DFG to present award to Tabea Rettelbach and Panagiotis Kampouridis in Dresden in September

Doctoral researchers Tabea Rettelbach of the Alfred Wegener Institute in Potsdam and Panagiotis Kampouridis of the University of Tübingen are to be awarded this year’s Bernd Rendel Prize by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) in recognition of their promising and original pre-doctoral research in the geosciences. They were selected by a jury made up of members of the DFG’s review boards in the geosciences.

The prizewinners will each receive €3,000 from the Bernd Rendel Foundation, which is administered by Stifterverband. The prize money is intended to enable them to pursue academic activities such as attending international conferences and meetings. The prize will be presented at the annual meeting of the German Geological Society, which is to take place in Dresden from 23 to 26 September.

Tabea Rettelbach conducts research into permafrost, focussing on a topic that is becoming increasingly important in view of climate change: she is looking into the impact of thawing permafrost on landscapes with so-called ice wedge polygons. The result of a recurring cycle of freezing and thawing of soils, this type of landscape is typical of the Arctic. Since it is not possible to see into the ground everywhere, Rettelbach makes use of remote sensing methods, in particular high-resolution images and elevation models. She visualises the ice wedge polygons as mathematical graphs. The methods and calculations she uses enable her to analyse the processes observed not only at a local level but also across national and continental borders. Rettelbach has published seven high-calibre research papers, three of them as first author, and she has also successfully participated in numerous competitions. She plans to use her prize money to attend the Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Conference.

Panagiotis Kampouridis analyses fossils of large mammals that lived several million years ago, with the aim of finding out more about their evolution. His studies involve visits to excavation sites and museums in other European countries. Combining conventional and modern methods, he uncovers fresh insights into the lives and kinships of these extinct animals. One of his accomplishments to date has been helping to redefine the kinships of a species of hornless rhinoceros that lived more than five million years ago. Findings of this kind can also be relevant to research into present-day species and their role in ecosystems. Kampouridis has published 21 papers in peer-reviewed journals, eight of them as first author and some in collaboration with international co-authors. He plans to spend the prize money on a study visit to Uppsala University to examine a collection of Asian artefacts.

The DFG has awarded the Bernd Rendel Prize every year since 2002 to graduates in the geosciences who have not yet completed their doctorate with the aim of enabling them to pursue academic activities. The prize money is administered by Stifterverband. Bernd Rendel was a geology student who died at a young age; the foundation named after him was established in his memory by his family. 

Further information 

For further information about the Bernd Rendel Prize and previous prizewinners, see:

• www.dfg.de/rendel_prize