DGPs Award for Science Communication Goes to "Night Owl or Early Bird?" Project

Manuel Spitschan and Marie Luise Schreiter honored for innovative science outreach

• DGPs award: Manuel Spitschan and Marie Luise Schreiter recognized for their science communication project on the body's internal clock.
• Mobile lab: Visitors get hands-on experience with how light affects the internal clock and take part in experiments.
• Exemplary outreach: The jury praised the project's innovation and reach, as well as its focus on underrepresented audiences.

Manuel Spitschan and Marie Luise Schreiter of the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany, have received this year's Science Communication Award from the German Psychological Society (DGPs) for their project “Night Owl or Early Bird? — A Science Roadshow on the Body's Internal Clock”. The award was presented at the DGPs Congress in Luxembourg on September 7, 2026.

“The award winners succeeded in conveying psychological knowledge, as well as the process behind it, through participatory science communication,” comments DGPs President Eva-Lotta Brakemeier. “The project impresses with its depth, innovation, and reach, making it exemplary for science communication in psychology.”

Through their science roadshow, Manuel Spitschan and Marie Luise Schreiter share current findings on how light affects our internal clock in an accessible, interactive way — a socially significant topic, given the body clock's importance for sleep, wellbeing, and health. The mobile research lab combines communication of basic research with citizen science, actively involving members of the public in the research process. Visitors can participate in studies, giving them a firsthand sense of how scientific knowledge is generated. They also receive individual, expert-contextualized feedback on their own data.

The idea for the roadshow was developed by Manuel Spitschan as a public engagement initiative and brought to life with support from the Max Planck Foundation and its private donors. “This recognition from the DGPs means a great deal to us, as it honors just how important it is to carry basic research out of the lab and into the heart of society,” Spitschan says.

The jury highlighted the project’s successful combination of science communication and participatory research. The low-threshold format, they noted, specifically reaches people who have often been underrepresented in psychological research to date, and demonstrates impressively how psychological research can foster social participation.

 

“The roadshow demonstrates, in exemplary fashion, how research can reach people where they live their everyday lives. It combines scientific information, dialogue, and hands-on participation in a compelling way, making psychological research something people can experience directly,” Brakemeier summarizes the decision of the jury and the board. “In doing so, Marie Luise Schreiter and Manuel Spitschan are setting new standards for modern, participatory science communication.”