Prof. Jörn Thiede Wins the Russian Research Ministry's Call for Tender:

The marine geologist and former director of the AWI is one of the winners of a tender for funding by the Russian Federation's Ministry for Education and Science. He will be responsible for establishing the new laboratory "Palaeogeography and Geomorphology of Polar Countries and the World's Oceans" at the Saint Petersburg State University. The laboratory will engage in interdisciplinary research and, amongst other things, conduct palaeogeographic, geological-geomorphic and geochronological analyses of the relief and continental and marine sediments in the polar regions and the oceans. The laboratory's tasks include the compilation of a "Geological Atlas of the Polar Countries" in two volumes (Arctic and Antarctic). The Russian government's funding committee announced a total of 40 awardees. Further 40 projects will be selected this coming spring. 512 scientists and 179 Russian universities participated in the tender. Each application was examined by two Russian and two foreign experts. The evaluation focused on three criteria: The project quality, the university's scientific standards and the qualification of the scientist awaiting invitation. The overall budget is unique: Twelve billion rouble (around 283 million Euro) are allocated to this programme for the period 2010 to 2012. The maximum funding for one project amounts to 150 million rouble (around 3.5 million Euro). The funds are transferred to the university but can be spent only after consulting the invited scientist.

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