Prof. Dr. Ameha A. Muluneh will conduct research at the GFZ for one year as a visiting scientist within the framework of a Georg Forster Research Fellowship. The Georg Forster Research Fellowship is awarded to scientists with above-average qualifications. With this fellowship, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation enables experienced scientists from developing and emerging countries to spend six to 18 months conducting research in Germany.

At the GFZ, Prof. Muluneh will conduct research in Section 2.5 Geodynamic Modelling. He will focus on the dynamics of deformation in the northernmost part of the East African Rift Valley in his research project and investigate how the three major rift arms of the Ethiopian Rift, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden connect in the Afar region. To this end, Prof. Muluneh will combine GNSS data and geodynamic modelling. The research project will also address questions that are highly relevant to earthquake and geothermal issues.

Muluneh specialises in geological and geophysical methods for studying rift dynamics. He teaches tectonophysics, structural geology and palaeomagnetism at Addis Ababa University. Last year, he was awarded the "AGU Africa Award for Research Excellence in Earth Science".

The Georg Forster Research Fellowship also aims to establish long-term scientific contacts. The scholarship therefore includes, among other things, extensive alumni support after the successful completion of the research stay, in particular the maintenance and promotion of contacts with cooperation partners in Germany during the entire academic career. The research fellowship programme is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).