At the graduation ceremony on July 12 marking the end of the 2019 summer semester, 150 graduating students received their bachelor and master degrees. A highlight of the ceremony was the awarding of the doctorate to Khalil Bou Nader, whose dissertation dealt with the influence of age on physiological aspects of the vine as well as the chemical composition and sensory characteristics of wine and must.
University President Prof. Hans Reiner Schultz and Prof. Otmar Löhnertz, Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs, also used the festive occasion to honour retiring professor, Friedrich Bartfelder, Professor for Landscape, Environmental and Recreational Planning. Prof. Gerd Helget thanked the sponsors of the Germany Scholarship. The ceremonial address "This looks familiar! 19th century recollections - current insights" was held by Prof. Leo Gros. Robert Lönarz (Dipl.-Ing.), President of the Geisenheim Alumni Association, VEG, encouraged the graduates to actively shape the future of the 125-year-old association, with its strong, worldwide network.

Dennis Bergamo receives Karl-Bayer-Preis 2019

The prize is awarded for the best final thesis within the framework of the German-Italian double diploma agreement between Hochschule Geisenheim University and the three partner institutions - the Universities of Trento and Udine as well as the San Michele all´Adige Agricultural Institute. The prize winner this year was Dennis Bergamo, who was awarded with €2,000 for his bachelor thesis, "Influence of the HXT7 promoter on ester production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae during wine fermentation". Thesis supervisor in Geisenheim was Dr. Christian von Wallbrunn.

Rudolf Hermanns Foundation Prize awarded for two viticulture theses

Two future-oriented topics were the subjects of the winning bachelor theses, and the winners were each awarded €500 prize money. „The CO₂ footprint and emission-reducing measures as a climate balance using the example of the Hochschule Geisenheim University’s winery", was the title of the thesis by Marie Schreiber, supervised by Prof. Claudia Kammann. Co-supervisor was the Head of the winery, Prof. Monika Christmann.

Iven Schlich, who studied Vitculture and Enology, like Ms. Schreiber, wrote his thesis outlining the "Current State of Research in Artificial Intelligence, in particular Neural Networks, and Possible Concepts for Application in Viticulture". His thesis supervisors were Dr. Rainer Keicher and Thomas Severin (Dipl.-Ing.) from the Department of Agricultural Engineering.

Winner of Dr. Werner Hoffmann Prize for Sustainability researched alternative packaging materials

This prize of €500 has been awarded by Hochschule Geisenheim University, together with Local Agenda 21 Geisenheim and the Rheingau Competence Center for Renewable Energy since 2014 in memory of Dr. Werner Hoffman, a scientist who was passionate about the sustainable use of our resources.

This year the award was presented to Isabelle Winkler, a graduate of horticulture, whose thesis, entitled "Alternatives to plastic in the packaging of fruit and vegetables in food retail" investigated how renewable bio-plastic actually is in retail. The thesis supervisors were Eike Kaim (Dipl.-Ing. Agr.) and Prof. Judith Kreyenschmidt.

Idea for "World Heritage Garden Lorchhausen" wins prize

Four sponsors enable the university to award a prize for a thesis in our Bachelor or Master Landscape Architecture programs. The sponsors are BDLA the Hessen regional branch of the German Association of Landscape Architects, DGGL German Society for Garden and Landscape Design, FGL Professional Association for Garden, Landscape and Sports Field Construction of Hessen / Thuringia and HVNL Hessen Association for Nature Conservation and Landscape Management. This year the prize of €500 went toGeraldine Bechstein for her bachelor thesis "World Heritage Garden Lorchhausen", which deals with the development of a listed historical garden complex in Lorchhausen, for which Ms. Bechstein worked out design proposals.

She not only deal with the local and prevailing conditions, but also with the requirements of the "UNESCO World Heritage Upper Middle Rhine Valley" and the integration in implementation plans for BUGA 2029, a national garden show held every 4 years. The very demanding planning was dealt with using "extraordinary sharpness of detail and a transparent and comprehensible methodology regarding building materials, from the initial idea, through to the work planning and the 3D planning" according to the jury.