Senate

The Leopoldina’s Senate represents the interests of the Academy’s members before the Presidium and advises the Presidium. It currently has 40 members, 28 of whom are elected spokespersons, each representing one of the sections of the Academy. In addition, there are two elected members who represent the Academy’s members in Austria and Switzerland, respectively. Members of the Senate are elected for a term of four years and can be re-elected once.

The Senate generally convenes once a year. During these meetings, the Senate, in accordance with the statutes, elects members of the Presidium and honorary members, checks the Presidium’s annual reports and approves its actions, appoints auditors and decides on the expulsion of members. In addition, the Senate approves regulations governing the election of Academy members, spokespersons and regional representatives, members of the Senate and their deputies, and members of the Presidium, as well as structural regulations for the sections and adjunct territories.

No.	Sections	Elected Senators (Academy Members)	Deputy Senators and Senators
1	Mathematics	Prof. Dr. Friedrich Götze, Bielefeld	Prof. Dr. Annette Huber-Klawitter, Freiburg
2	Informatics	Prof. Dr. Gerhard Fettweis, Dresden	Prof. Dr. Klaus‐Robert Müller, Berlin
3	Physics	Prof. Dr. Eberhard Bodenschatz, Göttingen	Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Giacobino, Paris (Frankreich)
4	Chemistry	Prof. Dr. Peter R. Schreiner, Gießen	Prof. Dr. Stefanie Dehnen, Karlsruhe
5	Earth Sciences	Prof. Dr. Manfred R. Strecker, Potsdam	Prof. Dr. Ulrich Platt, Heidelberg
6	Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences	Prof. Dr. Bertram Brenig, Göttingen	Prof. Dr. Andreas Graner, Gatersleben
7	Global Health	Prof. Dr. Lothar H. Wieler, Potsdam	Prof. Dr. Rudolf Guthoff, Rostock
8	Organismic and Evolutionary Biology	Prof. Dr. Hermann Wagner, Aachen	Prof. Dr. Susanne Renner, Saint Louis (USA)
9	Genetics/Molecular Biology and Cell Biology	Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Amrhein, Zürich	Prof. Dr. Regine Kahmann, Marburg
10	Biochemistry and Biophysics	Prof. Dr. Johannes Buchner, München	Prof. Dr. Irmgard Sinning, Heidelberg
11	Anatomy and Anthropology	Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Kummer, Gießen	Prof. Dr. Thomas Deller, Frankfurt
12	Pathology and Forensic Medicine	Prof. Dr. Hans Kreipe, Hannover	Prof. Dr. Heidi Pfeiffer, Münster
13	Microbiology and Immunology	Prof. Dr. Axel Brakhage, Jena	Prof. Dr. Christian Kurts, Bonn
14	Human Genetics and Molecular Medicine	Prof. Dr. Oliver Brüstle, Bonn	Prof. Dr. Markus M. Nöthen, Bonn
15	Physiology and Pharmacology/Toxicology	Prof. Dr. Stefan Offermanns, Bad Nauheim	Prof. Dr. Ingrid Fleming, Frankfurt
16	Internal Medicine and Dermatology	Prof. Dr. Norbert Suttorp, Berlin	Prof. Dr. Jan C. Simon, Leipzig
17	Surgery, Orthopaedics, Anaesthesiology	Prof. Dr. Jens Scholz, Kiel	Prof. Dr. Brigitte Vollmar, Rostock
18	Gynaecology and Paediatrics	Prof. Dr. Matthias Beckmann, Erlangen	Prof. Dr. Charlotte Niemeyer, Freiburg
19	Neurosciences	Prof. Dr. Ulf Eysel, Bochum	Prof. Dr. Katharina Domschke, Freiburg
20	Ophthalmology, Oto-Rhino-Laryngology and Stomatology	Prof. Dr. Ursula Schlötzer-Schrehardt, Erlangen	Prof. Dr. Werner Geurtsen, Hannover
21	Radiology	Prof. Dr. Anca-Ligia Grosu, Freiburg	Prof. Dr. Maximilian Reiser, Munich
22	Veterinary Medicine	Prof. Dr. Thomas C. Mettenleiter, Insel Riems	Prof. Dr. Heidrun Potschka, München
23	History of Science and Medicine	Prof. Dr. Christina Brandt, Jena	Prof. Dr. Heiner Fangerau, Düsseldorf
24	Philosophy of Science	Prof. Dr. Julian Reiss, Linz	Prof. Dr. Urban Wiesing, Tübingen
25	Economics and Empirical Social Sciences	Prof. Dr. Klaus F. Zimmermann, Bonn	Prof. Dr. Bettina Rockenbach, Köln
26	Psychology and Cognitive Sciences	Prof. Dr. Bernhard Hommel, Dresden	Prof. Dr. Alexandra M. Freund, Zürich
27	Engineering Sciences	Prof. Dr. Dierk Raabe, Düsseldorf	Prof. Dr. Marion Merklein, Erlangen
28	Cultural Sciences	Prof. Dr. Andreas Kablitz, Köln	Prof. Dr. Christine Windbichler, Berlin

Senators of the adjunct territories Austria and Switzerland

Austria: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Lutz, Laxenburg
Switzerland: Prof. Dr. Detlef Günther, Zürich

The appointment of Honorary Senator honours outstanding personalities who have promoted the Academy to a special degree.

Honorary Senator

Prof. Dr. Andreas Barner, Ingelheim

Besides the senators elected by the sections and districts, the statutes allow for the Senate to include up to ten additional members, who do not necessarily have to be members of the Academy. Five of these ten additional members are elected ad personam; they are generally selected from the ranks of those holding senior positions in research organisations or other scientific institutions. The other five additional members are elected ex officio; these are the presidents of five major German scientific and academic organisations: the German Research Foundation, the Max Planck Society, the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK), the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and the Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities.

Honorary Members of the Senate

Dr. jur. Nikolaus von Bomhard, Vorsitzender des Aufsichtsrats der Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft
Dr. Georg Schütte, Generalsekretär der VolkswagenStiftung, Hannover
Prof. Dr. Ursula Gather, Vorsitzende des Kuratoriums der Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Stiftung
Prof. Dr. Renate Köcher, Geschäftsführerin des Instituts für Demoskopie Allensbach
Prof. Dr. Birgitta Wolff, Rektorin der Bergischen Universität Wuppertal

Presidents of research organisations or research funding institutions

German Research Foundation, Prof. Dr. Katja Becker ML, Bonn
Max Planck Society, Prof. Dr. Patrick Cramer ML, München
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Prof. Dr. Robert Schlögl ML, Berlin
German Rectors’ Conference, Prof. Dr. Walter Rosenthal ML, Berlin
Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities, Prof. Dr. Christoph Markschies, Berlin