The International Photoacoustic & Photothermal Association (IPPA) awarded the 2019 Senior IPPA Prize to Silvia Braslavsky, former MPI CEC group leader.
She received the award for "outstanding lifelong achievements in photochemistry and photobiology, in particular on the molecular aspects of the light absorption by biological photoreceptors such as photosynthetic reaction centers, phytochromes, retinal- and blue-light absorbing proteins and their chromophore models. For the development of laser-induced optoacoustic spectroscopy tools and instrumentation, and for the determination of the thermodynamic parameters of reactions taking place in nano- and microsecond time scales, unveiling the role of water as well as the protein movements. For her strong influence on several generations of researchers in photochemistry and photobiology, in particular shaping the Latin-American science and technology research groups."
The award ceremony took place during the 20th International Congress on Photoacoustic and Photothermal Phenomena (20 ICPPP) in Moscow in July.