First General Assembly

On 9^th February 2026, the 4^th annual meeting of the KPA IMfESS took place in the lecture hall at Pohligstr. 3. In addition to the presentation of KPA-funded projects, this meeting featured a premiere: the first General Assembly of the KPA IMfESS, because in 2026, the framework for the KPA IMfESS – as for the other KPAs of the UoC – changed more or less. To receive the larger annual budget from the UzK from 2026 to 2031, certain quality criteria must be met and reviewed annually. At least one cluster of excellence or collaborative research centre, as well as excellent scientists in the field relevant to the KPA, must be demonstrated. The same applies to interdisciplinary projects and publications, as well as projects in which UoC scientists cooperate with regional and international partners. The KPA also needs a critical mass of at least 20 scientists conducting research at the UoC in the field of ‘Intelligent Methods for Earth System Sciences’.

Due to the introduction of the new KPA regulations, 27 scientists were invited to the 1^st General Assembly as members of the KPA IMfESS. After the presentation of the ‘new’ KPA with explanations of the quality criteria, its status within the UoC's Excellence Initiative, the activities of the past year and the KPA regulations, the three spokespersons were confirmed, and two new executive board members were elected.

Since 9 February 2026, the KPA IMfESS Executive Board consists of:

• Prof. Dr. Susanne Crewell – Institute of Geophysics and Meteorology - spokesperson
• Prof. Dr. Christian Sohler – Institute of Computer Science – spokesperson
• Prof. Dr. Tony Reimann – Institute of Geography – spokesperson
• Prof. Dr. Aleksandar Bojchevski -  Institute of Computer Science
• Junior-Prof. Dr. Svenja Riedesel – Institute of Geography

In the second part of the meeting, eight new projects were presented that will be funded by the KPA in 2026. Two projects that had been funded in previous years presented their results rather than their plans, including the creation of a database in which over 500 rocks from the GeoMuseum's teaching collection are now available in 3D view. A complete list of all projects that have been or are being funded by the KPA can be found on the website ‘Projects supported by the KPA’.

Other scientists from the five institutes involved in the KPA also attended the project presentations, and there was opportunity for discussion during the coffee break and lunch break.