At its annual conference in Vienna, the European Geosciences Union (EGU) awarded the University of Bremen's professor Gerold Wefer the Alfred-Wegener-Medaille 2011. At the same time Prof. Wefer, who is also the Director of the MARUM Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, was made an honorary member of the EGU. The Alfred-Wegener-Medaille, one of the top prizes awarded by the EGU, is reserved for outstanding international contributions to the meteorological sciences in areas of tropospheric, stratospheric and oceanic research as well as hydrology, i.e. the science of water cycles.
Prof. Dr. Dr. Wefer has published over 200 scientific papers and has written and edited several monographs. Most of theses works revolve around his scientific life’s work: the study of oceans, especially the South Atlantic, and the changing conditions which have influenced ocean currents and depositional conditions throughout the course of different geological ages. Born in Jaderberg near Oldenburg, Wefer has explored the secrets of the oceans on more than 30 German and international scientific expeditions. He emphasizes: “Participation on international expeditions represents a highlight of my research activities – exploring unknown territory and working together with enthusiastic researchers from all over the world”.
When not underway on one of various research vessels, the focus of Wefer’s work lies on the Faculty of Geosciences at the University of Bremen. In 1985 he became one of the Faculty’s first professors. Under his leadership, in 2001 MARUM received recognition as a research center of the German Research Society. Since then it has scored success in the German Government’s Excellence Initiative, receiving recognition as an excellence cluster and hosting the GLOMAR Graduate School.
Gerold Wefer has long been engaged in familiarizing the public at large with the results of scientific research. For example, he supported the founding of Bremen’s Universum Science Center in 2001, Bremen’s and Bremerhaven’s successful application in the contest to become City of Science, and he was the mind behind the Bremen Haus der Wissenschaft [House of science] which was founded in 2005. Currently, Gerold Wefer is Chairman of the steering committee of Wissenschaft im Dialog [Science in dialogue], an institution in Berlin which organizes symposia, science festivals and exhibitions – and also supports the annual MARUM exhibition held on board MS Wissenschaft, another event initiated by Prof. Wefer.
