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Currently, two researchers with the highest international reputations in the field of magneto- and spinelectronics are working together with Professor Dr. Günter Reiss and Professor Dr. Andreas Hütten in Bielefeld University's Faculty of Physics. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation's sponsorship programmes are enabling the research stay of Professor Dr. Arunava Gupta and Professor Dr. Yalcin Elerman. The scientists are conducting research on promising materials with special magnetic and conductor properties.

As an Alexander von Humboldt research award winner, Professor Dr. Arunava Gupta from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, USA is working on the physical substructures of the exceptional functionalities of thin Heusler compounds with regard to their potential uses in components, sensors, and in biomedicine. Some Heusler compounds – named after Friedrich Heusler (1866–1947) – are ferromagnetic even though their constituent elements do not possess this property. Gaining the experience of Arunava Gupta, who worked in research at IBM for many years before moving to Alabama and has many highly cited publications and patents to his name, is a major coup for Bielefeld's research profile. Arunava Gupta will work in Bielefeld for 2 months.

As a Humboldt research fellow, Professor Dr. Yalcin Elerman from Ankara University will also be working with Heusler compounds characterized by the so-called shape-memory effect that have potential applications in spintronics. In spintronics, the spin, that is the rotation of the electron, is used for further functions. Professor Elerman and Professor Hütten are studying this topic in a project funded by the Federal Ministry for Science and Research (BMBF) and the Turkish scientific and technical research council (TÜRBITAK) within the framework of a scientific-technological cooperation between Turkey and Germany. Professor Dr. Elerman is a holder of the Federal Cross of merit with ribbon awarded to him 4 years ago for his services in strengthening scientific cooperation between Turkey and Germany.

The Humboldt research award is granted in recognition of a researcher's entire achievements to date to academics whose fundamental discoveries, new theories, or insights have had a significant impact on their own discipline and who are expected to continue producing cutting-edge achievements in the future. Award winners are invited to spend a period of up to one year cooperating on a long-term research project with specialist colleagues at a research institution in Germany. The prize is endowed with 60,000 Euro.