Prof. Dr Katharina Al-Shamery, a chemist and the University’s Vice-President for research, has been elected as a new member of the Senate by the General Assembly of the German Research Foundation (DFG) in Berlin.
The University Senate is the DFG’s most important body for research policy. It addresses overarching research issues, advises governments, parliaments and public authorities, and sets priorities for research planning. It also represents the interests of German research in dealings with the international scientific community. The DFG University Senate consists of 39 scientific members.
Al-Shamery said she was delighted to take on her new role as a member of the DFG University Senate. “I am honoured by this election, and I see it as both a distinction and an incentive.” She will continue to devote herself wholeheartedly to the interests of science.
Al-Shamery, who was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit in 2011 for her outstanding services to science and research, is a member of numerous committees and organisations. Among other things, she is Deputy Spokesperson for the DFG’s Review Panel on Chemical Solid-State Research. In 2011, she was elected by the DFG University Senate to the ‘Ombudsman for Science’ Commission, a body tasked with ensuring adherence to good academic practice.
A particular priority for Al-Shamery is the promotion of early-career academics: in 2006, she launched university studies for secondary school students who are particularly gifted at the University of Oldenburg. She is also a strong advocate for women in science as a mentor. Since 2009, she has organised the annual conference ‘From the Witches’ Kitchens of Materials Science’ with experienced female professors and early-career female researchers.
Before Al-Shamery was appointed to the University of Oldenburg in 1999, Göttingen, Paris, Zurich, Oxford, Bochum, Berlin and Ulm were all stops along her academic career. The chemist’s research focus is on nanostructured surfaces, time-resolved nanophotonics and surface photochemistry.