at Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum, where five young women were honoured with the Astrid Kiendler-Scharr Scholarship (as part of the Deutschlandstipendium). The scholarship aims to support and inspire young female scientists in the natural sciences, continuing the legacy of the internationally renowned climate and atmospheric researcher.
The five scholarship recipients were selected in a competitive review process and will each receive 300 Euro per month over two semester from the scholarship foundation. This award recognises not only academic excellence but also societal engagement and the drive to make a meaningful contribution to science and society.
Scholarship Background
The Deutschlandstipendium has established a new scholarship culture through joint support from the federal government and private sponsors. It stands for holistic talent development–rewarding not only academic achievement but also social commitment. The Astrid Kiendler-Scharr Scholarship builds on this model and aims to motivate outstanding young women in the natural sciences.
Astrid Kiendler-Scharr was born on 5 September 1973 in Innsbruck and studied physics at the University of Innsbruck. She completed her PhD in 1999 at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg with magna cum laude. After her habilitation at the University of Cologne in 2010, she was appointed Professor of Experimental Physics in 2012 and became Director at the Forschungszentrum Jülich at the Institute for Energy and Climate Research, Troposphere (IEK-8).
Unexpectedly, she passed away at the age of 49 on 6 February 2023. Her loss was deeply felt in the scientific community, as she was not only a respected researcher but also a dedicated mentor who strongly supported young scientists. Astrid Kiendler-Scharr’s work focused on aerosol chemistry in the lower atmosphere and the interactions between air pollutants and climate change. Her expertise was sought worldwide, both in science and as an expert voice in media and public discourse.
She was a lead author of the latest IPCC report, served as Chair of the German Climate Consortium (DKK), and was one of the founding directors of the Center for Earth System Observation and Computational Analysis (CESOC). Her achievements wererepeatedly recognized and celebrated.
The scholarship established in her name honors Astrid Kiendler-Scharr beyond her death and continues her role as a role model for young women in science. She was inspired by people who pursue their path regardless of societal constraints and encouraged women to follow their own course:
“You can listen to other people’s opinions about your life plans, but you don’t have to make them your own.”
For Astrid Kiendler-Scharr, science meant:
“Creating knowledge in the strict sense—starting with a question or an unsolved problem, learning what knowledge already exists in the field, and expanding it with your own contributions.”
Read more here.