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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
On 1 January 2025, Professor Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla, an engineer and Chair of the Executive Board of the German Aerospace Center (DLR), took over the presidency of the GDNÄ.
Kaysser-Pyzalla was elected to the office by the members of the GDNÄ for a period of two years. In the more than two-hundred-year history of the Society for Natural Sciences, the engineering scientist is the third woman to hold this office. Her predecessor, the Berlin zoologist Professor Heribert Hofer, will remain associated with the Society for Natural Sciences as First Vice President until the end of 2026.
As GDNÄ president, Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla is responsible for the scientific programme of the society's 134th assembly. It will take place in September 2026 in Bremen under the title ‘Wissen schafft Nutzen’ (Knowledge Creates Value). ‘The city offers an outstanding congress infrastructure and, together with Bremerhaven, a wealth of renowned science and research institutions,’ says the new president.
The GDNÄ conferences have always been forums for personal exchange between scientists and science enthusiasts. ‘In Bremen, we will create even more space for interaction,’ Kaysser-Pyzalla announces. The recently founded youth organisation of the society, initiated by Heribert Hofer, will contribute fresh ideas to the programme. In recent years, new formats for discussion between established scientists and young talents have been developed, which benefit everyone involved, says the trained mechanical engineer: ‘The generations can learn a lot from each other and I will promote this process in the interest of the GDNÄ.’
With its interdisciplinary orientation, the GDNÄ is ideally suited to discuss the complex challenges of the time in an interdisciplinary way. She believes it is important to show how research leads to innovations and technologies with the aim of benefiting society, says the new president. Kaysser-Pyzalla has been committed to this goal for years, and she will continue to pursue it in her new role.
In the new president's view, the GDNÄ should offer as many opportunities as possible to enable citizens to participate in science: ‘This is another way in which we can contribute to the stability of our democracy.’
‘I am looking forward to the new task, to working with great colleagues on the board and with the highly efficient staff at the office,’ says Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla.
Personal details
Prof. Dr Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla studied mechanical engineering and mechanics in Bochum and Darmstadt. She completed her doctorate and habilitation at the Ruhr University Bochum. After research activities at the Hahn-Meitner-Institut (HMI) and at the Technical University Berlin, she researched and taught at the Technical University Vienna from 2003 to 2005. In 2005, she joined the management of the Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH in Düsseldorf as a scientific member, director and managing director. In 2008, she was appointed scientific managing director of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, which was formed from the merger of the HMI and the Berliner Elektronenspeicherring-Gesellschaft für Synchrotronstrahlung (BESSY) under her leadership. In 2017, Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla was elected President of the Technical University of Braunschweig. Since 2020, she has been Chair of the Executive Board of the German Aerospace Center (DLR). She has been President of the GDNÄ since 1 January 2025.
Further information
· German Aerospace Center (DLR)
· Interview with Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla as the new GDNÄ Vice President
· https://www.gdnae.de/anke-kaysser-pyzalla-ein-naehrboden-fuer-neue-ideen/
About the GDNÄ
The Gesellschaft Deutscher Naturforscher und Ärzte e. V. (GDNÄ) is one of the oldest German scientific associations. It was founded in 1822 by the natural philosopher and physician Lorenz Oken. The name of the GDNÄ has been preserved from this time. With its first meeting on 18 September 1822 in Leipzig, the GDNÄ became the central lecture and discussion forum for new research findings at the time. Fundamental debates in medicine and the natural sciences continued to take place at the meetings well into the 20th century.
More information about the GDNÄ: https://www.gdnae.de
Contact for media representatives:
Prof Dr Michael Droescher Treasurer and Secretary General presse@gdnae.de
General enquiries:
Gesellschaft Deutscher Naturforscher und Ärzte e.V.
Office: Sylvia Landeck and Katja Diete
info@gdnae.de
Tel: +49 (0)2224 90148-0
Hauptstrasse 5
53604 Bad Honnef
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Biologie, Chemie, Maschinenbau, Physik / Astronomie, Werkstoffwissenschaften
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