Bernhard Eitel

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Bernhard Eitel (2013)

Bernhard Günter Heinrich Eitel (born August 31, 1959 in Karlsruhe ) is a German geographer and geoscientist . He has been the rector of the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg since October 1, 2007 .

Life

After attending schools in Haslach im Kinzigtal (1966–69) and Gengenbach (1969–79), he graduated from high school in 1979; he was awarded the Bushel Prize. After completing his military service in Nagold and Münsingen in 1979/1980, he studied geography and German at the University of Karlsruhe (TH) from 1980 to 1986 . From 1986 to 1989 he was a research assistant at the Institute for Geography and Geoecology at the University of Karlsruhe; In 1989 he was a research assistant at the Geographical Institute of the University of Stuttgart. In 1989 he was employed by Wolf Dieter Blümel at the University of Stuttgart , Faculty of Geosciences and Biosciences, with the work Morphogenesis in the southern Kraichgau with special consideration of tertiary and Pleistocene deck sediments . A contribution to the history of the landscape in Southwest Germany is doing his doctorate . During his time as an academic advisor at the Geographical Institute of the University of Stuttgart (1989-95) , he completed his habilitation in 1994 in the subject of physical geography with the habilitation thesis Lime-rich deck sediments and lime crust generations in Namibia : On the question of the origin and mobilization of calcium carbonate .

In 1995 he followed a call to the University of Passau as Professor of Physical Geography. In 2001 he changed to the chair for physical geography at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg (successor Dieter Barsch ) and became director of the Geographical Institute . Since 2002 he has held various deans , including from 2002 to 2004 and from 2006 to 2007 Vice Dean (for Geosciences) of the Faculty of Chemistry and Earth Sciences. In addition, he headed the luminescence laboratory, which was previously located at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics (MPIK) . He has been Rector of Heidelberg University since 2007 and was confirmed in office for a further six years in 2012 and 2019.

Bernhard Eitel is married and has two children.

Act

Scientific work

He is considered a student of Alfred Wirthmann and Wolf Dieter Blümel . His scientific focus is on geomorphology , soil geography , geoecology , dry area research , hydrogeography , limnology , quaternary research as well as geoarchaeology and environmental management . The regions he explored include southern Germany, western Europe, the Arctic, southern Africa and South America. In particular, he is considered an expert on the country and culture of Peru and France. Bernhard Eitel is also considered a natural scientist with a pronounced penchant for the humanities and social sciences.

He has published numerous scientific papers and articles. He is co-editor of the journal for geomorphology (= Annals of Geomorphology / Annales de Géomorphologie), the journal GEOÖKO and the Heidelberg Geographical Works.

University political activities and university development

During his tenure, Heidelberg University was successful in both rounds of the Excellence Initiative (2007/2012) and in the Excellence Strategy (2019) of the federal and state governments in all funding lines. As part of the Excellence Initiative, Eitel was responsible for the future concept "Heidelberg: Realizing the Potential of a Comprehensive University", the focus of which is dialogue across traditional subject boundaries and the development of new forms of interdisciplinary cooperation in the university's four major research fields, the Fields of Focus (FoF ), are. In the Excellence Strategy, the link between the Fields of Focus and two new flagship initiatives will be further expanded, and the transfer of knowledge and the transfer of research results to society will also be promoted.

Eitel's term of office also included the 625th anniversary of Heidelberg University in 2011 and the successful system accreditation of the heiQUALITY quality management system for quality assurance in studies and teaching (2014), with which the university is allowed to independently accredit its courses. In 2015, Eitel also launched the “Donate the Future” campaign, the aim of which is to create and maintain freedom for future generations and to preserve the university's academic heritage. Eitel is a co-founder of the advocacy group of German universities with strong research and international visibility, "German U15", of which he was spokesperson from 2012 to 2014.

In the course of the education strike in 2009 and the resulting occupation of the rectorate of Heidelberg University by schoolchildren, students and doctoral candidates, Eitel came under fire. He was unable to convince the students to leave the building voluntarily and had the rectorate vacated by the police after four days of occupation. The students threw Eitel u. a. claim not to have responded to their specific demands and to have refused a constructive dialogue. During the occupation, Eitel only faced the students personally once. Several students and teachers then distanced themselves from Eitel's decision to vacate the rector's office.

Memberships

Bernhard Eitel was a board member (1994–2002) and chairman (2002–2006) as well as a member of the scientific advisory board (2006–2007) of the AK Geomorphologie (German working group for geomorphology in the German Society for Geography DGfG eV). From 2002 to 2004 he was chairman of the Heidelberg Geographical Society (HGG) and from 2004 to 2007 a member of its advisory board. From 2002 to 2007 he was also a member of the Executive Commission of the International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG) -Working Group on "Interaction between Fluvial, Aeolian and Lacustrine Processes in Arid Regions". In 2002 he was a member of the Presidium of the GeoUnion Alfred Wegener Foundation . From 2004 to 2009 he was a member of the UNESCO IGCP 500 Management Group "Westerlies and Monsoons: Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Dryland Environments, Hydrology and People". In 2005 he was a member of the commission of the State of Lower Saxony for research evaluation in the subject of geography at the universities of Lower Saxony.

In 2008 he was appointed to the board of the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. One year later, he was elected a corresponding member of the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) .

From April 2018 to March 2020, Bernhard Eitel was chairman of the Baden-Württemberg State Rectors' Conference.

From 2010 to 2015 he was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Hertie School of Governance .

Since 1981 he has been a member of the Catholic student association KDSt.V. Normannia zu Karlsruhe in the CV .

honors and awards

Fonts

  • Different amounts of pedogenic palygorskite in South West African Cenozoic calcretes: Geomorphological, palaeoclimatical and methodological implications. In: Journal of Geomorphology , New Series Supplement-Volume 121, 2000, pp. 139–149.
  • with J. Eberle, R. Kuhn: Holocene environmental change in the Otjiwarongo thornbush savanna (Northern Namibia): Evidence from soils and sediments. In: Catena , Volume 47, 2002, pp. 43-62.
  • with K. van der Borg, J. Eberle, H. Megies: Late Pleistocene / Early Holocene glacial history of northern Andréeland (Northern Spitsbergen / Svalbard Archipelago): evidence from glacial and fluvio-glacial deposits. In: Journal of Geomorphology , New Series, Volume 46, 2002, pp. 337–364.
  • with S. Hecht, B. Mächtle, G. Schuhkraft, A. Kadereit, GA Wagner, B. Kromer, I. Unkel, M. Reindel: Geoarchaeological evidence from desert loess in the Nazca-Palpa region, southern Peru: Palaeoenvironmental changes and their impact on Pre-Columbian cultures. In: Archaeometry , Volume 47, 2005, pp. 137-185.
  • with A. Kadereit, WD Blümel, K. Hüser, J. Lomax, A. Hilgers: Fluvial deposits in the Upper Hoanib river catchment, northwestern Namibia: New evidence of environmental changes before and after the Last Glacial Maximum at the eastern Namib Desert Margin . In: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology , Volume 234, 2006, pp. 201-222.
  • with B. Mächtle: Man and environment in the eastern Atacama Desert (Southern Peru): Holocene climate changes and their impact on Pre-Columbian cultures. In: M. Reindel, GA Wagner (Ed.): New Technologies for Archeology. Springer, Berlin / Heidelberg 2009, pp. 17–37.

Web links

Commons : Bernhard Eitel  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kürschner's German Scholar Calendar . 18th edition (2001). Vol. 2, p. 642.
  2. ↑ "Ruperto Carola welcomes its future rector" , press release of the University of Heidelberg, March 27, 2007
  3. ^ "Bernhard Eitel re-elected as rector" , press release of the University of Heidelberg, December 11, 2012
  4. ^ Heinrich Funk: 100 years of Normannia Karlsruhe. Karlsruhe 1990, p. 274.
  5. ↑ Member entry by Prof. Dr. Bernhard Eitel (with picture and CV) at the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina , accessed on July 5, 2016.
  6. ^ "Heidelberg University celebrates Montpellier Day" , press release from Heidelberg University, June 24, 2011
  7. ↑ Honors - Awards - Appointments , Heidelberg University, October 2015
  8. ^ "Award in the field of desert research" , report from Heidelberg University, October 19, 2016
  9. ↑ "The German-Hungarian relations between our universities are getting more intensive" , report from Semmelweis University, May 9, 2019
personal data
SURNAME Vain, Bernhard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Eitel, Bernhard Günter Heinrich (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German geographer and university professor, rector of the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
DATE OF BIRTH August 31, 1959
PLACE OF BIRTH Karlsruhe