Titus Neupert has worked as a professor of theoretical solid state physics at the University of Zurich since 2016. His research investigates the topological phases of matter using analytical and numerical methods. He grew up in Dresden, Germany, and began his study of physics there at the Technical University. He completed his studies at the University of Zurich in 2009 before taking a one-year guest researcher position at RIKEN in Japan. In 2013, he finished his doctorate at the University of Zurich. His doctoral research, mainly conducted at the Paul Scherrer Institute, focused on the realization of fractional quantum Hall phases in lattice models. Titus Neupert then spent three years as a postdoctoral researcher at the Princeton Center for Theoretical Science, USA, where he analyzed Weyl semimetals and platforms for topological quantum computers in superconductors. Back at the University of Zurich as a professor, he established the working group Condensed Matter Theory and received an ERC Starting Grant in 2017, which supports his research on higher-order topological insulators.

The Klung Wilhelmy Science Award is given to young researchers at the top of their field, alternating between the field of physics and chemistry each year. The award is granted as part of a joint cooperation between the Otto Klung Foundation situated at Freie Universität Berlin and the Dr. Wilhelmy Foundation. Five past recipients have gone on to win Nobel Prizes: the physicists Theodor W. Hänsch, Gerd K. Binnig, Horst L. Störmer, and Johann Georg Bednorz as well as the chemist Hartmut Michel. Other recipients have also received prestigious national and international honors.