The Otto-Hahn-Medal was awarded to her in recognition of her PhD work on the investigations of particle acceleration in astrophysical jets, the development of a novel background rejection method and improvements to the data analysis software that she conducted in the division “Non-Thermal Astrophysics” of Prof. Dr. Jim Hinton.
In her PhD thesis on "Resolving particle acceleration and transport in the jets of the microquasar SS 433 with H.E.S.S. and HAWC, Olivera-Nieto investigated the binary system SS 433 using data from the Cherenkov observatories H.E.S.S. and HAWC, and developed improved methods for analysing data from both observatories. She was able to show for the first time that the origin of gamma radiation from the outer jets of the binary system is energy-dependent and, using the data and simulations obtained, was able to pinpoint the location and mechanism of one of the most efficient particle accelerators in the universe within the jet of the binary system. The results of the dissertation were recently published in the journal Science.
Dr. Laura Olivera-Nieto was also presented with the Otto Hahn Award. This is awarded annually by the Max Planck Society to individual recipients of the Otto Hahn Medal who stand out from the group of previous winners.
Since 1978, the Max Planck Society has awarded the Otto Hahn Medal to young researchers for outstanding scientific achievements, mostly in connection with their doctorate. Additionally, the Otto Hahn Award is bestowed by the Max Planck Society every year to particularly worthy recipients of the Otto Hahn Medal. The award provides for a long-term research residency abroad, followed by leadership of a research group on the scientist's own research topic at one of the Max Planck Institutes. The award is intended to pave the way for a long-term scientific career in Germany.
We congratulate Dr. Laura Olivera-Nieto on her achievements!
