The Freddie and Nadine Hermann Institute of Earth Sciences

 

Our institute stands at the forefront of international geoscience research, aiming to understand the natural processes that shape our world, and to find solutions to the environmental challenges that we face.

Study programs at the institute integrate course-work with hands-on research, applying advanced tools to explore the changing world around us.

The institute offers innovative laboratories with advanced analytical equipment and comprehensive knowledge for developing groundbreaking research methods.

Join us and become part of the leading community of students and researchers in these fields!

 

History

The Freddie and Nadine Hermann Institute of Earth Sciences was founded in the early 1950s as a Department of Geological Studies by Professors Leo Picard and Beno Gross. In 1978, the institute gained independent status, and today it comprises diverse research groups. In 1994, the institute made significant efforts to establish the Department of Environmental Sciences, in collaboration with researchers from the Institute of Earth Sciences and other departments at the university. Its interdisciplinary nature attracts students with backgrounds in computer science, physics, mathematics, soil and water, and more.

 

Research

The Institute conducts groundbreaking research on various topics, including:

• Snow timing

• Formation and detection of sinkholes

• Flood warning systems

• Formation processes of deserts and mountains

• Global carbon cycle processes

• Development of hurricanes and floods

• Movement of pollutants in groundwater, in the ocean, and in the atmosphere

• Biogeochemical cycles in the oceans

• Formation of raindrops in clouds

• Ocean circulation and turbulence

• Development of rock fissures prior to volcanic eruption, and more.

The success of the research at the Institute stems from the academic excellence of its esteemed researchers in the international and national arenas and from advanced research infrastructures in material characterization, microscopic analysis, climate change modeling, and more.