Prof. Hermann Heilmeier has been awarded the Honorary Miner's Apron of the "Friends and Sponsors of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg" (VFF). With this special award, the association recognises his work for the endowment of the "Humboldt-Bonpland Foundation for Biological Sciences" to the existing Günter Heinisch Foundation "Geoscientific Collections" - a benefit for bioscientific research and teaching at TUBAF.
The Honorary Miners' Apron was handed over at the VFF General Assembly on 29 November 2024. In his laudatory speech, Prof. Michael Schlömann paid tribute to Hermann Heilmeier's great dedication to the TU Bergakademie Freiberg since 1999, saying that he had made a significant contribution to biology and ecology being recognised as essential elements of research and teaching at TUBAF.
Hermann Heilmeier's donation of more than €100,000 is intended to help close a funding gap. The purpose of the foundation is to provide funding for
- Scholarships for the preparation of bachelor, master and doctoral theses (material and travel grants)
- prizes for outstanding bachelor's, master's and doctoral theses, and
- the organisation of symposia and scholarships for participation in conferences.
The name "Humboldt-Bonpland Foundation for Biological Sciences" is a reference to the most famous graduate of the Bergakademie, Alexander von Humboldt, who presented the results of organismic biology in one of his first scientific publications in 1793, entitled "Florae fribergensis specimen, plantas cryptogamicas praesertim subterraneas exhibens". Aimé Jacques Alexandre Bonpland was a botanist and accompanied Humboldt on his famous trip to America.