European Informatics Student Award

Martin Bickeböller’s family is filled with University of Washington graduates. In 2011, the chair of the Department of Computer Science Department, Hank Levy challenged Martin to give back to other students the opportunities and education his family had received over the years. Martin came in 1982 as a Fulbright student (Physics Ph.D. 86), his sister Heike (Statistics Ph.D. 1993) received graduate assistantships and his daughter Marisa (CSE – BS 2010) full tuition waivers as a Washington Scholar. His second daughter Linnea received her BS in History 2012, and there are many more graduates and also faculty in the family.

Martin was raised in Germany and continues to be active in the international community at the UW, in particular supporting the Foundation for International Understanding through Students (FIUTS) by annually hosting new students, including several CSE students. He has become convinced that it is critical for our world to grow together as people. In order to do that, an exchange of people and ideas must occur across the continents. Students are searching for meaning and ideas in the world and need to be encouraged to make the journey across the ocean. By providing an incentive for the brightest European students to experience the University of Washington and the Pacific Northwest, the hope is that they will go forward after their education to further understanding among the nations.