Lower Saxony's Science Minister Björn Thümler was given an insight into the interdisciplinary research fields of the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB), which was founded at the University of Oldenburg in 2017, on Friday.
With the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity, Oldenburg is developing into an internationally important centre for marine and climate sciences, said Thümler during his visit. "The Institute successfully combines basic research with the solution of important societal challenges."
Institute Director Prof Dr Helmut Hillebrand also informed the Minister about the planned new building, which the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science (MWK) is funding with around 15 million euros. A site in the Technology Park development area in Wechloy is already available for the new building. Office and laboratory space for 85 employees of the Institute is to be built here by 2022.
In addition to the Director of the HIFMB, University President Prof. Dr Dr Hans Michael Piper, Prof. Dr Thomas Brey, Deputy Director of the HIFMB, Prof. Dr Oliver Zielinski, Director of the University's Institute of Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), and Dr Karsten Wurr, Administrative Director of the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), welcomed the guest from Hanover.
Dr Irene Roca also gave the minister an insight into research. She reported on how scientists use acoustic methods to record biodiversity in the sea and highlighted the consequences of underwater noise. Roca is one of the first group of young scientists to spend three years at the Institute as part of a special programme for postdocs to deepen their research. The programme is intended to promote networking between colleagues from the University of Oldenburg and the AWI.
About the Institute:
With the HIFMB, the University of Oldenburg and the AWI are pooling their research on marine biodiversity. The aim of the scientists is to elucidate the functional role of biodiversity in the oceans in detail and thus create the scientific basis for the protection and management of the marine ecosystem.