Anil K. Jain, university distinguished professor in the department of computer science and engineering, joined a list of about 150 people worldwide as a recipient of the prestigious Humboldt Research Award.

The award was created by the nonprofit Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, which was established by the Federal Republic of Germany for the promotion of international research cooperation.

The award recognizes scientists and scholars with internationally recognized academic work, and allows them to conduct research projects in Germany for six months to a year.

Each candidate for the award had to be nominated by German scientists, and receive endorsements from German researchers for his or her lifetime achievements, making it highly competitive.

While Jain said receiving the award was a surprise, he felt his chances of attaining it were good.

"I felt confident that I had a fair chance at getting the award because the people who nominated and supported me were prominent researchers and scientists," he said. "I am very happy to have received this recognition."

Jain, director of MSU's Pattern Recognition and Image Processing Laboratory, leaves for Germany in August.

"I plan to spend four months at the University of Bonn working with professors, and then break up the rest of my research into separate trips," he said. "I'm excited to begin this excellent opportunity, and begin new research."