Dies Academicus 2006

LAUDATIONES DIES ACADEMICUS 2006

Faculty of Theology > Herr Paul Jenkins, Bürger von Basel und Grossbritannien

Faculty of Law > Herrn Prof. Dr. iur. Christoph Leuenberger, St. Gallen

Faculty of Medicine > Herrn Daniel G. Hueskes von Basel

Faculty of Humanities > Herrn Dr. Arthur Cohn von Basel

Faculty of Science > Herrn Hans-Rudolf Hidber, von Mels (SG) und Herrn Peter Reimann, von Gelterkinden (BL)

Faculty of Business and Economics > Herrn Rudolf Maag, Herrliberg (ZH) und Liestal (BL)

Faculty of Psychology > Herrn Dr. Urs Baumann von Basel

Faculty Prizes

Faculty of Theology

The 2006 faculty prize of the Faculty of Theology is awarded to:

The Reverend Dr. des Florence Develey

Whose doctoral dissertation “Versionen des Authentischen und ihre Relevanz für eine theologische Ethik” breaks new scientific ground by skilfully linking philosophy and the cultural sciences (in particular media studies) with theological research on the basis of a systematic typology, thus arriving at a more proficient understanding of “authenticity” as a fundamental concept of a theological ethics informed by the cultural sciences.

Whose doctoral dissertation “Die Haftung des Gesuchstellers für ungerechtfertigte vorsorgliche Massnahmen” provides a comprehensive analysis of the various models of liability within the framework of interim legal protection de lege lata and de lege ferenda, thereby making an important contribution to the future development of the doctrine and practice of the Swiss law of civil procedure.

and to:

Dr. iur. Daniel Häring, from Oberwil BL

Whose dissertation “Die Mittäterschaft beim Fahrlässigkeitsdelikt” provides a comprehensive dogmatic analysis of the problem of the joint violation of due diligence, develops a persuasive analysis of the prerequisites for the reciprocal allocation of the elements of the acts committed, and embeds these themes within the system of Swiss penal law.

Faculty of Medicine

The 2006 prize of the Faculty of Medicine, endowed by the Roche Research Foundation, is awarded to:

Dr. med. Jochen Julius Rüdiger, from Germany

Whose study “Activation of the glucocorticoid signaling pathway by inhaled long-acting 2-agonists” investigates the effect of inhaled asthma medication and which marks an essential contribution to better understanding asthma therapy, and optimising its application.

Faculty of Humanities

The 2006 prize of the Faculty of Humanities, endowed by the Migros Cooperative Basel, is awarded jointly to:

Dr. phil.des. Susanne Gärtner, from Germany

Whose doctoral dissertation “Werkstatt-Spuren. Die ‚Sonatine’ von Pierre Boulez Basel 2005. III, 334 S. [Ms.]” combines an impressive study of philological sources with musical historical thinking and presentation. Based on her practical study of Pierre Boulez’s “Sonatine pour flûte et piano”, Susanne Gärtner, who is a qualified flutist, elucidates the composer’s paths to this composition, its genesis and successive reworking, thereby opening up a decisive stage in the development of New Music between 1945 and 1950. She has succeeded in presenting uncustomarily complex compositional procedures in what is a clarity and mastery of language that is uncommon in music studies.

And to:

Dr. phil. Julia Richers, from Germany

Whose doctoral dissertation “Der Traum von Budapest. Räumliche Dimensionen jüdischer Lebenswelten in Budapest in der Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts” draws on comprehensive source materials to furnish a highly differentiated analysis of the precarious situation of Jews in Budapest, situated between Jewish independence, Hungarian patriotism, and a “sense of alienness”. By combining socio-historical research, micro-historical and lifeworld case studies, and biographical accounts, Julia Richter’s study demonstrates remarkable analytical force. In adopting a stringent cultural sciences approach, which foregrounds human beings as bearers of history and incorporates the notion of space in its manifold dimensions, this study not only closes a significant research gap, but also opens up new perspectives for urban history.

Faculty of Science

The prize of the Faculty of Science, endowed by the Migros Cooperative Basel, is awarded jointly to:

Dr. phil. Sebastian Baader, from Schaffhausen

Whose outstanding doctoral dissertation “Notes on quasi-positivity and combinatorial knots invariants” marks an important contribution to the theory of knots.

And to:

Dr. phil. des. Cyril Zipfel, from France

Whose outstanding doctoral dissertation “Receptor-like kinases and pathogen-associated molecular patterns perception in arabidopsis” marks an important study on the congenital immunity of plants, which has caused a sensation well beyond plant science.

Faculty of Business and Economics

The 2006 prize of the Faculty of Business and Economics, endowed by Coop Schweiz, is awarded to:

Dr. rer. pol. Thomas Hauser, from Basel

Whose doctoral dissertation “Strategic Asset Allocation – A Global Application for Swiss Long-Term Investors” provides the first-ever application of dynamic portfolio optimising to a broad range of financial assets, thereby furnishing highly interesting results for empirical financial markets research.

Faculty of Psychology

The 2006 prize of the Faculty of Psychology, funded with an endowment from the Karger Verlag für Medizin und Naturwissenschaften, is awarded jointly to:

Ms. Rahel Bieri, B.Sc

Whose study on “Der Zuschnitt von Werbung auf die Zielgruppe älterer Menschen” closes an important research gap, and marks an essential contribution to a better understanding of the role that age differences play in responses to advertising. Rahel Bieri’s comprehensive research paper integrates research findings from cognitive psychology, physiology, social psychology, and developmental psychology. It presents an model of advertising effects that gives due consideration both to age differences with regard to information perception, storage, and processing, and to age-induced behavioural regulation through aims, values, motives, and self-perception. Ms Bieri’s model carries direct implications for designing advertising materials, in particular with regard to addressing older consumers in an appropriate, fair, and effective manner. Ms Bieri’s work has hence met with great interest not only in psychology but also in market research.

And to:

Mr. Timothy J. Pleskac, PhD

Whose research paper “A Signal Detection Analysis of the Recognition Heuristic” analyses one of the most discussed decision-making strategies, recognition heuristics. Dr. Pleskac’s paper examines whether what the strategy can achieve is impaired by or rather benefits from the fact that recognition-based assessments could be mistaken. In analysing the relationship between the strategy’s performance and the benevolence of recognition-based assessments, the paper draws on signal detection theory. Contrary to a prevalent intuition, Dr. Pleskac argues that the strategy performs better if its users alter their recognition criteria in line with the extent of their recognition-based knowledge. The paper demonstrates in an exemplary fashion how decision-making strategies can be anchored more firmly in cognitive psychology and its theories. Moreover, it is an outstanding example of methodological pluralism by linking mathematical modelling with computer simulations to benefit psychological analysis.

Honours and Awards

Amerbach Prize

The Faculty of Psychology awards the 2006 Amerbach Prize to

Dr. phil. Noortje Vriends

For her study “Soziale Phobie – Eine epidemiologische Studie zu Prädiktoren, Inzidenz und Remission”.

Frau Vriends’s study comprises three original pieces of research on the predictors, incidence, and remission of social phobia, which have all been published in internationally acclaimed journals.

Her studies explore the course and the potential predictors of social phobia on the basis of a prospective design and a representative demographic sample. Frau Vriends’s work affords significant new insights into social phobia and ranks very high amongst future research priorities.

Frau Vriends’s research marks an important contribution to developing a better understanding of the etiology of social phobia; moreover, it provides significant evidence for the prevention and treatment of this disorder.


Sports Award

The 2006 Sports Award of the University of Basel, endowed by the National Versicherung, is awarded to

Ms Ines Brodmann, von Ettingen BL

Who won the silver medal in the ladies relay competition at the 2006 World University Championships in Orienteering in Košice (Slovakia).


Credit Suisse Award For Best Teaching

In close cooperation with higher education institutions across Switzerland, the Credit Suisse Jubilee Foundation has initiated the “Credit Suisse Award For Best Teaching” as part of its 150th anniversary. The purpose of the award is to promote the quality of academic teaching and training, and to strengthen Switzerland as a place of knowledge and research. It is conferred upon individuals who have excelled at promoting and fostering student learning and development.

The award provides the Jubilee Foundation with an opportunity to expand its longstanding commitment to society and to send a clear message for the future. The Credit Suisse Jubilee Foundation embraces its social responsibility by promoting social welfare, culture, and science. In particular it supports high-quality projects which combine innovation, a carefully targeted impact, and sustainability.

The inaugural Credit Swiss Award of the University of Basel is hereby conferred upon

Prof. Dr. Thomas Vetter, Professor of Computer Science at the Faculty of Science of the University of Basel,

for his course “Programming II.” By combining theory and practice in an innovative and original fashion, Prof. Vetter’s courses enables students to acquire independent programming skills through the application of playful and interactive teaching methods, thereby acquainting learners with the requirements of successful project work.