Our team
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Nadine Ruehr - Professor Nadine received her PhD from ETH Zurich with a focus on soil-plant-atmosphere interactions. She was awarded an Emmy Noether research group and became Professor of Climatic Ecophysiology at the Institute of Geography and Geoecology in 2022. In her research she integrates physiological, biogeochemical and ecological methods and modelling approaches across scales. She strives to understand mechanisms of tree and forest responses to extreme events, in order to improve forest resilience to climate change. Publications |
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Ruediger Grote - Senior Scientist Rüdiger holds a PhD in Forestry from Göttingen University and received his habilitation on ‘Ecosystem Modelling’ from TU Munich. He has developed several ecosystem models that describe forest development based on plant-atmosphere exchanges and is an internationally known expert in simulating the emission of biogenic volatile organic compounds. His particular interest is in describing tree physiological responses to drought and their impacts on resource uptake, allocation, and senescence. Publications |
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Pia Labenski - Postdoctoral researcher
Pia studied Geoecology and received a PhD in vegetation remote sensing from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). |
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Franklin Alongi - PhD student Franklin studied Plant Biology at Montana State University, and is interested in resource allocation in response to environmental stress. During his PhD, Franklin conducts greenhouse experiments to explore carbon use and physiological mechanisms of stress response in a variety of European tree species. Publications |
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Timo Knüver - PhD student Timo studied Geoecology at the University of Tübingen and is pursuing his PhD at the University of Innsbruck. His research addresses the drought recovery potential of Norway spruce and European beech trees. He studies drought hydraulic responses in mature trees and applies experiments under controlled conditions. |
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Selina Schwarz - PhD student Selina studied Geoecology at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Her research addresses environmental challenges through the application of remote sensing techniques. In her PhD she studies the impacts of recent summer droughts on European forests. She applies remote sensing and machine learning approaches to detect the environmental drivers of diffuse tree mortality. |
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Yanick Ziegler - PhD student Yanick studied Physics and Environmental Physics. He is interested in climate change responses of forests and investigates plant-water relations in the context of droughts. In his PhD, he is applying field and lab measurements as well as modelling approaches to determine the relationship between tree water status and growth processes. |
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Jana Zeppan - PhD student Jana has a background in Environmental Sciences and Global Change Ecology. She is interested in the response of different tree species to heat and drought stress. During her PhD she studies the impacts of heat and hot drought on carbon and water dynamics, leaf temperature and the leaf energy balance of seedlings in greenhouse experiments. |
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Andreas Gast - Engineer Andreas studied Environmental Engineering in Augsburg. He is responsible for all technical issues around our scientific greenhouse facility including measurement automation. He has in-depth experience in designing and building environmentally controlled plant chambers for automatic gas exchange measurements. |
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Anna Sontheim - Technician Anna studied Chemistry at the University of Heidelberg. She is responsible for the laboratory and has profound expertise in chemical analytics. She further supports experimental work in the greenhouse and plant cultivation. |
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Angelika Schwan - Group Assistance Angelika studied Geoecology at the University of Braunschweig. Since August 2023 she is at IMKIFU as an assistance for the Plant Ecophysiology group, for example to accompany the onboarding process. |
Former team members
| Dr. Ines Bamberger | Postdoc – now at BayCEER |
| Dr. Elizabeth Gaona | Postdoc – now in Cordoba |
| Dr. Peter Petrík | Postdoc – now at TU Dresden |
| Dr. Benjamin Birami | now Climate Protection Manager |
| Marielle Gattmann | PhD Student – now Climate Change Manager |
| Dr. Romy Rehschuh | now at TU Dresden |
| Dr. Rocco Pace | now at Eurac Research, Institute for Renewable Energy, Bolzano (Italy) |
| Dr. Daniel Nadal Sala | now at CREAF - "Ecological and Forestry Applications Research Centre" in Barcelona (Spain) |
| Andrea Jakab | Lab technician – now in Switzerland |
| Dr. Andre Duarte | MSc Student – now at U of Guelph, Canada |
| Mohitul Hossain | MSc Student |
| Benedict Spaan | MSc Student |
| Angelika Pointner | MSc Student – now at DB Netz AG |
| Johanna Schnurr | BSc Student |
| Tamara Wittmann | BSc Student |
| Leon Dürbeck | BSc Student |
Students and guests
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Julia Brandfonbrener - Student Assistent Julia is completing the final year of her Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. She works as a research assistant, collecting data, assisting with data and chemical analyses, and supporting ongoing experiments in the greenhouse. She is interested in plant pathology, allelopathy, and how trees respond to biotic stress. |
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Mathis Giese - Student Assistent Mathis completed a voluntary ecological year (FÖJ) at IMKIFU and now works as a student assistant, supporting experiments in the greenhouse and contributing to data analysis. |
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Charlie Periane y Rodriguez - Student Assistent Charlie studies physics and is also in charge of the school forest project 'Schulwaldprojekt' at IMKIFU. |
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Chiara Müller - Student Assistent Chiara is studying for a Bachelor's degree in Geoecology at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. She currently is at the KIT-Campus Alpin for three months as a student assistant, supporting Jana Zeppan with her experiments in the greenhouse and the associated investigations in the laboratory. Accordingly, she is particularly interested in the effects of heat and drought stress on native tree species such as the beech.
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