Materials Science and Engineering Professor Perena Gouma has received a Humboldt Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany.
Every year, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation grants up to 100 awards to internationally leading researchers of all disciplines from abroad in recognition of their academic record to date. Recipients are nominated by established researchers at German institutions. They are selected based on discoveries, new theories, or findings that have had a lasting impact on their fields, as well as their potential to continue producing outstanding research.
Gouma has invented and produced advanced functional materials. She pioneered the crystallo-chemical approach for selective chemo-sensing and advanced nanomanufacturing. She has received numerous awards and accolades for breakthroughs like electronic olfaction for non-invasive diagnostics and visible light photocatalysts for water splitting. Gouma has published 175 peer-reviewed papers and holds 25 patents.
Her research focus as part of the Humboldt award is the synthesis and properties of functional materials. She will begin her research in October 2026 at the Universität Bayreuth in Germany, with two subsequent visits in 2027, collaborating with her German host Professor Ralf Moos.
"It is my great pleasure and honor to be so recognized by AvH, and I am grateful to Professor Moos for hosting my visit,” said Gouma, who holds a joint appointment in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. “I look forward to my research visits to Germany and to very productive collaborations under this program.”
Article originally published by the College of Engineering on May 13, 2026.