Dr. Konrad Meister, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, has again been recognized for his research on novel ice-nucleating proteins discovered in fungi. His latest award, being named a 2026 Finalist in the Physical Sciences category by the Falling Walls Foundation, puts his research one step closer to winning the title Science Breakthrough of the Year.
Dr. Meister’s work asks how life thrives in extreme cold. Why do some molecules prevent ice growth while others initiate ice formation? Uncovering the natural strategies behind these questions, and the discovery of ice nucleating proteins in fungi (rather than bacterial) will hopefully inspire new approaches to controlling ice formation and enable new technologies across industries such as food preservation, snow making, cloud seeding and cryopreservation.
The Falling Walls Foundation will celebrate this research, and announce the Science Breakthroughs of the Year, at the Falling Walls Science Summit, November 6-9, 2026, in Berlin. To learn more about the ideas and researchers shaping the future of science, the foundation conducted interviews with the breakthrough finalists.
Congratulations to Dr. Meister on this amazing accomplishment! We’ll hopefully follow up with a post in November to announce that his research was selected as the Physical Sciences Breakthrough of the Year!