Foundation Council

Prof. Dr Jürgen Mlynek headed the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres from 2005 to 2015 and was a member of the University Council of Leibniz University Hannover from 2010 to 2023, serving as its Chair from September 2017 to December 2023. Since 1 January 2024, he has been a member and Chair of the Foundation Council of the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover Foundation. Jürgen Mlynek was born on 15 March 1951 in Gronau/Leine, is married, and has two children.

After studying physics at the Technical University of Hannover and the École Polytechnique in Paris, he was awarded his doctorate in 1979 and completed his habilitation in 1984 at the University of Hannover, where he worked for five years as a research assistant at the Institute of Applied Physics.

Following a research stay at the IBM Research Laboratory in the USA, Professor Mlynek moved to ETH Zurich as an Assistant Professor.

In 1990, he was appointed C4 Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Konstanz, where he conducted research in experimental quantum optics, atomic physics, and surface physics. Jürgen Mlynek also served as Vice-President of the German Research Foundation (DFG) and as President of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. From 2005 to 2015, he was President of the Helmholtz Association.

Professor Mlynek has received numerous scientific awards, including a Heisenberg Fellowship from the German Research Foundation, the Physics Prize of the German Physical Society, the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize of the German Research Foundation, as well as the Max Born Prize and the Max Born Medal awarded jointly by the Institute of Physics and the German Physical Society. In 2003, he received the Urania Medal in Berlin; in 2008, the Order of Merit of the State of Berlin; and in 2009, the Grand Cross of Merit of the Lower Saxony Order of Merit. Jürgen Mlynek has published around 240 articles in peer-reviewed journals and holds several patents.

Dr Ulrike Albrecht is a consultant in international scientific cooperation and internationalisation strategies. From 2001 to 2018, she was Head of the Strategy and External Relations Department at the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Bonn.

After completing her State Examination in History and English Studies at Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Ulrike Albrecht was awarded a doctorate in history there in 1993. From 1981 onwards, she worked as a research associate and Academic Councillor at the Institute for Economic and Social History at the same university. From 1993 to 1996, she served as Programme Director at the Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities in Mainz, additionally acting as Managing Director in 1996/97. From 1997 to 2001, she was Head of the Department for Research and Fundamental Research Issues at Heidelberg University.

During this period and up to the present day, Ulrike Albrecht has held various advisory roles, including serving as a member of the European Commission’s Advisory Group ‘People’ until 2009 and as its Chair in 2009; from 2004 to 2015, she was a member of the University Council of Heidelberg University, serving as Chair from 2012 to 2015; since 2016, she has been a member of the Advisory Board of New Europe College, Bucharest, Romania; and since 2018, she has been a member of the Advisory Board of the Global Young Academy in Halle and of the Research Strategy Commission at Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen.

Christine Falk, PhD, is a Full Professor of Transplant Immunology at Hannover Medical School (MHH), with a long-standing research interest in transplant and tumour immunology and their interface with infectious diseases in solid organ transplantation. Key aspects of her research include the effects of chimerism and tissue-resident memory lymphocytes, as well as donor-specific antibodies in organ transplantation, particularly in lung transplantation. She focuses in particular on the mechanisms of ischaemia–reperfusion injury in lung, heart, kidney, and liver transplantation. She is also interested in identifying ‘common denominators’ of tumour and organ rejection, protection against infections, and COVID-19 disease and vaccine responses. She has published more than 200 research articles in international peer-reviewed journals and has received the Walter Schulz Prize for Tumour Immunology and the ‘Unsung Hero Award’ from Women in Transplantation (WIT) within The Transplantation Society (TTS).

Christine Falk served as President of the German Society for Immunology (DGfI) in 2021/2022 and is currently its Past President. In 2022, she was President of the Joint DGfI/ÖGAI Immunology Meeting. For more than 15 years, she has been a co-organiser of the DGfI Spring School in Ettal. At MHH, she served as DFG Liaison Officer from 2017 to 2023 and has been a member of dissertation and research committees as well as of the editorial boards of scientific journals.

She is currently a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the German Primate Center (DPZ), the Foundation Council of Leibniz Universität Hannover, and the Board of Trustees of the Volkswagen Foundation. From 2013 to 2023, she was a member of the Board of the German Cancer Aid (Stiftung Deutsche Krebshilfe). From December 2021 to April 2023, she was a member of the Corona Pandemic Expert Council of the Federal Chancellery, and since January 2023, she has been a member of the German Science and Humanities Council (Wissenschaftsrat).

Gerhard P. Fettweis earned a PhD under the supervision of H. Meyr at RWTH Aachen, Germany, in 1990. After a postdoctoral appointment at IBM Research in San Jose, he joined TCSI in Berkeley, USA. Since 1994, he has held the Vodafone Chair Professorship at TU Dresden, Germany. Since 2018, he has also served as Founding Scientific Director and CEO of the Barkhausen Institute. His research focuses on wireless communications and chip design, and he coordinates 5G++Lab Germany as well as the German Cluster-for-Future SEMECO.

His team has spun out 30 technology start-ups, and he has initiated six platform entities. Professor Fettweis is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering, the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the German Academy of Science and Engineering acatech, and the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities. He is also a Fellow of the IEEE, VDE/ITG, the National Academy of Inventors, EURASIP, WWRF, and DATE. He is active in organising IEEE conferences and has served on the boards of public companies in Germany, Switzerland, and the USA (Nasdaq). He has received numerous awards, the most recent being the inaugural Bavarian Pioneer Award 2025.

Prof. Oestreich studied physics at the University of Münster (WWU) and at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland. After completing his studies in 1991, he conducted research at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart in the group of Prof. Dr H.-J. Queisser and was awarded his doctorate by the University of Stuttgart in 1994. He then moved to the USA to work as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Just over a year later, he accepted a habilitation position under the supervision of Prof. Dr Wolfgang Rühle and completed his habilitation at Philipps-Universität Marburg in 1999.

In 2000, he accepted an appointment at Leibniz University Hannover, where he has since worked at the Institute of Solid State Physics. His research focuses on spin dynamics and charge-carrier dynamics in complex semiconductor nanostructures, combining optics with solid-state physics. He has played a significant role in major collaborative projects; for example, from 2007 to 2013, he was the initiator and coordinator of the DFG Priority Programme 1285 ‘Semiconductor Spintronics’, and from 2014 to 2020, he was the spokesperson for the Research Training Group 1991 ‘Quantum Mechanical Noise in Complex Systems’. In 2011, he declined an offer of a W3 professorship at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg.

Prof. Oestreich has been active in the Senate of Leibniz University Hannover since 2019 and is currently the Managing Director of the Institute of Solid State Physics and an elected Senator. Since July 2025, he has been a voting member of the Foundation Council.

Prof. Dr Joachim Schachtner has been State Secretary at the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture since 8 November 2022. After studying biology in Regensburg and subsequently completing his doctorate in Munich, Professor Schachtner worked at various universities, initially as a postdoctoral researcher and later as a research group leader. From 2010 to 2018, he was Vice-President for Information and Quality Management at Philipps-Universität Marburg, and from 2019 to 2022, he served as President of Clausthal University of Technology. From 2021 until his appointment as State Secretary, he also served as Chair of the State University Conference of Lower Saxony.

Hannover Re SE
Member of the Executive Board

Short Biography

Responsibilities:

As the Executive Board member responsible for Property and Casualty Reinsurance, Silke Sehm has global responsibility for Natural Catastrophe business, Structured Reinsurance (‘Advanced Solutions’), Insurance-Linked Securities, Retrocessions, and Cyber & Digital.

Professional Career

• Since 2019: Hannover Re SE, Hanover, Member of the Executive Board
• 2008–2019: Hannover Re, General Manager with worldwide responsibility for Structured Reinsurance (‘Advanced Solutions’)
• 2002–2008: Hannover Re, Head of Department for Structured Reinsurance (‘Advanced Solutions’)
• 1996–2002: Hannover Re, Actuary and Underwriter
• 1995–1996: HDI Haftpflichtverband der Deutschen Industrie V.a.G., Hanover, Actuary
• 1988–1995: University of Hanover, degree in Mathematics; qualification: Diploma in Mathematics

(Source: www.hannover-rueck.de/1384951/silke-sehm-curriculum-vitae)

University Vice President and Director General 
Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory 
Arizona State University

Peter Schlosser is the University Vice President and Director General of the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University. He holds joint appointments in the School of Sustainability, the School of Ocean Futures, the School of Earth and Space Exploration, and the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment.

Prior to joining ASU in January 2018, Schlosser spent 28 years at Columbia University, serving as the Maurice Ewing and J. Lamar Worzel Professor of Geophysics, chair of the Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering, professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and as the deputy director and director of research at the Earth Institute.

Schlosser’s research focuses on the hydrosphere, primarily the circulation of water in the oceans, continental surface waters and groundwater, including the impact of human activities. He is co-chair of the Earth League and a fellow of the American Geophysical Union, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Explorers Club. He is an elected member of the German National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science.

In addition to his research and academic roles, Schlosser serves on the advisory board for TIMES CO2, as well as the boards of UNESCO, the American Geophysical Union, Carbon Collect Limited and the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, among others. He is actively involved in numerous national and international science steering and advisory committees, continuously striving to advance the understanding of our global futures.