Max Birk Receives Best Young Researcher Award for Outstanding Contributions

June 19, 2023

The award was presented during the second TU/e Research Day

Max Birk receives the award from professor Bert Meijer

Max Birk, known for his exceptional work in preventive health and video games, has been awarded the prestigious TU/e Best Young Researcher Award. The award recognizes Birk's achievements in the field, as well as his commitment to fostering collaboration and providing valuable service to the research community.

Birk is very pleased with the award. "Early career research comes with many insecurities and challenges, and I have invested in the last years to balance research, education, and service," says Birk. "It is really meaningful to me that my service to the Eindhoven Young Academy of Engineering and the Centre for Unusual Collaboration has been recognized next to my research on preventive health and video games. I feel truly honored by the recognition of my peers, and the Young Researcher Award will enable me to continue thriving in our research community."

Max Birk and the audience perform the 'collaboration dance’

Birk's research in preventive health contributes to the understanding of the role video games can play in promoting healthy behaviors and well-being. The Best Young Researcher Award recognizes his contributions and provides him with a platform to further excel.

Collaboration Dance

During the award ceremony, Birk captivated the audience with a remarkable ‘collaboration dance.’, joined by the entire audience. According to Birk, the dance highlights five steps of collaboration: disciplinary grounding, perspective-taking, finding common ground, integrating knowledge, and collaborating. These steps symbolize the process of collaboration in successful interdisciplinary research projects. "Interdisciplinary collaboration is about the process. Connecting to good people with the right experience to make great research happen."

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