Prof. Dr. Katja Matthes

Director

 

Office:
Phone: +49 431 600 2800
Fax:     +49 431 600 2805
E-Mail: office-director(at)geomar.de

Address:
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Wischhofstr. 1-3
24148 Kiel, Germany  

Professional Experience

  • Since October 2020: Director, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel

  • 2018-2020: Head of Research Division 1: Ocean Circulation and Climate Dynamics

  • Since 2012: W3-Professorship for General Meteorology at the Christian-Albrechts Universität zu Kiel and the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Head of the Working Group "Physics of the Atmosphere"
  • 2012-2015: Head of the Helmholtz-University Young Investigators Group NATHAN (Quantification of Natural Climate Variability in the Atmosphere-Hydrosphere System with Data Constrained Simulations) at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel

  • 2010 - 2011: W2-Professorship for Atmosphere-Hydrosphere Systems at the Faculty of Geosciences at the Freie Universität Berlin and the Helmholtz-Centre Potsdam, the German Centre for Geosciences (GFZ)

  • 2009-2011: Head of the Helmholtz-University Young Investigators Group NATHAN (Quantification of Natural Climate Variability in the Atmosphere-Hydrosphere System with Data Constrained Simulations), Helmholtz-Centre Potsdam, German Centre for Geosciences and Freie Universität Berlin

  • 2004–2008: PostDoc, Institut für Meteorologie, Freie Universität Berlin

  • 2007–2008: Reintegration phase of a Marie Curie Outgoing International Fellowship (OIF) SOLVO (The Influence of Solar Variability on Climate) within the 6th framework of the European commission

  • 2004–2007: PostDoc National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder/CO, USA, Outgoing phase of the Marie Curie Fellowship 

  • 2003:  Dr. rer. nat., Institut für Meteorologie, Freie Universität Berlin
    Topi: The influence of the 11-Year Solar Cycle and the QBO on the Atmosphere. a Model Study (summa cum laude, Prof. Dr. K. Labitzke, Prof. Dr. U. Cubasch)  PDF

  • 2000–2003: PhD student, Institut für Meteorologie, Freie Universität Berlin (Stratospheric Research Group)

  • 1998–2000: Diploma student, Institut für Meteorologie, Freie Universität Berlin (Stratospheric Research Group) 

  • 2000: Diploma in Meteorology (with distinction)

  • 1995–2000: Freie Universität Berlin (Studies of Meteorology)

Personal Information

  • Born: 23. September 1975 in Berlin

  • married, 3 children (2004, 2006, 2012)

Honors and awards

  • 2019: Contributing author, 6th assessment report, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change  (WG I, Chapter 2)
  • 2010: Interview film about career path from KISSWIN 
  • 2010: Admission to the AcademiaNet (http://www.academia-net.de/), a German online platform to enhance the visibility of excellent women in science
  • 2009 - 2010: Selected participant of the Helmholtz-Mentoring program for women “In Führung gehen” („Preparing for Leadership“)
  • 2008 - 2009: Selected participant of the 'ProFiL Programme' which prepares outstanding women for leadership positions in science and higher education from the Technische Universität Berlin, the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and the Freie Universität Berlin (ProFiL. Professionalisierung für Frauen in Forschung und Lehre: Mentoring – Training - Networking)
    (http://www.profil-programm.de/)
  • 2004: Ernst-Reuter Award of the Freie Universität Berlin
  • 2001: Award for the best young scientist from the “Stiftung Umwelt und Schadensvorsorge der SV Gebäudeversicherung, Stuttgart” at the DACH-Meteorologentagung in Vienna, Austria

Research Interests

Key aspects:

  • Stratosphere-troposphere-ocean modeling with special focus on chemistry-climate modeling
  • Role of the middle atmosphere for (natural) climate variability
  • Mechanisms for Sun-climate connections
  • Decadal climate variability and predictability
  • Processes in the UTLS (Upper Troposphere Lower Stratosphere)
  • Development of and contribution to international model intercomparison studies of climate variability and climate change

Teaching

Master of Science: "Climate Physics: Meteorology and Physical Oceanography"; in Englisch:

  • Modern Aspects in Meteorology I: "Climate Modeling and IPCC2013" (Lecture+Seminar)
  • Modern Aspects in Meteorology II: "Data Assimilation" (Lecture + Seminar)
  • Modern Aspects in Meteorology III: "The Stratosphere" (Lecture + Seminar)
  • Advanced Meteorology: Cloud Physics (Lecture + Exercises)
  • Advanced Meteorology: Radiation (Lecture + Exercises)
  • Advanced Meteorology: Stratospheric Physics and Dynamics  (Lecture + Exercises)
  • Meteorological Seminar: "Clouds and Circulation" 
  • Advanced Meteorological Seminar: "Seamless predictions"
  • Advanced Meteorological Seminar: "North Atlantic Climate Variability"
  • Oceanography-Meteorlogy-Climate Seminar: "Decadal Variability and Trends of the Pacific Ocean-Atmosphere System"
  • Meteorological Lunch Seminar

Bachelor of Science: "Physik des Erdsystems: Meteorologie - Ozeanographie - Geophysik"; in Deutsch:

  • Literaturseminar der Meteorologie, Ozeanographie, Geophysik

Committees

National

  • 2019-2020: Co-speaker for POF-IV Topic 2 "Ocean and Cryosphere in Climate"
  • 2019-2020: Chair of Examining Board Climate Physics MSc)
  • Since 2018: Chairwoman of the Scientific Advisary Board of the Leibniz-Institut für Atmosphärenphysik (IAP) in Kühlungsborn
  • 2016-2021: Member and deputy chair of the German National SCOSTEP (Scientific Committee On Solar-Terrestrial Physics) committee
  • 2013-2019: Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
  • 2016-2018: Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Leibniz-Institut für Atmosphärenphysik (IAP) in Kühlungsborn
  • 2013-2017: Head of des GEOMAR Women's Executive Board (WEB)

International

  • 2020: Co-chair of SCOSTEP's next program PRESTO - Predictability of variable solar-terrestrial coupling (2020-2024)
  • Since 2017: Scientific Steering Group member of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) Grand Challenge Near-Term Climate Prediction (NTCP)
  • 2011-2019: Member of the International Committee on the Middle Atmosphere (ICMA)
  • Since 2011:  Co-Chair of WG II-D “External Forcing of the Middle Atmosphere” of IAGA
  • Since 2006: Coordination of the SPARC solar influence study group (SOLARIS-HEPPA) for the World Climate Research Programme – Stratospheric Processes and their Role in Climate (WCRP-SPARC) http://solarisheppa.geomar.de
  • 2011-2015: Vice-chair of the EU-COST Action ES-1005 “Towards a more complete assessement of the impact of solar variability on the Earth’s climate (TOSCA)”
  • 2012-2014: Co-Leader of CAWSES TG1 "What is the solar influence on the Earth's climate"
  • 2008-2012: Scientific Discipline Representative for the Scientific Committee on Solar Terrestrial Physics (SCOSTEP)
  • 2001-2004: Co-coordination of the GRIPS (GCM Reality Intercomparison Project for SPARC) solar influence study group for WCRP-SPARC