At the DFG annual meeting in Bonn, the General Assembly of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) elected eight new members to the Senate of the largest research funding organisation and central self-governing organisation of science and the humanities in Germany. In addition, four Senate members have been elected for a second three-year term. The Senate is the central scientific body in which all matters of essential importance to the DFG are discussed and decided on, unless they are reserved for the Joint Committee as the principal decision-making body.
The Senate has a total of 39 members; the latter are also the Scientific Members of the Joint Committee. Of the eight newly filled Senate seats, two are in the humanities and social sciences, three are in the life sciences, two are in the natural sciences and one is in engineering. The new members’ term of office will begin on 1 January 2027.
The following eight members were newly elected to the DFG Senate:
• Atmospheric Science, Oceanography and Climate Research Professor Dr. Harald Kunstmann, University of Augsburg and KIT Campus Alpin, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
• Development and Cell Biology: Professor Dr. Ann Ehrenhofer-Murray, HU Berlin
• Educational Research: Professor Dr. Diana Raufelder, University of Greifswald
• Geosciences of the Earth’s Surface: Professor Dr. Falko Langenhorst, University of Jena
• Plant Sciences: Professor Dr. Karin Schumacher, University of Heidelberg
• Production Sciences: Professor Dr.-Ing. Jan C. Aurich, RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau
• Psychology: Professor Dr. Christiane Thiel, University of Oldenburg
• Zoology: Professor Dr. Simone Sommer, University of Ulm
The following were elected for a second term of office:
• Non-European Cultures: Professor Dr. Barbara Mittler, University of Heidelberg
• Electrical Engineering and Information Technology: Professor Dr.-Ing. Christian Rehtanz, TU Dortmund
• Experimental Physics: Professor Dr. Marius Grundmann, University of Leipzig
• Neurosciences: Professor Dr. Susanne Schoch McGovern, University of Bonn
On 31 December 2026, the following members will retire from the Senate:
• Atmospheric Science, Oceanography and Climate Research Professor Dr. Michael Schulz, University of Bremen
• Development and Cell Biology: Professor Dr. Christoph Englert, Leibniz Institute on Aging, Jena
• Educational Research: Professor Dr. Petra Stanat, HU Berlin
• Geosciences of the Earth’s Surface: Professor Dr. Brigitta Schütt, FU Berlin
• Plant Sciences: Professor Dr. Andreas P. M. Weber, University of Düsseldorf
• Production Sciences: Professor Dr.-Ing. Marion Merklein, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg
• Psychology: Professor Dr. Brigitte Röder, University of Hamburg
• Zoology: Professor Dr. Susanne Foitzik, University of Mainz
The Senate is responsible for all major decisions in research funding in the run-up to concrete funding decisions as well as for all major decisions regarding the organisation of the review, evaluation and decision-making process. It also decides which review boards are to be formed and how these are to be structured.
Of the 39 members of the Senate, 36 are elected for three years by the General Assembly based on a rolling system. In addition, the Presidents of the German Rectors’ Conference, the Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities and the Max Planck Society are members of the Senate by virtue of their office.