Award Ceremony
Innovationspreis and Zukunftspreis
The award ceremony of the Berthold Leibinger Innovationspreis and Zukunftspreis is a celebration of science and innovation, a meeting place for the laser world, pioneers, enthusiasts and everyone interested in laser technologies. Celebrate the finalists and the prizewinners with us!
The 13th award ceremony will take place on June 20th, 2025 in Ditzingen, Germany. This will be the friday before Laser World of Photonics in Munich. For invitations, please register here. To RSVP please use the the provided QR code or enter your personalized reply here with the crendentials as printed on your entry ticket.
When, where, how?
Start and procedure
Date: Friday, June 20, 2025
Reception: from 4 p.m.
Ceremony: 6 p.m.
Stand-up reception: 8 p.m.
End: 11 p.m.
Address and directions
The award ceremony will take place at the headquarters of the TRUMPF Group in 71254 Ditzingen (Germany).
Navigation destination: Schuckertstr., 71254 Ditzingen.
Directions on the TRUMPF Group website. Destination: parking garage P4
Hotels
The following hotels in Ditzingen can be booked with the code ”Leibinger Award Ceremony”. Shuttles free of charge will commute between the hotels and venue between 4pm and 11pm.
PLAZA INN Stuttgart-Ditzingen (formerly Best Western)
Stettiner Str. 27
71254 Ditzingen
Tel: +49 7156 9620
ditzingen@plazahotels.de
Website PLAZA INN Stuttgart-Ditzingen
PLAZA INN Blankenburg Ditzingen
Gerlinger Strasse 27
71254 Ditzingen
Tel: +49 7156 932-0
ditzingen2@plazahotels.de
Website PLAZA INN Blankenburg Ditzingen
Dresscode
Business Attire
Program
6 pm – Introduction
Dr.-Ing. E. h. Peter Leibinger
Chairman of the Shareholders of the Berthold Leibinger Stiftung
Talk
Dr. James Kafka
Emeritus Fellow, Spectra-Physics Lasers MKS Instruments, Inc. and President of Optica
Rhapsody in AI – Part 1
by and with Roberto Di Gioia
Award Presentation Berthold Leibinger Innovationspreis
Rhapsody in AI – Part 2
by and with Roberto Di Gioia
Award Presentation Berthold Leibinger Zukunftspreis
8 pm – Reception
11 pm – End
JILA, NIST und University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA ‘Optical Clocks and Frequency Metrology’
Berthold Leibinger Zukunftspreis 2025
The Berthold Leibinger Zukunftspreis recognizes outstanding developments in scientific or industrial research on the application or generation of laser light. It is awarded every two years alongside the Berthold Leibinger Innovationspreis. The prize money is €50,000.
Berthold Leibinger Innovationspreis 2025
Eight finalists presented their work to the members of the jury in person in Ditzingen on February 14th. The jury selected the three prizewinners from these finalists. All finalists and prizewinners will be presented with their award during the award ceremony.
LEAF – Laser Enhanced Air Flow
Team LEAF represented by Dr. Tobias Dyck
4JET microtech GmbH
Laser Enhanced Air Flow is a technology that combines the well-established and powerful technology of multi-kilowatt CO₂ laser sources with newest innovations in the physical optics field of laser interference processing. This combination enables the large-scale industrial fabrication of drag-reducing surfaces, so called ‘riblets’ or ‘shark skin’, directly onto large objects like wide-body aircraft, cruise ships or wind turbine blades. The estimated reduction of CO₂ emissions is more than 10 million tons per year for the potential reduction of fuel burn in aviation industry only.
Laser Shrinking
Till Schade, Alexander Haffe, Dr. Michael Diez
Robert Bosch GmbH
Reliable and cost-effective joining technology with outstanding precision – laser shrinking is revolutionizing manufacturing technology. By using a multitude of microscopic laser welds, precisely calculated component deformations are induced. This enables press-fit connections that meet substantial mechanical and thermal requirements. The suitability of this innovative technology for large-scale production is demonstrated in the latest braking systems from Bosch: alongside meeting the highest performance demands, cost potentials are leveraged, and CO₂ emissions are reduced.
iNTA – Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis
Prof. Dr. Vahid Sandoghdar, Dr. Anna Kashkanova, Martin Blessing, Dr. André Gemeinhardt, Dr. Alexey Shkarin, Dr. Tobias Utikal
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light
Characterization of the size and material properties of nanoparticles in liquid suspensions is in very high demand, e.g., in the analysis of bodily fluids such as urine and blood plasma or of medication samples such as vaccines. iNTA is a new method that combines interferometric detection of scattered laser light with tracking analysis of single nanoparticles to reach unprecedented sensitivity and precision. A large promise of iNTA is in pharmaceutical and colloidal research as well as quality control in the (bio)chemical production line.
FLIX-MS – Femtosecond Laser Cross-Linking Mass Spectrometry
Prof. Dr. Christoph Rußmann, Dr. Michael Wierer
HAWK Göttingen, University of Copenhagen
FLIX-MS ‘freezes’ molecular interactions within femtoseconds, enabling the detection of fleeting protein-DNA interactions with unprecedented precision via mass spectrometry. Applications span from basic research to pharmaceutical industry, unlocking new possibilities in structural biology and drug discovery by elucidating how molecules drive protein-DNA interactions. Integrated with other pioneering methods FLIX-MS has the potential to revolutionize personalized medicine by mapping the DNA-bound proteome and revealing how genetic variations influence protein binding and gene regulation.
SMILE Procedure with Femtosecond Laser Keratome VISUMAX
Team HORUS represented by Dr. Mark Bischoff, Dr. Gregor Stobrawa
Carl Zeiss Meditec AG
Good vision is crucial for quality of life, but global myopia is on the rise. Laser vision correction can provide a permanent solution. The minimally invasive SMILE procedure developed at ZEISS uses ultra-short laser pulses to separate a thin tissue lens within the cornea, which is then surgically re- moved through a small incision. The femto-second laser keratome VISUMAX achieves the precision required for creating the three-dimensional cuts in the cornea by combining laser technology with advanced optics and modern computer control.
Laser-Driven Radiation Sources for Nuclear Waste Inspection
Prof. Dr. Marc Zimmer, Dr. Thomas Rösch, Prof. Dr. Markus Roth
Focused Energy GmbH, Technical University of Darmstadt
Laser-Driven Radiation Sources utilize ultra-short pulse lasers to generate high-energy particles in a compact, portable setup, producing bright neutron and X-ray pulses. This technology addresses key limitations of traditional large-scale accelerators by enabling cost-effective, on-site, non-destructive inspection of nuclear waste, which is crucial for long-term repository storage. Beyond waste management, this technology plays a significant role in advancing laser-based fusion energy, thereby accelerating the development of sustainable energy solutions.
Revolution in Integrated Photonics
Dr. Rui Santos, Dr. Xaveer Leijtens
PHOTON IP B.V.
A novel technology for integrated photonics delivers fully passive optical alignment between materials with high tolerance. It unlocks the integration of best-in-class materials for each functional component on a photonic integrated circuit, including lasers, modulators, photodetectors and low-loss SOI for passive circuitry. It delivers more than ten times performance increase while substantially reducing power consumption. The immediate potential is in datacom and telecom markets; and is likely to enable new mass markets in consumer sensing and automotive that are not reachable today with current technologies.
Deep-Ultraviolet Laser Diodes
Prof. Dr. Hiroshi Amano, Dr. Maki Kushimoto, Dr. Chiaki Sasaoka, Dr. Akira Yoshikawa, Dr. Ziyi Zhang
Nagoya University, Asahi Kasei Corp.
The aluminum nitride-based deep ultraviolet (DUV) laser diode achieves continuous-wave lasing at room temperature at a wavelength as short as 274 nm. This breakthrough provides a compact and highly efficient DUV light source, surpassing conventional technologies and opening up new possibilities across various fields. These smaller and more energy-efficient DUV sources are expected to revolutionize applications ranging from healthcare and sterilization to advanced industrial uses such as microscopic particle detection, mobile bio-/chemical sensing, semiconductor lithography, and material processing.
