On 30th January 2014 the University of Stuttgart celebrated the 100-year anniversary of the first woman graduating from its institution: on 28th January 1914 Nora Kräutle (1891-1981) was awarded her degree in the subject of Chemistry at the then Technical University of Stuttgart. On this occasion the University of Stuttgart also awarded the Prima! Prize for the first time to honour excellent final papers by female graduates from the University of Stuttgart. The first prize-winner is the chemist Sinja Manck.
Dr. Gabriele Hardtmann, the Equal Opportunities Commissioner from the University of Stuttgart, explained: “By awarding this prize, we would like to carry on the tradition at the University of Stuttgart of encouraging women to pursue scientific careers and to support them in doing so“. The award is endowed with a total of 1,000 Euros. The prize-winner, Sinja Manck, prepared her Master’s thesis in 2013 at the Institute for Physical Chemistry and successfully passed her Master’s degree with distinction. At present the 25-year old is working at the Free University of Berlin on her dissertation on the topic of “Switchable supramolecular metal complexes“.
Prof. Joris van Slageren (Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Stuttgart and German
Chemical Society, Chapter Nordwürttemberg) opened the ceremony together with Dr. Gabriele
Hardtmann. Subsequently, Prof. Barbara Albert, Vice-President of the German Chemical Society, spoke
about innovations in chemistry and the expectations of the working world of tomorrow. Prof. Sabine
Laschat from the Institute of Organic Chemistry at the University of Stuttgart gave a personal
progress report as the first professor of Chemistry at the University of Stuttgart.
The ceremonial address going under the title of “Nora Kräutle: first graduate student from
the Technical University of Stuttgart 1914“ was given by Nicola Hille from the Department for the
Equality of the Sexes at the University of Stuttgart; moreover she presented the anniversary
publication issued by herself and Dr. Gabriele Hardtmann: “The beginnings of women studying in
Württemberg: first graduates from the TH Stuttgart“ (Franz Steiner Verlag Stuttgart).
Contact:
Nicola Hille, M.A., Centre for the Equality of the Sexes, Managing Director Service Gender
Consulting at the University of Stuttgart, Tel. 0711/685-84024, Email:
nicola.hille@verwaltung.uni-stuttgart.de.
Dr. Gabriele Hardtmann, Equal Opportunities Commissioner from the University of Stuttgart,
Tel. 0711/685-64156, Email: gabriele.hardtmann@rektorat.uni-stuttgart.de.