For one week in autumn 2018 young scientists from Ghana and other African regions will meet Geo-scientists from Forschungszentrum Jülich in Accra, to get in contact with the latest methods of modern geoscientific research – modeling and simulation with supercomputers. The vision: Soil Research can support a secure and sustainable food production for Africa – and a week together could be the first step for future cooperation of geo-scientists from both sides of the bridge. Welcome to this project diary where we will report regularly how the bridge building advances.
More about the project “PASCAL”.
Authors
Daniel Felten once was a biogeographer and soil scientist. Seven years ago, he swapped the field for a desk and has since then been involved in research management. He is heading Geoverbund ABC/J’s coordination office, located at the Agrosphere Institute at FZJ, since 2014.
Sophie Mbugua is a PASCAL journalistic scholarship holder. She is an Environmental Journalist reporting from sub-Saharan Africa and Media consultant. She is passionate about photos, sounds, and outdoor activities and learning from children. Being involved in this project, which involves linking European scientists to young African scientists who purpose to improve soil health, food productivity and food security is exciting and a priority.
Anne Rother has been head of our Cooperate Communication since 2009. Unfortunately this wonderful job seldom means writing and nearly never means writing in English. So being part of the blog writing team is a fantastic chance for her to fresh up her skills.
Erhard Zeiss has been writer and editor in our press office since 2008. He is the team’s expert for topics in the field of environmental research, for instance soil or climate research. In his private life he likes to travel a lot but until now never had the opportunity to go to Africa…
Dr. Solomon Agbo joined Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH in 2015 as a Postdoctoral fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt foundation and worked on monolithic integration of energy harvesters with storage batteries at the Institute of Energy and Climate Research (IEK-5), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH. Since June 1, 2018 he works in the International relations unit where he is responsible for cooperations with Africa.
Sabine Dues, a molecular biologist by training, joined Forschungszentrum Jülich in 2009. Since 2015, she is an international relations manager responsible for Eastern Europe, former CIS States, India and Africa. In her free time, she likes photographing, sewing dresses, sports like skiing and cycling as well as meeting with people from different countries and cultures.
Alissa Aarts has been part of Forschungszentrum Jülich since 2015. Besides her job as a recruiter she is responsible for the international HR-Marketing. Being involved in this project, which is so closely related to science, is a new and really exciting experience for her.
Marcel Bülow joined Forschungszentrum Jülich in 2012. As social media manager in the corporate communications department he is chief editor of the “Jülich Blogs” and the voice of Forschungszentrum Jülich on Facebook, Twitter and Co. In these networks he spreads the message of PASCAL to reach African geo-scientists and journalists.