Researcher honored for Science Breakthrough of the Year

- EN - DE- FR
Inge Herrmann a été récompensée pour ses recherches par le prix « Falling Walls
Inge Herrmann a été récompensée pour ses recherches par le prix « Falling Walls Science Breakthrough of the Year 2024 » dans la catégorie « Women’s Impact ». Image : Empa
With the annual interdisciplinary science festival Falling Walls, the international research elite is fostering the dialog between science and society on the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9. This year, two researchers also took to the stage.

Which walls will fall next in science and society’ The brightest minds of the international scientific community tackled this question and submitted their ground-breaking projects for the prestigious Falling Walls Science Breakthrough of the Year 2024 in Berlin. Traditionally held on the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, this year’s grand finale took place in Berlin on November 9 under the motto Protecting Free Thinking.

The jury of the Falling Walls Foundation has chosen - and awarded Empa researcher Inge Herrmann the Global Women’s Impact Award and the title Falling Walls Science Breakthrough of the Year 2024 in the Women’s Impact category. Herrmann presented her research on the Falling Walls main stage. Moreover, Alexander Jessernig, doctoral candidate in Herrmann’s team and winner of the Falling Walls Lab Switzerland, presented his sensor for the early detection of post-operative bowel leaks.

Inge Herrmann heads a research team at Empa’s Particles-Biology Interactions laboratory in St. Gallen as well as the Ingenuity Lab at the University of Zurich and Balgrist University Hospital and is also a professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at ETH Zurich. In one of her research projects, her team developed a reversible hydrogel implant that has now won the Falling Walls award, which is intended to prevent the widespread abdominal disease endometriosis in women and might also act as contraceptive. Inge Herrmann has already received numerous awards for her innovative research, which promotes the early detection and treatment of medical problems in fields such as surgery and gynecology and produces clinical applications and successful start-ups.

Empa researcher Alexander Jessernig was invited to present his work on the Falling Walls stage in Berlin. As the winner of the Falling Walls Lab Switzerland, he was given the opportunity to present the SensAL sensor in the Emerging Talents category. SensAL warns quickly and precisely of life-threatening complications after abdominal surgery. The Empa researcher from Herrmann’s team recently received the Empa Innovation Award for his innovative diagnostic technology and was also nominated for the Spark Award of ETH Zurich.