May 2003

Accomplished!! - DFG Research Center hosts student competition

For more than six months the geography professionals from the National Geographic Germany and the German Association for School Geographers searched for the cleverest student. Last weekend the final took place in the lecture hall of the Department of Geosciences at the University of Bremen. At the end of an exciting elimination procedure the winners of Germany's largest student competition were established. Julian Nitzsche (14) from Saxony, Sebastian Norck (14) from Thuringia and Sebastian Wildgrube (16) from Saxony-Anhalt not only secured themselves the first three places under the 16 candidates, one from each federal state, but also the chance to participate in the "National Geographic World Championship" which will take place in Florida in July 2003. An outstanding performance. The three winners had their heads in front of a total of almost 226,000 students from 1,445 schools who took part in the preliminary rounds on class, school and federal state levels.

Staff from the DFG Research Center Ocean Margins had organised the final long beforehand together with National Geographic and the Association of School Geographers. Last Friday the students aged between 12 and 16 years arrived in Bremen with their parents. At a senate reception they were welcomed by the Senator for Education and Science, Willy Lemke, and got attuned to the big final. The competition itself took place on Saturday morning at the DFG Research Center.

Science in Triplicate

Over the past eight days three large events have been held at the university campus. It all started a week ago yesterday with "Girls' Day 2003". Nationwide more than 3,500 businesses, research institutes, colleges, and public offices participated, giving about 9,000 girls an insight into the professional world. Of course, Bremen University and the Research Center Ocean Margins were also involved. Dr. Jens Lehmann and his colleague Martin Krogmann hosted two groups of girls in a presentation of the geologic collection, introducing the guests to the wonderful world of fossils. For the first time in their lives, the girls were allowed to work on fossil preparations with their own hands, using a fine air pressure chisel to remove fossils from chuncks of rock.

Then, this past Saturday, May 10, an "Open-Door Day" was held at the University. Members of the Research Center team had set up interesting experiments, and in the School Laboratory next door a model of an underwater robot now being operated by the research center was demonstrated. Throughout the day Prof. Gerold Wefer, director of the research center, greeted prominent guests, including the Bremen Senator for Education and Science, Willy Lemke, who stopped by in the morning. In the early afternoon, research center associate Nico Nowald introduced National Research Minister Bulmahn to some of the secrets of marine research using the underwater robot.

The trio of activities wound up this past Wednesday with "Student Information Day". Hundreds of students visited the university and inquired about the possibilities and conditions for studying here.

The dedicated colleagues at the research center have now packed away their posters and experiments. But the next great event is only a few weeks away. On June 28, science meets the public again at 11:00 a.m. on the Wallanlage (green belt around the city center). Science Day with the long Night of Science is calling. More about this soon.

"You have realized a dream"

Monday of this week will go down in the annals of the DFG Research Center Ocean Margins. Along with Bremen's Senator for Education and Science, Willi Lemke, Professor Wefer, director of the research center, laid the cornerstone for a new building. By the end of 2004 the scientists and technicians of the research center and Marum will be the proud occupants of almost 6,000 square meters of office space, laboratories, and workshops. In addition, the core repository of the international Ocean Drilling Program will be moving into the new building on the university campus.

"Good things are worth waiting for," said Gerold Wefer, proudly characterizing the history of the project, which has been in planning since well back into the 1990's. On the occasion of the laying of the cornerstone, which was attended by representatives of the German Research Foundation (DFG - Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) along with other supporters of marine research institutes, Willi Lemke called on his past experience as football manager: Marine research in Bremen is like Werder Bremen; the ultimate goal is to make it in the Champions' League. Addressing Prof. Wefer he said, "You can be proud of the achievements you have made so far. With the new building you have realized a dream."