About
Prof. Dr. Johanna Stachel is Chair of the Institute for Experimental Physics at Heidelberg University, where she leads research in high-energy nuclear physics. She maintains active affiliations with CERN's ALICE collaboration and serves on multiple international scientific committees including the American Physical Society Council.
Her academic background includes a Doctorate in Physics from Mainz University (1982) under Prof. N. Kaffrell and earlier studies in Chemistry and Physics at Mainz University and ETH Zürich (1972-1978).
Stachel's research focuses on Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) and Quark-Gluon Plasma characterization through heavy-ion collisions. Her work examines particle production mechanisms, strangeness dynamics, and collective phenomena in proton-proton and nucleus-nucleus collisions. Key methodologies include femtoscopic correlation studies, heavy-flavor decay analysis, and multiplicity-dependent measurements to probe QCD phase transitions.
Recent publications reveal strong emphasis on multiplicity-dependent phenomena across collision systems, with significant contributions to charm hadronization, vector meson production, and jet modification studies using ALICE data. Her team pioneers techniques for accessing hadronic interactions through correlation measurements.
- Stern-Gerlach-Medal of the German Physical Society (2019)
- Lise Meitner Prize of the European Physical Society (2014)
- Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1999)
- Member of German National Academy of Science (2015)
- Presidential Young Investigator Award (1988)
Stachel has directed major research initiatives including the ALICE Transition Radiation Detector project and served as spokesperson for the CERES experiment at CERN. Her leadership extends to institutional roles as former Dean of Heidelberg's Physics Department and President of the German Physical Society (2012-2014).
She leads experimental teams within the Collaborative Research Center projects A02 ('From QCD transport to particle yields') and formerly C05 ('Probing the QCD phase structure with heavy quarks'), coordinating international efforts in heavy-ion collision analysis at the LHC.
