In 2000, the botanist and nationally acclaimed pollen analyst Felix Bittmann took up a leading position at the Lower Saxony Institute for Historical Coastal Research in Wilhelmshaven, where he has served as Senior Scientific Director since 2006. As of summer semester of 2018, he will be teaching geography at the University of Bremen as an honorary professor. “For the University, the geography degree programs – and especially for the newly established international program ‘Physical Geography: Environmental History’ – it is not just in the area of teaching that Dr. Bittmann’s botanical knowledge is of great importance. The possibility for students to have such close contact to a non-university research institution should not be underestimated at a time when ‘research-based learning’ is increasingly in focus”, explains the Dean of the Department of Social Sciences, Professor Karin Gottschall.
A gain for interdisciplinary teaching
Felix Bittmann has been closely associated with the University of Bremen for many years. Back in the times of Diplom studies, he was involved in joint projects with the GEOPOLAR research group, in which courses were held and theses were supervised. Interdisciplinary aspects of geography, archeology and palaeobotany were always in the foreground. Since winter semester 2016/17, the botanist has been passing on his knowledge of the history of vegetation and archaeobotany to students at the University of Bremen. As the leader of two modules, he is firmly integrated in teaching in the department and much appreciated by students. “I’m very happy to be involved in research and teaching activities in Bremen,” says Bittmann about his new responsibilities as honorary professor. “Especially in my area of expertise, we need young academics capable of interdisciplinary thinking who want to further qualify in the context of research projects. They can contribute significantly to the research performance of our institute.”
After completing his studies at the Universities of Freiburg and Göttingen, Felix Bittmann focused on the study of modern vegetation history. He subsequently worked as a research assistant at the Universities of Göttingen and Munich (LMU), the Roman-Germanic Central Museum in Mainz, and the Brandenburg State Office for Preservation and Archeology. In 2000, he moved to Wilhelmshaven as head of the Department of Natural Sciences at the Lower Saxony Institute for Historical Coastal Research. He has headed the institute since 2006, initially alone and, since 2016, in two-year alternation with Professor of Archaeology, Hauke Jöns.
If you would like to have more information on this topic, feel free to contact:
Prof. Dr. Bernd Zolitschka
Faculty of Social Sciences
Research Group GEOPOLAR
University of Bremen
Phone: +49 421 218-67150
email: zoliprotect me ?!uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de
