The IAP was successfully evaluated!
At its meeting on March 21, 2023, the Senate of the Leibniz Association recommended to the federal and state governments to continue funding the IAP as an institution for research and scientific infrastructure. This recommendation followed the evaluation of the IAP by an independent assessment group in May 2022, which concluded with excellent results.
The evaluation report emphasized that the IAP is dedicated to the study of the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere (MLT) and its adjacent atmospheric layers. The experimental and theoretical studies of changes and coupling of these layers, which lie 50 to 200 km above the Earth's surface, were provided as part of a convincing overall concept.
The achievements of the three departments Optical Soundings and Sounding Rockets, Radar Remote Sensing, and Modeling of Atmospheric Processes were each rated as "excellent." The IAP regularly produces outstanding research results, for e.g., on the propagation of gravity waves or the structure of noctilucent clouds. In addition, the IAP is doing pioneering work in the design, construction and operation of stationary and mobile observation instruments, especially radar and lidar systems. With its measuring instruments, the institute collects data of high scientific interest. Of particular importance are the many years of work on global circulation models. The strategic plans for the future are convincing. The IAP plans to increasingly include layers adjacent to the MLT in the future. The full Senate statements can be found on the Leibniz Association website: https://www.leibniz-gemeinschaft.de/ueber-uns/evaluierung/das-evaluierungsverfahren-der-leibniz-gemeinschaft/senatsstellungnahmen
On this successful evaluation IAP’s director Prof. Claudia Stolle expressed her views, "These are of course quite outstanding results, which we are particularly pleased about. They reflect the excellent work of the institute in researching the middle and high atmosphere in both national and international networks. They also reflect the confidence in the institute to continue to achieve successful results in the years to come. I would like to express my special thanks to all employees of the IAP and to our cooperation partners for their constructive and invigorating collaboration. In the coming years, we want to continue this success and face the challenges addressed to us."
