Klaus Fellner was awarded with a Prize of Honour (Würdigungspreis) by the Federal Minister for Science and Research in the Acadamy of Science in Vienna. In his master's thesis Klaus Fellner dealt with the simulation of printed circuit boards. The aim of the thesis, which was conducted in cooperation with AT&S (Austria Technologie und Systemtechnik AG), was the calculation of stresses in printed circuit boards, which occur when printed circuit boards are used at high or low temperatures. In order to do so the properties of the materials in the PCB were determined experimentally and finite element simulation models of different board designs were applied. Gerald Pinter, Professor at the Chair of Materials Science and Testing of Plastics at the University of Leoben, supervised this master's thesis.

This prize of the Federal Ministry for Science and Research is awarded to outstanding graduates from Austrian universities. The candidates must complete all stages of their study with honors and the master's thesis must be judged "excellent." The awards are each endowed with a cash prize of EUR 2,500. The selection of winners is made by the Rector of the respective university on behalf of the Federal Minister. Olny one prize is awarded at the University of Leoben each year.