Kai-Uwe Hinrichs, Professor at the Department of Geosciences and head of the research group "Organic Geochemistry" at MARUM receives the Alfred Treibs Medal 2020. With this award, the Geochemical Society honors Prof. Dr. Hinrichs´ many years of research and his significant findings on the understanding of microbial life and the interactions between microbial processes and material cycles of the earth. We congratulate Kai-Uwe Hinrichs and wish him and his group further exciting research results and much success.