Robots for radiation detection, debate on brain death

The University College Freiburg (UCF) has awarded Jeremy Fon Sing and Dr. Sergio Götte the “Erasmus Prize for the Liberal Arts and Sciences” 2020. Fon Sing is a graduate of the “Liberal Arts and Sciences” program with a focus on Earth and Environmental Sciences. Götte received his doctorate from the Faculty of Theology at the University of Freiburg. The UCF awards the prize to scientific works that are exemplary in their interdisciplinary perspective and make a substantial contribution to bridging academic disciplines, such as the natural sciences and the humanities. The prize, that is donated by the Sparkasse Freiburg-Nördlicher Breisgau, comes with an endowment of 1500 Euros in the categorie bachelor’s and master's theses and 3500 euros for dissertations and post-doctoral theses, and is awarded for the 8^th time.

Jeremy Fon Sing combined the fields of physics and technology with the social sciences in his bachelor thesis “Nuclear Radiation Detector, Robot Design and its Social Impact.” First of all, he examined the fear of nuclear radiation anchored in society. From his analysis, Fon Sing derives a concrete example in the field of Citizen Science by showing how robots can be built for radiation detection with citizens' involvement.

Sergio Götte has received the award for his dissertation “On the Subject of Death Determination in the Bioethical Debate.” In his work from the Institute of Systematic Theology he examines whether the irreversible failure of brain functions is a valid and well-founded criterion for determining the death of a human being with reference to philosophy, theology and natural sciences. Götte describes that the advocates of the brain death criterion assume that without the brain the human body is only a collection of organs and that the functions of all cells and organs inevitably fail after brain death. The core idea behind it is that a human being is basically a unit, an organism that is completely dependent on the brain. On a biological level, explains Götte, death is “defined as the permanent cessation of the functioning of the organism as a whole.” Therefore, according to the conclusion of his dissertation, patients who have been diagnosed with brain death really are dead.