Sascha Brune, Head of Section 2.5 Geodynamic Modelling, is appointed Professor of Tectonophysics at the University of Potsdam with effect from 01.12.2023. The official conferral of the title of professor takes place today.

Sascha Brune conducts research on lithosphere dynamics, plate tectonics, and their role in Earth System evolution. His current main focus lies on the dynamics of rifting and continental breakup across the scales. To study these processes, he uses a diverse set of geodynamic modelling tools and integrates observations from structural geology, geophysical imaging, rheology, and geochemistry.

At the beginning of the year, Brune was already very successful in acquiring a two million euro Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) for his research project EMERGE "Measuring and Modelling Tectonic CO₂ Emissions Through Time". The project uses drones and computer modelling to investigate CO₂ emissions during the break-up of continents. With his research project, the geophysicist is creating the basis for interpreting CO₂ balances for our planet over half a billion years.

Brune has been a researcher at the German Research Centre for Geosciences since 2006 and has headed the Geodynamic Modelling section since 2019.