Fundings and Awards

The DGGM awards several scholarships for conferences, two prizes for dissertations, as well as an award for a lecture and three awards for posters during the annual meetings.

In addition, the DGGM allocates (at irregular intervals) the Golden Ferdinand von Richthofen-Medal. A list of previous winners and scholarship recipients can be found at the bottom of this page.

Conference Scholarships

The DGGM allots 10 conference scholarships per year, each amounting to 250 €. The goal is to support young scientists and motivate them to present their research findings at national and international conferences. Applicants must be members of the DGGM and can be of national or international background. Applications are submitted to the Chair of the steering committee via email (Oliver.Sass@uni-bayreuth.de) and should contain an informal cover letter, an abstract of the lecture and confirmation of the conference registration. The members of the board and the scientific advisory board select twice a year (February and July) the scholarship holders. In case there are more applications than scholarships available persons that apply the first time will be favoured. However, if there are less applications than funds available, the scholarships will be added to the following application period.

The deadline for applications for the conference scholarships is semiannual (31.1. and 30.6. each year).

The scholarship holders are asked to promote their lecture at the conference with the DGGM Logo and in addition to present their lecture at the next annual meeting of the DGGM.

Lecture- and Poster Award of DGGM

As a part of the annual meetings of the DGGM the best lecture and three posters are honored with a dotation of 100 € each. Participation is automatic with an active attendance of an annual conference. Two juries, composed of members of the board, the scientific advisory board and other members of the DGGM select the winners.

Postdoc Award of the DGGM

The DGGM honors outstanding research on geomorphological research with the PostDoc Award award yearly since 2019. Nominations for candidates can be submitted by any member of DGGM.

Submission:

Please send your email to Oliver.Sass@uni-bayreuth.de until the 15 June 2025.

Aim of promotion:

The PostDoc Award honors young scientists, who promote the field of geomorphology in an outstanding way and who generate profound influence beyond national level as well as interdisciplinary.

Documents:

• Justification oft he PostDoc award-proposal (max. 2 pages), broken down by:
• Quality, innovation and contribution to recent priority topics of geomorphological research
• Stringency and relevance of the overall development of the scientific career
• Contribution beyond the field of specialization (co-supervision of final theses and dissertation, outreach, project planning, representation in committees, editorial / reviewing)
• Networking and international cooperation in the field of geomorphology
• CV (tabular)
• Publication list with the five most influential publications marked

The evaluation is explicitly based on the mentioned criteria (and not on purely metric criteria such as H-index and number of publications).

Commission:

The board of the DGGM designates a 3-member commission from the board and the scientific counselors. They may obtain additional, independent opinions. The commissioners evaluate the quality of the research independently.

Presentation at the DGGM:

All winners present their results in 5 slides.

*only PostDocs, who achieved their highest academic degree (PhD) within the last 7 years.

Dissertation Award of the DGGM

The DGGM annually honors outstanding dissertations on geomorphological research with the dissertation award. The Award is endowed with a dotation of 500 €. Future laureates can be suggested exclusively by their supervisors. If there is more than one excellent dissertation, there is the option to award up to three dissertations a year.

Aim of the promotion:

The award honors innovative, national and international relevant dissertations on geomorphological agendas and appreciate the exceptional research accomplishments of the award winners also as a source of ideas for future research.

Submission:

Please send your email to Oliver.Sass@uni-bayreuth.de until the 15 June 2025. The dissertation should have been completed max. 2 years before the deadline.

The following documents should be attached:

1. Justification of the dissertation award- proposal (0,5 – 2 pages) should be broken down by:

• Innovation: conceptual or methodological
• Relevance: international/national
• Outstanding performance in relation to other thesis
• Source of ideas: for future research

2. Survey (also in extracts), or alternatively (if there is no access to it because of legal reasons) attach a 1,5- page review and comparative assessment of the thesis
3. Dissertation
4. Relevant publications of the dissertation-award-candidates
5. CV of the candidate (with publications and conference inputs)

Commission:

The board of the DGGM designates a 3-member commission from the board and the scientific counselors. They may obtain additional, independent opinions.

Selection Procedure:

The commissioners independently evaluate innovation, relevance, outstanding performance and its importance as a source of ideas for future research. Afterwards they rank the candidates on the basis of these results to announce the winner of the award.

Golden Ferdinand von Richthofen-Medal

With the presentation of the Golden Ferdinand von Richthofen Medal the DGGM would like to continue the tradition to honor distinguished personalities who have performed an outstanding contribution to the german-speaking geomorphology with their pioneering academic work. Ferdinand Freiherr von Richthofen (1833-1905) is considered the founder of modern geomorphology and a world-renowned German geographer. Over the past 80 years, the medal was awarded 12 times for outstanding achievements in the field of geographical research. Since its inception, the awarding is in the hand of the DGGM. All members of the DGGM, who are hereby cordially invited to participate in the procedure and submit proposals, can submit nominations. The deadline for proposals is the 15. May 2024. All nominations are confidential. The board and the scientific advisory board make the decision jointly. The following documents must be submitted with the proposal to the board: a two-page rationale, a list of publications of the nominated candidate(s) and a CV. The presentation of the Golden Ferdinand von Richthofen Medal takes place during the annual meeting of DGGM. It is not intended to confer the Golden Ferdinand von Richthofen Medal periodically.

Scholarship of the “Hanna Bremer Foundation for young scientists” for young female post-doctoral researchers

The Hanna Bremer Foundation was established in 2013 in accordance with the will of geomorphologist Prof Dr Hanna Bremer and has been held in trust by the Prof Dr Frithjof Voss Foundation – Foundation for Geography since 2021.

Independent of the DGGM, the Hanna Bremer Foundation supports young female postdoctoral researchers in the field of geography, in particular physical geography, with scholarships of up to €7,500 for a study trip or study visit outside Germany. The scholarships are awarded annually and applications can be submitted until 15 April 2025. Questions regarding the call for applications and applications can be directed to Wiebke Bebermeier (wiebke.bebermeier@fu-berlin.de) or Julia Meister (julia.meister@uni-wuerzburg.de) as well as the Managing Director of the Hanna Bremer Foundation, Dieter Dowe (dieter.dowe@t-online.de).

You can find an overview of the scholarship holders honoured to date here. More information on the scholarship awards can be found on the homepage of the Hanna Bremer Foundation on the Prof. Dr Frithjof Voss Foundation website.

Previous Awardees

Postdoc Award

2024 – Dr. Georg Veh, Potsdam

2023 – Ass. Prof. Dr. Jana Eichel, Utrecht

2022 – Prof. Dr. Julia Meister, Würzburg; Dr. Daniel Draebing, Bayreuth

2020 – Dr. Elisabeth Dietze, Potsdam; Dr. Günther Prasicek, Lausanne

Dissertation Award

2024 – Alexander Bonhage, Cottbus; Stefan Haselberger, Wien; Felix Martin Hofmann, Freiburg

2022 – Sibylle Knapp, München

2021 – Johannes Schmidt, Leipzig

2020 – Paula Hilger, Sogndal; Georg Veh, Potsdam; Janek Walk, Aachen

2019 – Christopher-Bastian Roettig, Dresden; Stefanie Tofelde, Potsdam; Elmar Schmaltz, Wien

2018 – Karoline Messenzehl, Bonn; Miriam Marzen, Trier; Melanie Bartz, Köln (F18; F18; F18)

2017 – Anette Eltner, Dresden; Jana Eichel, Bonn; Markus Schleier, Erlangen-Nürnberg

2016 – Sabine Kraushaar, Wien; Daniel Draebing, München; Daniel Wolf, Dresden

2014 – Hanna Hadler, Mainz; Anna Schneider, Cottbus

2013 – Dominik Brill, Köln; Michael Dietze, Dresden

2012 – Max Engel, Köln; Wolfgang Fister, Trier

2010 – Kirsten v. Elverfeldt, Wien

Lecture Award

2024 – Hanne Hendricks, Dresden: “AI-driven tracking on hourly monoscopic time-lapse imagery for alpine landform monitoring”; Benedikt Müller (Wien): “High-accuracy landslide monitoring in densely vegetated slopes: A methodological approach using terrestrial photogrammetry and novel filtering techniques”

2023 – Johannes Keßels, Aachen: “The Antropogenic Riverscape Transition in the Eastern Harz Mountains – How did settlement structures interact with the riverine landscape evolution since the middle ages?”

2022 – Verena Stammberger, München: “Gorge formation explained: Massive bedrock channel erosion during a hyperconcentrated flow event”

2021 (joint awards by DGGM, ÖFGU, SGmG) – Florian Betz, Eichstätt: “Biogeomorphology from Space: Assessing the Dynamic Interaction between Hydrogeomorphology and Vegetation along the Naryn River in Kyrgyzstan based on Dense Satellite Imagery Time Series”;  Simon Kainz, Graz: “Discharge pattern of rock glacier springs”; Sibylle Knapp, München: “Multistage rock-slope failure and lake impact: Scenarios and effects with examples from Lake Oeschinen (Bernese Alps, Switzerland) and Lake Eibsee (Bavarian Alps, Germany)”

2020 (online) – Aaron Bufe, Potsdam: “Co-evolution of silicate, carbonate, and sulfide weathering in metasediments drives release of CO2 with erosion: Constraints from southern Taiwan”; Elisabeth Schönfeldt, Potsdam: “Giant slope failures as breeding grounds for earthflows in the Patagonian Andean foreland”

2019 – Phillip Schulter, Aachen: “Lösskomposition und Moprhodynamik in mitteleuropäischen Lösslandschaften – Paläoklimaentwicklnung im Spätquartär”

2018 – Stefanie Tofelde, Potsdam: “Effects of deep-seated versus shallow hillslope processes on cosmogenic 10Be concentrations in fluvial sand and gravel” (F18)

2018 – Anna Schoch, Bonn: “Outsize fan evolution – internal structure and influence on the upper Rhone Valley, Switzerland” (F18)

2017 – Keine Preisvergabe

2016 – Thomas Kolb: “Auensedimente und kolluviale Ablagerungen als Umweltarchive – Versuch einer Landschaftsrekonstruktion für das mittelalterliche Oberfranken”

2015 – Karoline Meßenzehl, Bonn: “Spatial activity of rockwall instability and talus slope evolution in paraglacial systems (Turtmann valley, Swiss Alps)”

2014 – Daniel Wolf, Dresden: “Räumlich variable Geomorphodynamik in westmediterranen Flusseinzugsgebieten und deren Steuergrößen – Eine vergleichende Studie der letzten 14 ka”

2013 – Elisabeth Dietze, Dresden: “Quantifizierung von Sedimentationsprozessen durch die Auswertung von Korngrößendaten“

2012 – Hanna Hadler, Mainz: “Palaeotsunami impact on ancient Mediterranean harbours – a case study from the Corinthian harbour of Lechaion (Gulf of Corinth, Greece)”

2011 – Roland Zech, Zürich: “Milankovitch and permafrost – implications of high carbon storage in glacial paleosols”

2010 – Susann Müller, Frankfurt: “Mikromorphologische Untersuchungen zur Genese verschiedener Hangsedimente im hessischen Spessart”

2009 – Tobias Heckmann, Eichstätt; Michael Krautblatter, Bonn;  M. Leopold, München; T. Euler, Bonn

Poster award

2024 – Marie Kaniecki, Leipzig; Till Wenzel, Wien

2023 – Lisa Feist, Aachen; Diana A. Ortiz, Bonn; Antonia Reiß, Mainz

2022 – Stefan Haselberger, Wien; Natalie Lützow, Uni Potsdam; Dominik Herler, Graz

2021 – Amanda Wild, Potsdam; Natalie Barbosa, München; Fabian Dremel, Salzburg

2020 – online, no poster presentations

2019 – Amelie Naderia, Berlin; Johannes Voellmer, Leipzig; Tanja Schröder, München

2018 – Sebastian Kreutzer Bordeaux; Janek Walk, Aachen (F18)

2017 – Charlotte Prud’homme, Mainz; Georg Veh, Potsdam; Sebastian Kreutzer, Bordeaux (F17)

2016 – Julia Meiste, Berlin; Anette Eltner, Freiberg; Johannes Schmidt, Leipzig

2015 – Jan Blöthe, Bonn; Martin Weber, Innsbruck; Amelie Stolle, Potsdam

2014 – Paula Hilger, Eichstätt; Wolfgang Schwanghardt, Potsdam; Friederike Stock, Köln

2013 – Eric Rascher, Graz; Anette Eltner, Dresden; Alexander-André Remke, Trier

2012 – David Loibl, Aachen; Jennifer Winkelbauer, München; Peter Fischer, Eichstädt

2011 – Sabine Kraushaar, Halle; Jens Bussmann; Osnabrück; Tobias Sprafke

2010 – Manuela Schlummer, Bonn; Markus Keuschnig, Salzburg; Stefan Wirtz, Trier

2009 – Wolfgang Fister, Trier

Hanna Bremer Awardees

2019 – Melanie Bartz, Universität zu Köln

2018 – Dr. Anette Eltner, Universität Dresden, Institut für Photogrammetrie und Fernerkundung (F18)

2017 – Dr. Jana Eichel, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institut für Geografie und Geoökologie (F17)

2017 – Dr. Sabine Kraushaar, Universität Wien, Institut für Geographie und Regionalforschung

2016 – Dr. Helene Petschko, Lehrstuhl fuer Geoinformatik, Institut fuer Geographie Friedrich-Schiller-Universitaet Jena

2015 – keine Preisvergabe

2014 – Dr. Hanna Hadler, Johannes Gutenberg Universität, Geographisches Institut

Golden Ferdinand-von-Richthofen-Medal