Science Communication “KlarText-Preis” awarded to two former IWR PhD candidates
Congratulations to computational linguist Dr. Letitia Parcalabescu and geoinformatics specialist Dr. Steffen Knoblauch, who have won the “KlarText-Preis für Wissenschaftskommunikation”.
The Klaus Tschira Stiftung awards this €7,500 prize to researchers who make the results of their doctoral theses accessible to a broad audience by writing an easy-to-understand article. Letitia Parcalabescu and Steffen Knoblauch have both completed their doctorates within the research groups of IWR members. They are two of eight award winners being honoured in seven different disciplines in infographic format.
In her article “Two, three, or five cats?”, Dr. Letitia Parcalabescu addresses the question of how modern AI models link images and text—and why they often reach their limits in doing so. She completed her doctorate in the group of IWR member Prof. Anette Frank. Letitia Parcalabescu currently works as a researcher for an AI company. In October 2025, she received the Ruprecht Karls Prize for outstanding doctoral theses, which is awarded by the Heidelberg University Foundation.
Dr. Steffen Knoblauch explains in his article how satellite images and artificial intelligence can be used to combat the infectious disease dengue fever. He completed his doctorate under the supervision of IWR member Prof. Alexander Zipf. Steffen Knoblauch is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher at the IWR and is also conducting research at the Heidelberg Institute for Geoinformation Technology (HeiGIT).
The "KlarText-Preis für Wissenschaftskommunikation" is awarded to young researchers in the fields of biology, chemistry, earth sciences, computer science, mathematics, neuroscience, and physics. To participate in the competition, candidates must have completed an outstanding doctoral thesis and be willing to present their research findings in an article that is accessible to a general audience or in a clear infographic. The award ceremony took place on November 13, 2025, at Heidelberg University.