The German working group for Analytical Spectroscopy (DAAS) of the GDCh Division of Analytical Chemistry awards the "Bunsen-Kirchhoff Award for Analytical Spectroscopy" in even-numbered years to recognize outstanding spectroscopic achievements by mature young scientists from universities, research institutes or industry. Outstanding work (publications, patents, etc.) from all areas of analytical spectroscopy are taken into account, but especially from innovative subject areas such as spectroscopy in the nano range, on biomolecules or spatially resolved spectroscopy. The prize, which has been endowed with 3000 euros by Analytik Jena since 2020, is awarded as part of the analytica conference in Munich.
The "German working group for Applied Spectroscopy" (DASp) started awarding the Bunsen-Kirchhoff Prize in 1990. Since 2014, the DAAS, which emerged from the merger of the working groups DASp and AMSEl. ("working group for Micro- and trace analysis of elements and element species"), has continued this tradition.
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The Bunsen-Kirchhoff Award 2026 was awarded to Prof. Dr. David Clases on March 26, 2026, at the analytica conference in Munich – in recognition of his pioneering contributions to the further development of single-particle ICP-TOF-MS and to the multimodal characterization of nano- and microparticles.
"David Clases' work combines element-selective mass spectrometry with innovative analytical concepts for investigating complex particle systems, including those found in environmental and material samples. A particular focus is on non-targeted analyses, multimodal couplings with Raman spectroscopy and optofluidic methods, as well as novel approaches to characterizing nanoparticles and microplastics. Professor Clases is distinguished by his creativity, wealth of scientific ideas, and strong interdisciplinary collaboration. His numerous research papers have been published in high-ranking journals and have received awards at international Conferences ."
The Bunsen-Kirchhoff Award 2024 was awarded on April 11, 2024, at the analytica conference in Munich to Dr. Björn Meermann (Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) in Berlin) - in recognition of his excellent developments in the field of analysis of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl compounds.
"Dr. Björn Meermann is an outstanding expert in the field of atomic and molecular absorption spectrometry. In particular, he made significant contributions to the further development of high-resolution continuum source graphite furnace molecular absorption spectrometry (HR-CS-GFMAS) for analyzing sum parameters of PFAS. These analytes are found in numerous consumer goods and industries due to their water-, grease-, and dirt-repellent properties, as well as their chemical and thermal stability. However, PFAS accumulate in the environment due to their persistence and some exhibit harmful effects on health. Therefore, Dr. Meermann's contribution to the precise determination of these analytes is of particular importance. "
The Bunsen-Kirchhoff Award 2022 was awarded to Dr. Carlos Abad Andrade (California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA) on June 23, 2022 at the analytica conference in Munich - in recognition of his excellent developments in the field of continuum source atomic absorption spectrometry (CS-AAS).
"Dr. Carlos Abad Andrade is an outstanding expert in the field of atomic and molecular absorption spectrometry. In particular, he made a significant contribution to the substantial further development of echelle spectrometers for CS-AAS. This made it possible to achieve quantitative access to elements such as boron, chlorine, fluorine and sulfur using AAS. For the first time, Dr. Carlos Abad Andrade demonstrates, using the example of a Zr modifier, that the time resolution of the echelle systems used enables mechanistic investigations into the effect of the modifier in the graphite furnace. Particularly noteworthy is his work on the use of CS-AAS for the analysis of isotopes, which has an accuracy that approaches that of multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS). This opens up completely new possibilities for technologically highly relevant applications, such as the investigation of the aging of lithium batteries or the analysis of lithium in blood serum."
The Bunsen-Kirchhoff Award 2020 was awarded to Dr. habil. Natalia P. Ivleva (Technical University of Munich, Institute of water chemistry and Chemical Balneology, Chair of Analytical Chemistry and water chemistry) on October 20, 2020 at the virtual analytica conference - in recognition of her excellent developments in the field of Raman microspectroscopy, especially stable isotope Raman microspectroscopy.
"Dr. Ivleva is an outstanding expert in the field of Raman spectroscopy. She was the first to demonstrate that Raman microscopy is an efficient method for characterizing the nanostructures of combustion aerosol particles and is suitable for predicting their structure-related activity. In addition, Dr. Ivleva established a Raman microscopy-based analysis method for the reliable identification and quantification of microplastic particles in environmental and food samples. Her most recent work on stable isotope Raman microspectroscopy is particularly noteworthy, in which she provides a completely new, effective and non-destructive tool for the spectroscopic 2D and 3D characterization of microorganisms at the single-cell level by combining it with surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)."
Presentation of the Bunsen-Kirchhoff Prize to Dr. Zsuzsanna Heiner (2nd from right) by Dr. Martin Dinse, PerkinElmer (2nd from left), Prof. Dr. Kerstin Leopold, Chair of the jury of the Bunsen-Kirchhoff Prize (right) and Dr. Wolfgang Buscher, Chair of the DAAS (left). (Photo: PerkinElmer)
| Year | awardee/Affiliation* | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Prof. Dr. David Clases University of Graz, Austria | in recognition of his pioneering contributions to the further development of single-particle ICP-TOF-MS and to the multimodal characterization of nano- and microparticles |
| 2024 | Dr. Björn Meermann Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), Berlin | in recognition of his excellent developments in the field of analysis of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl compounds |
| 2022 | Dr. Carlos Abad Andrade, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA | in recognition of his excellent developments in the field of continuum source atomic absorption spectrometry (CS-AAS) |
| 2020 | Dr. habil. Natalia P. Ivleva Technical University of Munich | in recognition of their excellent developments in the field of Raman microspectroscopy, especially stable isotope Raman microspectroscopy |
| 2018 | Dr. Zsuzsanna Heiner |
in recognition of their excellent developments in the field of vibrational sum frequency generation (VSFG) at high repetition frequencies |
| 2017 | Prof. Dr. Jacob T. Shelley |
in recognition of his outstanding research in the field of novel plasma-based ionization sources in mass spectrometry |
| 2016 | Dr. Torsten Frosch Leibniz Institute for Photonic Technologies |
in recognition of his excellent developments in the field of miniaturized, fiber-based Raman sensors for addressing environmental, pharmaceutical and biomedical issues |
| 2015 | Prof. Dr. Martín Resano University of Zaragoza, ES |
in recognition of his outstanding developments in the use of atomic spectrometric methods for direct elemental trace analysis in solids |
| 2014 | Dr. Oliver Reich University of Potsdam |
in recognition of his outstanding achievements in the field of photon density wave spectroscopy |
| 2013 | Prof. Dr. Maria Montes-Bayón University of Oviedo, ES |
in recognition of their groundbreaking developments in the use of mass spectrometric methods for the quantitative analysis of biomarkers |
| 2012 | Prof. Dr. Christoph Haisch, Munich | for his groundbreaking developments and applications in the field of laser-based spectrochemical analysis systems, especially in the areas of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), optothermic spectroscopy, photoacoustic spectroscopy and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) |
| 2011 | Dr. Daniel Pröfrock, Helmholtz Centre Geesthacht | for his outstanding work on the detection of biomolecules using covalently bound heteroatoms, as well as the development of miniaturized chromatographic techniques and their coupling with element- or molecule-specific mass spectrometric methods |
| 2010 | Prof. Dr. Janina Kneipp, Humboldt University of Berlin | for their work on analytical laser molecule spectroscopy with resonant Raman scattering in complex microstructured systems |
| 2009 | Dr. Joachim Koch, ETH Zurich, CH | for his analytical-spectroscopic work on laser ablation with femtosecond lasers |
| 2008 | PD Dr. Sebastian Schlücker, Würzburg | for his analytical-spectroscopic FT-IR and Raman work on label-free microscopic imaging for biomedical diagnostics |
| 2007 | Dr. Jörg Bettmer, Mainz | for his work in the field of coupling methods of chromatography and plasma mass spectrometry for the investigation of metalloproteins |
| 2006 | Dr. Volker Deckert, Dortmund | for his work on tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy |
| 2005 | Dr. Nicolas Bings, Hamburg | for his work on time-of-flight mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma, with particular emphasis on analytical and methodological studies on the use of laser ablation, electrothermal evaporation, hydride methods and couplings with capillary electrophoresis for the analysis of real samples |
| 2004 | Dr. Ewa Bulska, Warsaw, Poland | for their work in the field of furnace atomic absorption spectrometry with special mention of the use of matrix modifiers as well as for the analysis of biological materials and for studies on the conservation of works of art |
| 2003 | Dr. Sergei Boulyga, Mainz | for his work on the atomic spectrometric determination of the concentration and microdistribution of trace elements in environmental and tissue samples, particularly in connection with the Chernobyl reactor accident |
| 2002 | Dr. Jürgen Popp, Würzburg | for his work on the spectroscopy of microparticles |
| 2001 | Dr. John A. McLean, Washington, DC, USA | for his work in the field of plasma spectrometry |
| 2000 | Dr. Dieter Fischer, Dresden | for the adaptation of infrared and Raman spectroscopy to process analytics |
| 1998 | Dr. Annemie Bogaerts, Antwerp, BE | for her work on modeling glow discharges |
| 1995 | Dr. Paul WJM Boumans, Bergeyk, NL | in recognition of his fundamental contributions to the development of analytical atomic spectroscopy |
| 1994 | Dr. D. Bruce Chase, Wilmington, USA | for his work on the development of Fourier-transform Raman spectroscopy |
| 1994 | Dr. WJ Orville-Thomas, Salford, UK | for his work on elucidating the nature of chemical bonding |
| 1993 | Dr. Boris L'vov, St. Petersburg, RUS | for his work in the field of electrothermal atomic absorption spectroscopy |
| 1992 | Dr. Kurt Laqua, Dortmund (1919-2013) | for his work in the field of analytical atomic spectroscopy |
| 1992 | Dr. Arnulf Röseler, Berlin | for his work in the field of infrared ellipsometry |
| 1991 | Dr. Hannes Aiginger, Vienna, AT | for his work in the field of total reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis |
| 1991 | Dr. Peter Wobrauschek, Vienna, AT | for his work in the field of total reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis |
| 1991 | Dr. Joachim Knoth, Geesthacht | for his work in the field of total reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis |
| 1991 | Dr. Heinrich Schwenke, Geesthacht | for his work in the field of total reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis |
| 1990 | Dr. Günter Snatzke, Bochum | for his work in the field of circular dichroism spectroscopy |
*At the time of the award ceremony.
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last modified: 31.03.2026 15:52 H from C.Kniep
