The GDNÄ Secretary General is honoured for his services to the Fraunhofer Society.

The Fraunhofer Society honors Professor Michael Dröscher with the Fraunhofer Medal 2026. The Secretary General and Treasurer of the Society of German Natural Scientists and Physicians was honored in early 2026 for his outstanding services to the Fraunhofer Society. As a representative of the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft (Donors’ Association for the Promotion of Sciences and Humanities in Germany), Michael Dröscher served for 25 years on the jury for the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize, the highest award given by the application-oriented German research organization. He gave the Fraunhofer Society important impetus and, as chairman of several scientific societies, persistently advocated for closer integration between science and industry, writes Fraunhofer President Professor Holger Hanselka on LinkedIn.

The Fraunhofer Society is one of Germany’s leading organisations for application-oriented research. Nearly 32,000 employees at 75 institutes and independent research facilities in Germany generate an annual financial volume of 3.6 billion euros. Of this, 3.1 billion euros is attributable to Fraunhofer’s core business model, contract research.

This year, the Fraunhofer Society is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the death of its namesake, Joseph von Fraunhofer (1787-1826). The Munich scholar was equally successful as a scientist, inventor and entrepreneur.

The Fraunhofer Medal was designed on 6 March 1987 to mark the 200th anniversary of Joseph von Fraunhofer’s birth. The front features a portrait of Fraunhofer, while the back shows a view of his birthplace, Straubing.