Breaking walls with new ideas and innovations

This year we are celebrating 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, a memorable political event, not only for Germany. To make the impossible possible, to think about something that is actually unthinkable, that is the goal of the Falling Walls Conference, which has taken place annually since 2009 on 9 November, the day the Wall fell in Berlin. Under the motto "Which walls are to fall next?", people from science, art, politics or business can apply with their projects and initiatives that contribute to solving global challenges. This year, three scientists from GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel also made it to the final round, which will, this year for the first time, be held as a virtual event.

Here are the GEOMAR finalists, good luck to all of them.

Dr. Aaron Micallef - Offshore groundwater reserves

Dr. Micallef’s work involves developing an innovative approach to map offshore groundwater systems in high detail and assessing their role in geological processes on the seafloor. The work at GEOMAR documented an extensive groundwater system offshore New Zealand, and is currently focusing on a similar system offshore the Maltese Islands. These offshore groundwater systems have the potential to provide an alternative source of freshwater in coastal areas suffering from water scarcity.

More Information: MARCAN Project (http://www.marcan.eu)

Aaron Micallef is a senior scientist at GEOMAR, Germany. He graduated with a MSc in geomorphology from the University of Oxford and a PhD in marine geosciences from the National Oceanography Centre. Aaron has previously worked at the Universities of Malta and Barcelona. He is currently holder of an ERC Starting Grant and former holder of Marie Curie Career Integration and Intra-European Fellowships, and a Fulbright Scholarship. Aaron has participated in more than 25 oceanographic expeditions around the world.

Link to the applicant video

https://falling-walls.com/remote2020/finalists/breaking-the-wall-to-fresh-groundwater/

Dr. Başak Kısakürek Ibsen - Equal opportunities for women in science

Dr. Kisakürek Ibsen’s nomination is in the field of Science Management and Innovation for her work as the scientific manager of the EU-funded project, “Baltic Consortium on Promoting Gender Equality in Marine Research Organisations” (Baltic Gender, www.baltic-gender.eu). As well as establishing schemes like analysis of sex-disaggregated data, mentoring and trainings to stop the leaky pipeline, Baltic Gender developed innovative strategies to challenge traditional structures and ways of thinking in marine sciences. Some examples are a new tool for the incorporation of gender perspectives into research content, a brochure on best practices for structural changes and an initiative for the prevention of sexualized violence on sea-going expeditions.

Having specialized in isotope biogeochemistry, Dr. Başak Kısakürek Ibsen worked as a marine scientist in Great Britain and in Germany in her early career. In 2006 she came as a postdoc to IFM-GEOMAR in Kiel. In 2011, she took up a science officer position at the COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Office of the EU in Brussels, Belgium. Since her return to Germany in 2013, she has been working at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. Recently, she took up a new position in the directorate of GEOMAR to work on Internationalisation as part of the Science Coordination team.

Link to the applicant video

https://falling-walls.com/remote2020/finalists/breaking-the-wall-of-institutionalising-gender-equality-in-marine-research/

Dr. Olivia Roth

The independent evolution of pregnancy in most vertebrate groups required drastic morphological and genomic reorganisation. Roth’s project focuses on adaptation in male pregnancy evolution in pipefishes and seahorses, evolving on a gradient from external fertilisation to full pregnancy. Only this genus allows the role of egg production and pregnancy to be disentangled. Experiments, comparative genomics and genetic engineering will elucidate the basis of trait loss and gain required for male pregnancy.

Dr. Olivia Roth studied biology in Basel and received her doctorate from the ETH Zurich. Since 2009 she is working at GEOMAR in the research division Marine Ecology. Initially, Dr. Roth headed a junior research group. In 2017, she was awarded an ERC Starting Grant of 1.5 million euros for her own research group on "Parental investment and immune dynamics".

Link to the applicant video

https://falling-walls.com/remote2020/finalists/breaking-the-wall-of-male-pregnancy/

Link:

http://falling-walls.com/conference Website der Falling Walls Conference.