American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting - San Francisco, USA

Germany’s research and funding opportunities were presented for the first time to the American Geophysical Union’s network at its 2011 Fall Meeting in San Francisco from 4th to 9th December. All activities are part of the “Research in Germany” initiative funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

The event portfolio started on Tuesday morning with a session as part of the International Career Day, organized by the AGU Career Services. Max Vögler,  Director of the DFG North America office in Washington DC, talked about current funding mechanisms and fellowship opportunities offered by the various German funding organisations. Afterwards an open discussion enabled the 20 participants to get specific information about their interests in early career, PhD and post-doc options in Germany. 

Later on Tuesday, examples of the German research landscape were introduced at the Town Hall Meeting “Dynamic Earth – German Research Opportunities in Geosciences”. Around 80 scientists mainly from the USA and Europe participated in this one-hour session, which was introduced and moderated by Gerold Wefer, Director of the well-known MARUM Center for Marine Environmental Sciences in Bremen.

The first speaker, Rainer Helmig from the University of Stuttgart, dynamically presented his projects within the German Excellence Initiative, a Cluster of Excellence as well as an International Graduate School, both in the field of “modelling complex porous media systems”. Vera Schlindwein, who holds a highly competitive Emmy Noether grant, not only provided insight into her research field of “submarine volcanoes in the polar oceans” but also gave a lively presentation on the possibilities to combine research and family. Manfred Strecker, from the University of Potsdam, introduced scientific topics, structures and international networking of the “Potsdam Research Cluster for Georisk Analyses, Environmental Change and Sustainability (PROGRESS)”. Finally, James C. Zachos, who received a Humboldt Research Award in 2009, gave an interesting impression of his research field and his scientific exchange with Germany “where he felt at home” during his stay in Bremen. The session visitors who mainly came from research, funding and administrative organisations, summarized that they got a “nice and vivid insight” into the variety of geoscientific research in Germany and the international networking of the geoscientific community.  

In addition to the lecture programs, more information for young and advanced researchers interested in funding and cooperation opportunities provided by the German Research Foundation (DFG), the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the Fraunhofer Society, and others was also offered at the Exhibition Booth from Tuesday through Friday. Booth personnel from DFG – representing the geoscientific affairs division of the head office in Germany and the North America office – and the DAAD San Francisco office answered questions about Ph.D. programmes, places to study geosciences, options for study visits for senior scientists, etc, etc. The GEOTECHNOLOGIEN office presented its portfolio of research programs as well. During scheduled time slots Christoph Waldmann, Jan-Hendrik Körber, Ursula Röhl and Gerold Wefer from the MARUM in Bremen, Heinrich Villinger from the University of Bremen and Gerhard Kuhn from the Alfred Wegener Institute were at the booth to provide information on the German research and funding landscape from a researcher’s perspective. During the 3.5 days exhibition time, the German booth was “a nice, welcoming and lively place” for German and international scientists “to meet, talk, and get information while having a cup of coffee and some gummy bears”.

The final “highlight” of the Research in Germany activities at the AGU was the “German Social” held at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis. Martin Visbeck from the IFM-GEOMAR Kiel welcomed the guests, a diverse mix, not just with regards to nationality. The 150-200 visitors, from students to senior and well-known scientists crowded in the meeting room and the entrance, engaged in lively talks and discussions. According to the guests, the reception “was a great evening and a wonderful opportunity to meet colleagues, deepen or initiate scientific contacts”. The guest list for a similar event at the AGU 2012 is already quite long.

For further information about this event contact:

DFG Head Office, Germany
Dr. Sibylle Grandel
+49 (228) 885-2916
sibylle.grandel@dfg.de

DFG North America Office, Washington, DC
Bettina Schuffert
+1 (202)729-6350
bettina.schuffert@dfg.de

DAAD Office San Francisco
Leslie Harlson
+1 (415)986-2021
daadsf@daad.org