Commencement Celebration for the Graduating Class

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This year’s graduation ceremony of the Faculty of Physics, held last Thursday in the Grand Aula of LMU Munich’s main university building, was dedicated to scientific curiosity, personal achievement, and the exciting transition into a new chapter of life.

Graduates of the Summer Semester 2025 and the Winter Semester 2025/26 celebrated the successful completion of their studies together with family members, friends, and faculty representatives in the festive setting of the Grand Aula. The ceremony was accompanied by atmospheric musical performances from the physicists’ band „UnCeNSiert“.

Vice Dean of Studies Professor Jochen Weller congratulated all graduates on earning their degrees and reaching this important personal milestone. He emphasized that studying physics imparts far more than disciplinary knowledge alone: it also teaches students how to break down problems, question assumptions, and not simply accept data at face value, but to understand where it comes from. In extending his congratulations, he encouraged all graduates to preserve their curiosity and enthusiasm for fundamental scientific questions.

Following the presentation of certificates, Antonie Tabea Baumeister gave an impressive talk on her bachelor’s thesis, „Development of a Solid-State Detector for the 3D Monitoring of Proton Beams at the Ion Focus“, offering the audience vivid insights into her research at the intersection of laser physics, plasma physics, and medical physics.

The women and men who completed their doctorates at the Faculty were likewise honored during the ceremony and received their doctoral certificates from Dean Professor Ulrich Schollwöck.

Through the graduation ceremony, the Faculty also underscores the importance of supporting early-career researchers and provides a distinguished setting in which to recognize outstanding scientific achievements. The event therefore offered an ideal occasion to present the Theodor Hänsch Doctoral Thesis Award, endowed by the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation and dedicated to honoring exceptional dissertations. The 2025 Theodor Hänsch Doctoral Thesis Award was presented to Dr. Alexander Impertro.

In his closing remarks, Dean Professor Schollwöck bid farewell to the graduating class of 2026 with the congratulations of all faculty colleagues and expressed the hope that, as alumni, they would remain connected to the Faculty, continue to foster lifelong exchange, and share their experiences with future generations of students.

The reception following the ceremony provided an opportunity for personal conversations, numerous commemorative photographs against the historic backdrop, and exchanges among students, faculty members, and guests. The festive atmosphere highlighted that the graduation ceremony marks not only the successful completion of a demanding course of study, but also the beginning of new professional paths.