1995: Professor Paul Crutzen
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded Professor Paul Crutzen of the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz the 1995 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Crutzen received the award together with Professor Mario Molina from MIT, Cambridge, USA, and Professor F. Sherwood Rowland from the University of California, Irvine, USA, for their research in atmospheric chemistry, especially on ozone formation and depletion.
1956: Werner Otto Theodor Forßmann
The 1956 Nobel Prize for Medicine was awarded to Werner Otto Theodor Forßmann, André Frédéric Cournand, and Dickinson W. Richards for their discoveries in relation to cardiac catheterization and pathological changes in the circulatory system.
In 1929, Werner Forßmann (1904-1979), who was then an intern at the Auguste Victoria Clinic (today known as the Werner Forßmann Hospital) in Eberswalde near Berlin, carried out the first cardiac catheterization by way of an experiment on himself. His contributions to therapeutic heart surgery were finally recognized in 1954 when he was awarded the Leibniz Medal by the German Academy of Sciences. In recognition of his work, he was also awarded the most prestigious Great Cross of Merit with Star and Sash of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz named Werner Forßmann as an Honorary Professor in 1956.
- 2005, Professor Immanuel F. Bloch, Experimental Physics
- 2005, Professor Jürgen Gauß, Theoretical Chemistry
- 1990, Professor Konrad Kleinknecht, Experimental Physics
- 1988, Professor Hans Wolfgang Spiess, Physical Chemistry (Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research)
The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize is named after the eminent German scientist Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716). The German Research Foundation has been awarding the Leibniz Prize since 1986 to honor outstanding scientists and academics from different fields working in Germany.
The Leibniz Prize is Germany’s most important research award, worth EUR 2.5 million (prior to 2006: EUR 1.55 million) per award. It is the most highly endowed award given for scientific achievement worldwide. Prizewinners have to use the funds for project-related purposes and for the promotion of particularly qualified early career researchers.
The Alexander von Humboldt Professorship is an award for academics of all disciplines from abroad, who are internationally recognized as leaders in their field. With this award, they are invited to pursue their ground-breaking research at universities and research institutions in Germany and thus contribute to Germany’s sustained international competitiveness as an international research hub. The Humboldt Professorship, which is financed by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research through the International Research Fund for Germany, allows award winners to pursue long-term and ground-breaking research at universities and research institutions in Germany.
The award amount totals EUR 5 million for academics in experimental disciplines and EUR 3.5 million for researchers in theoretical disciplines and is made available for a period of five years.
JGU honors outstanding public figures and people who have rendered exceptional services to the university, science and art with the awards of Honorary Doctorate, Honorary Senator, or Honorary Citizen.
- Dr. h.c. Klaus G. Adam, Honorary Chairman of the Friends of the University of Mainz Association, former Chairman of the Management Board of Landesbank Rheinland-Pfalz
- Marianne Arnold, former Chairwoman of the Friends of Egyptology at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz Association
- Professor Dr. Dr. Andreas Barner, Chairman of the JGU University Council, member of the Shareholders’ Committee of C. H. Boehringer Sohn AG & Co. KG, former member of the Board of Managing Directors of Boehringer Ingelheim
- Hermann Dexheimer, former Editor-in-Chief of Allgemeine Zeitung
- Almut Diethelm, founder of the Prof. Dr. med. Lothar Diethelm-Gedächtnisstiftung
- Dr. Willy Eberz, former President of the Social Court in Mainz, first Chairman of the General Students’ Committee
- Dr. h.c. Fritz Eichholz, first Chancellor of JGU
- Helmut Fahlbusch, former Spokesman of the Management Board of Mainzer Schott AG, former member of the Supervisory Board of the Mainz University Medical Center
- Dr. Hans Friderichs, former German Federal Minister, Honorary Chairman of the Friends of the University of Mainz Association
- Prof. em. Dr. Elisabeth Gateff, former holder of the Chair in Genetics at JGU
- Peter Geipel, Foundation and Financial Advisor
- Dr. h.c. Johannes Gerster, former State Commissioner of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation
- Dietmar Giebelmann, former Prelate, Vicar General, and Diocesan Administrator of the Diocese of Mainz
- Dr. Elke Göbel and Dr. Rainer Göbel, founders of the Dres. Elke und Rainer Göbel-Stiftung and of the Dres. Göbel Klima-Stiftung
- Helga Hammer, former Vice President of the State Parliament of Rhineland-Palatinate
- Klaus Hammer, former Chairman of the JGU Board of Trustees and member of the State Parliament of Rhineland-Palatinate (1987-2006)
- Sibylle Kalkhof-Rose, founder of the Sibylle Kalkhof-Rose Foundation
- Alexander Karl, former Managing Director of Karl + Co
- Dr. Anton Maria Keim, former Director of Education and Cultural Affairs in the City of Mainz
- Dr. Peter Payer, former Managing Director of the Robert Bosch Foundation
- Helmut Rittgen, former Director of Deutsche Bundesbank, Chairman of the Board of the Friends of the University of Mainz Association
- Kurt Roeske, former Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Friends of the University of Mainz Association
- Wilhelm Schmitt
- Paul Skonieczny, former Secretary of State and General Director of Landesbank Rheinland-Pfalz – Girozentrale
JGU awards the Diether von Isenburg Medal to friends and supporters of the university.
- Dr. Lutz Baumann, former Head of the JGU Dijon Office
- Dr. Renate Gahn, former Gender Equality Representative of JGU
- Professor Dr. Helmut Herminghaus and Dr. Karl-Heinz Kaiser, developers of the functional principle and the first stages of the Mainz Microtron MAMI
- Dr. Siegfried Wenneis, former Chairman of the JGU Staff Council
- Professor Dr. Norbert Trautmann, former Operations Manager of the TRIGA Mainz research reactor
The University Senate awards the JGU Medal of Honor to distinguished members of the university for their extraordinary commitment and involvement in university affairs and for their contribution to further enhancing the prestige of the university.
- Hendrik Büggeln
- Adeline Duvivier
- Peter Herbert Eisenhuth
- Olav Franzen
- Heiko Geisenhof
- Laura-Luise Hammel
- Gunther Heinisch
- Marcel Hüttel
- Volker Klemm
- Max Lindemann
- María de Lourdes Ortega Méndez
- Gisela Mainberger
- Brigitte Oberle
- Astrid Papendick
- Wolfgang Schärfe
- Stefan Schmidt
- Jana Schneiß
- Holger Schulz
The JGU Senate may award the Dr. Willy Eberz Medal to students who have rendered outstanding services to the interests of JGU and/or its student body and who have contributed to strengthening students’ identification with their university.
