Statutory Bodies

Executive Board of the Institute

The Executive Board conducts the business of the foundation. It settles all matters that the foundation’s charter does not assign to another governing body of the foundation.

The scientific member of the board is the speaker of the board. He represents the institute externally. In accordance with the provisions of regional budgetary regulations (§ 9 Landeshaushaltsordnung), the administrative member of the Executive Board is solely responsible for the budget and the business transactions of the current administration. The members of the Board work closely and on a basis of mutual trust to achieve the goals of the institute.

Prof. Dr. Matthias Steinmetz
Chairman of the Board, 
Director Research Branch: Extragalactic Astrophysics

Wolfram Rosenbach
Administrative Chairman,
Head of Administration

Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees decides on the general research objectives and the important political and financial affairs of the foundation. It directs the Executive Board in its important political and financial affairs. The Board of Trustees also reviews the legality, appropriateness and efficiency of the management of the Executive Board.

Dr. Nikola Sander (Chair)
Brandenburg Ministry of Science, Research and Culture

Dr. Karsten Hess (Vice Chair)
Federal Ministry of Education and Research

Prof. Oliver Günther, PhD
President of Potsdam University

Prof. Dr. Sami K. Solanki
Max-Planck-Institute for Solar System Research, Göttingen

Science Advisory Board

Comprised of external members, the Scientific Advisory Board supports the collaboration of the foundation with universities and other research institutes and cooperates with the Executive Board for the optimal use of research facilities. In addition to that the Scientific Advisory Board states its opinions on drafts of research and development programs as well as drafts of  business plans and evaluates the scientific findings of the foundation.

Prof. Dr. Sami K. Solanki (Chair)
Max-Planck-Institute for Solar System Research, Göttingen

Prof. Dr. Ralf Bender (Vice Chair)
Max-Planck-Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Garching; University-Observatory, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich

Prof. Dr. Sarbani Basu
Department of Astronomy, Yale University, USA

Prof. Dr. Natalie Batalha
Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, UC Santa Cruz, USA

Prof. Dr. Marcus Brüggen
Hamburg Observatory, University of Hamburg

Prof. Dr. Peter T. Gallagher
Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Ireland

Prof. Dr. Juna A. Kollmeier
Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, Toronto, Canada

Prof. Dr. Andrey Kravtsov
Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The University of Chicago, USA