Prof. Michael Backes

Memberships and Fellowships

• Associate of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP): 2024 - 2029
• Member of the Global Young Academy (GYA); 2018 - 2023
• Fellow of GSO Leadership Academy 2018/19, German Scholars Organization (GSO); June 2018 - Feb 2019

Noteworthy Invitations

• 3rd U.S.-Africa Frontiers of Science, Eng., and Medicine Symposium, Speaker; Kigali (RW), Feb 2025
• 11th World Science Forum; Budapest (HU), Nov 2024
• 6th World Laureates Forum, Speaker; Shanghai (CN), Nov 2023
• 10th World Science Forum, Plenary Speaker; Cape Town (ZA), Dec 2022
• 69th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, Heraeus-Fellow; Lindau (D), June 2019

Personal Awards

• NRF Rating: Established Researcher - Category C2, National Research Foundation (NRF); Jan 2021 - Dec 2026
• UNAM Meritorious Award 2017 for Best Academic Performance in the Faculty of Science, University of Namibia (UNAM); Apr 2018
• Honorable Mention in Gustav-Hertz-Award, German Physical Society (DPG); Mar 2015 (not eligible as not yet post-doc during the achievements leading to the award)
• GfKl Application Award 2012, German Data Science Society (GfKl); July 2013

Student Awards

• Online-Scholarship, e-fellows.net GmbH & Co. KG; Aug 2010 - Feb 2012
• Ph.D. Scholarship, Physics Faculty, TU Dortmund University; Apr 2008 – Mar 2011
• Dean's List: Top-25% MSc graduates, Physics Faculty, TU Dortmund University; 2008
• DPG A-levels Award, German Physical Society (DPG); June 2002

Group Awards

• Annie Maunder Medal for Outreach 2024: AMT Mobile Planetarium Team, Royal Astronomical Society; Jan 2024
• Top-Six of the 2010s’ Most Important Physics Developments: Likely Source of High-Energy “Ghost Particles” Identified (2018), Sigma Pi Sigma – The Physics Honor Society (American Institute of Physics); Apr 2020
• Science’s 2018 Breakthrough of the Year, Runner-Up: Messengers from a far-off galaxy, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS): Science; Dec 2018
• ScienceNews Top 10 Science Story of 2018, rank 4: A neutrino’s distant source, Society for Science & the Public: Science News; Dec 2018
• SSPI Better Satellite World Award: DARA project, Space and Satellite Professionals International (SSPI); Oct 2018
• Science’s 2017 Breakthrough of the Year: Cosmic convergence, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS): Science; Dec 2017
• Physics World 2017 Breakthrough of the Year: First multimessenger observation of a neutron-star merger, Institute of Physics (IOP): Physics World; Dec 2017
• ScienceNews Top 10 Science Story of 2017, rank 1: This year’s neutron star collision unlocks cosmic mysteries, Society for Science & the Public: Science News; Dec 2017
• THE International Collaboration of the Year: Cardiff University & UNAM Phoenix Project, Times Higher Education (THE); Nov 2017
• RSTI Award - Research Unit of the Year: UNAM Faculty of Science, National Commission on Research Science & Technology; Oct 2016