Equal opportunities and gender equality are integral to Henkel Consumer Brand’s corporate culture. As women are still underrepresented in science, the Martha Schwarzkopf Award, l contributes to increasing diversity in science and supports the advancement of talented female researchers.
Researchers from all over the world, focusing on hair research or related areas, were invited to apply. All applications were evaluated on scientific merit by an expert jury of R&D scientists from Henkel’s consumer brands unit. In recognition of their scientific achievements, the winners of the category “Life-time contributions” received prize money of 10,000 euros and the prize money for winners in the category “Emerging talent” is 5.000 euros. In addition, Henkel offers them opportunities for intensive exchange and mentoring by Henkel experts to expand their valuable network and further advance their research projects.
The winners
This year’s winners convinced the expert jury with their innovation, pioneering spirit and the high relevance of their research. They were announced at the award ceremony on December 5 in Düsseldorf. Due to the high number of exceptional applications, the award for the category “Life-time contributions” was granted to three female scientists this year, each receiving a prize of 10,000 euros:
- Prof Congfen He – Beijing Technology and Business University in China with her own research lab
- Dr Kristen LoSicco – Director of the Skin and Cancer Unit and Associate Professor of Dermatology at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine in the USA
- Prof Malebogo Neo Ngoepe – Director of the Centre for Research in Computational and Applied Mechanics (CERECAM) at the University of Cape Town.
South African Dr Ngoepe’s research focuses on the distinctive properties of curly hair, aiming to address the lack of published information on this topic.
In addition to these three main award winners, two young female scientists were awarded in the category “Emerging Talent” and have received prize money of 5,000 euros each. The winners are Yuou Sha, a PhD student in the Department of Dermatology at Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, in Shanghai, China, and Karoline Strobl, a post-doctoral researcher at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria.
Natalie van Heerden, Market Manager, Henkel South Africa (SA), said Henkel SA was especially thrilled to see SA talent represented on this global stage.
The Martha Schwarzkopf Award
The Martha Schwarzkopf Award is a tribute to Martha Schwarzkopf, a great pioneer in hair research. Even today, all technical innovations of the Schwarzkopf brand are in the tradition of the Schwarzkopf Hair Research Institute, founded in the 20th century by Martha Schwarzkopf and which advanced research into human hair. Today, Schwarzkopf is the largest brand in the hair category at Henkel Consumer Brands and operates research and development laboratories, hair test salons and academies around the world.
Henkel
With its brands, innovations and technologies, Henkel holds leading global market positions in the industrial and consumer businesses. With Consumer Brands, the company holds leading positions especially in laundry & home care and hair in many markets and categories around the world. The company’s three strongest brands are Loctite, Persil and Schwarzkopf. In fiscal 2023, Henkel reported sales of more than 21.5 billion euros and adjusted operating profit of around 2.6 billion euros. Henkel’s preferred shares are listed in the German stock index DAX. Sustainability has a long tradition at Henkel, and the company has a clear sustainability strategy with specific targets. Founded in 1876, today employs a diverse team of about 48,000 people worldwide. “Pioneers at heart for the good of generations.”
