The Humboldt Research Award is an award given by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany, to internationally renowned scientists and scholars who work outside of Germany, in recognition of their lifetime's research achievements. Recipients are “academics whose fundamental discoveries, new theories or insights have had a significant impact on their own discipline and who are expected to continue producing cutting-edge academic achievements in the future”.

Baumann received a special form of the Humboldt Prize called the Carl Friedrich von Siemens Research Award. As part of the award, he is also invited to visit the Max Planck Institute for Physics in Munich to collaborate with the group of Prof. Johannes Henn.