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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Glaciologist Hajo Eicken has officially taken over as Director of the Alfred Wegener Institute. He returns to Bremerhaven after almost 30 years in Alaska.
Welcome aboard: Last Friday (20 March 2026) Hajo Eicken officially assumed office as the new Director of the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven (AWI). Previously, he spent almost three decades researching at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks in various scientific positions. For the past eleven years, Hajo Eicken headed up the International Arctic Research Center (IARC) there. "I am very excited about my new role. When I told my American colleagues about my move, the reaction was mostly the same: everyone was happy for me, because the AWI is known worldwide for its impressive research."
Hajo Eicken brings with him an extensive network of national and international collaborations that connects various disciplines and stakeholders from politics, research and civil society. In addition to his own expertise as a renowned glaciologist, he now wants to contribute and expand these connections at the AWI. "I want to further strengthen the idea of holistic polar research at our institute - by integrating social sciences and indigenous forms of knowledge more strongly into our work and expanding our collaboration with the public and private sectors." Born in Bremerhaven, he completed his doctorate at the University of Bremen in 1990 and did research in the Division of Oceanic and Atmospheric Physics at the AWI until 1997. "The AWI made it possible for me to go to Alaska almost thirty years ago, and now I'm coming back here to a centre whose excellence radiates all over the world. The fact that I was born in Bremerhaven six decades ago completes this circle for me personally."
Maarten Boersma, who has headed the AWI on an interim basis since 1 May 2025, will remain with the institute as Deputy Director. He will return to his research environment as Head of the Helgoland Biological Institute and the Coastal Ecology Section. "I'm leaving with one eye crying and one eye laughing. I really enjoyed the job. The AWI is an international leader in polar and marine research and it was particularly nice to be able to help shape it in a position of responsibility. On the other hand, I'm really looking forward to having more time for my research again. Hajo Eicken is a real stroke of luck for us. I am very happy to hand over the position to such an experienced and internationally well-connected colleague. A great team of scientists, administrators and technicians awaits him at the AWI. This will give him the best possible support for the exciting tasks that lie ahead."
Sarah Werner, sarah.werner@awi.de
https://www.awi.de/en/about-us/service/press/single-view/awi-begruesst-seinen-ne... current press information
https://www.awi.de/en/about-us/service/press/single-view/prof-dr-hajo-eicken-wir... previous press release
Handover from Maarten Boersma to Hajo Eicken
Source: Kerstin Rolfes
Copyright: Alfred Wegener Institute / Kerstin Rolfes
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Handover from Maarten Boersma to Hajo Eicken
Source: Kerstin Rolfes
Copyright: Alfred Wegener Institute / Kerstin Rolfes
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