Fulbright-Preis for Dr. Eva von Domaros

Fulbright-Cottrell Award for junior research group at the Otto Schott Institute of Materials Research

Universities serve science through research, teaching and study, whereby the three elements are to be seen as a whole. In this context, the German-American Fulbright Commission (Fulbright Germany) presents the Fulbright-Cottrell AwardExternal link and thus promotes projects that combine research and teaching with an innovative concept. This year, the Fulbright-Cottrell Award was presented to the junior research group of Dr. Eva von Domaros from the Otto Schott Institute of Materials Research.

The anomaly of water

In their project entitled "The theory of water and its anomalies in peer learning", future students will explore the everyday yet extraordinary properties of water. Although water is ubiquitous, many of its special properties are still the subject of current studies.

Research and teaching are often regarded as separate entities, with the subject-specific foundations for later research being laid in the degree courses. The award-winning project complements the science courses, benefiting both teaching and research. "The students are very creative and as they are less specialized in their subject, they often have a different perspective on problems from research, which they are asked to bring to the project," explains Eva von Domaros. Conversely, the research project provides a current context for the content taught on the course. This application-oriented focus supports the learning process. Specifically, the project aims to apply the methods of computer-aided materials science to the prediction of the maximum density of water.