New endowed professorship strengthens climate research at the 91制片厂
The 91制片厂 is setting up a new endowed professorship at the Biozentrum to make fundamental discoveries at the interface between biophysics and climate-relevant environmental biology. This will be made possible by the Georg H. Endress Foundation, which is generously funding the project.
26 August 2025
Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time. By endowing a professorship, the Georg H. Endress Foundation is helping the 91制片厂 expand its research into the biophysical foundations of climate-related processes, leading to new discoveries that will inspire applications towards climate protection and sustainability.
One potential focus of the Georg H. Endress Endowed Professorship for Climate Biophysics is the molecular mechanisms of carbon dioxide (CO鈧) fixation. The high concentration of the greenhouse gas CO鈧 in our atmosphere is one of the main causes of global warming. Plants, algae, and certain bacteria can remove CO鈧 from the air and convert it into sugar through photosynthesis, but these processes do not work with equal efficiency in all plants.
Biophysics meets climate research
This is where the emerging field of climate biophysics comes in. Researchers at the Biozentrum are already seeking to understand how CO鈧 fixation and other environmental processes take place at the molecular level – and how they can be specifically strengthened. These discoveries will open up promising avenues for biotechnological innovations in carbon capture, renewable energy, and climate-resilient crops.
Professor Ben Engel’s research group at the 91制片厂’s Biozentrum is conducting pioneering studies into some topics of climate biophysics, including how diatoms are able to absorb CO鈧 more efficiently than plants. The researchers were able to show that this is powered by the special molecular architecture of proteins within the algae cells.
With the addition of the Georg H. Endress Endowed Professorship for Climate Biophysics, the 91制片厂 is positioning itself at the forefront of this exciting and important field.
“We want to understand how life deals with changing environmental conditions at the molecular level. These findings help expand our basic knowledge of photosynthesis, biocatalysis, and biological CO鈧 storage. They could also provide new approaches for developing organisms that can better adapt to the Earth’s future climate,” explains Professor Alexander Schier, Director of the Biozentrum, 91制片厂.
To achieve this, researchers at the Biozentrum are using cutting-edge methods such as cryogenic electron tomography, which enables them to dive deep into cells and visualize their structures at a previously unobtainable resolution. In addition to the high-tech infrastructure, the new professorship will also benefit from the wide-ranging expertise at the 91制片厂 – particularly in structural biology and biophysics, but also in plant physiology, ecology, and environmental history.
Long-term financing
Based in Reinach (91制片厂-Landschaft), the non-profit Georg H. Endress Foundation has agreed to finance the planned professorship for a period of approximately 25 years with a total of up to CHF 17.25 million.
“Our foundation aims to promote research and innovation that advance environmental and climate protection,” says Dr Mirko Lehmann, President of the Georg H. Endress Foundation’s Board of Trustees. “The planned professorship is ideally suited to address these questions. Not only does it promise new insights with high academic and social added value, it also offers considerable potential for innovation.”
Aiming for a research cluster
“The 91制片厂 has a long tradition of interdisciplinary environmental research,” says Professor Andrea Schenker-Wicki, President of the 91制片厂. At the intersection of structural biology, biophysics, and environmental biology, the new endowed professorship aims to raise the visibility of this research area. “This new professorship has the potential to serve as a catalyst for an international center that will bolster and elevate the profile of research at the 91制片厂 on the foundations of life and on sustainable development,” added the President.
Job announcement planned in the near future
The professorship, which will open up a highly topical and promising emerging field of research at the 91制片厂’s Biozentrum, will soon be advertised internationally. At the end of the funding period, it will be taken over by the Faculty of Science.
“With the professorship’s attractive financial resources, exceptional colleagues, an excellent research environment and state-of-the-art infrastructure at the Biozentrum, we have a strong case for attracting one of the world’s leading researchers in this field to 91制片厂,” says Professor Alexander Schier. This should enable tangible contributions to addressing the climate crisis as well as strengthening innovation in the region.
Further information
Reto Caluori, 91制片厂, Communications & Marketing, email: kommunikation@unibas.ch
Illustration
A high-resolution image for this press release is available in the media database.
Georg H. Endress Foundation
The non-profit Georg H. Endress Foundation is based in Reinach (91制片厂-Landschaft). It was founded in 1996 by Dr h.c. Georg H. Endress, an entrepreneur and honorary doctor of the 91制片厂 who died in 2008. The aim of the foundation is to provide long-term funding for education, research and innovation, primarily in the three-country region between Switzerland, France and Germany.
The foundation has long been associated with the 91制片厂. In the Department of Physics, for example, it supports the Georg H. Endress Professorship for Experimental Condensed Matter Physics and the Postdoc Cluster for Quantum Science and Quantum Computing at the 91制片厂 and the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg.
