Tiburtius Prize 2024 for Gustav Uhre Jakobsen

The physicist receives a recognition award for his dissertation on quantum field theory at the HU

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Gustav Uhre Jakobsen, a postdoc at the Humboldt University of Berlin and in the Astrophysical and Cosmological Relativity Department at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute, AEI) in the Potsdam Science Park, will be awarded a “Tiburtius Prize – Prize of the Berlin Universities” for his dissertation. The reviewer praises not only the impressive wealth of topics in Jakobsen's doctoral thesis titled “Gravitational Scattering of Compact Bodies from Worldline Quantum Field Theory” and the quality of the research results, but also the impact it has had in the research community.

“I am very proud to receive this recognition of my research,” says Gustav Uhre Jakobsen. “It is an honor that my doctoral thesis has also been received well in the larger context of the universities in Berlin.”

Gustav Uhre Jakobsen’s PhD thesis at the Humboldt University of Berlin under the supervision of Jan Plefka (Humboldt University of Berlin), Alessandra Buonanno (AEI Potsdam), and Jan Steinhoff (AEI Potsdam) uses a synergy of modern techniques of quantum field theory and their application to classical general relativity. Within this framework called “worldline quantum field theory” Jakobsen has made key contributions to predicting the gravitational waves from encounters of two black holes or neutron stars. Highly precise predictions of the waveforms are the key to making full use of gravitational-wave observations by future detectors on the ground and in space.

The awardee

Gustav Uhre Jakobsen completed his Bachelor of Science in physics at University of Copenhagen in 2018 and his Master of Science in theoretical physics at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen in 2020. From 2020 to 2023 he did his PhD studies at the Humboldt University of Berlin and the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Potsdam under the supervision of Jan Plefka, Alessandra Buonanno, and Jan Steinhoff. Since September 2023 he is a postdoctoral researcher at Humboldt University of Berlin in cooperation with the Astrophysical and Cosmological Relativity department at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Potsdam.

Tiburtius Prize – Prize of the Berlin Universities

The Tiburtius Prize is awarded annually by the State Conference of Rectors and Presidents of Berlin Universities (LKRP). It is named after Professor Joachim Tiburtius, who held the office of Senator for National Education in Berlin from 1951 to 1963. The prize is awarded for outstanding theses and dissertations. This year, three master's theses and six dissertations will receive awards. Depending on the category, the prizes are endowed with between 500 and 4,000 euros.

Further information

• Tiburtius Prize Awardees 2024
• Tiburtius Prize – Prize of the Berlin Universities
• Quantum Field and String Theory Group of Prof. Jan Plefka
• Homepage of the “Astrophysical and Cosmological Relativity” department at AEI Potsdam

Press release AEI, 25 November 2024