On 18 September 2014, Prof. Dr. Jörg Hacker was re-elected as president of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina in a secret written vote by the Leopoldina Senate. On 1 March 2015 he will begin his second five-year term as the head of the academy.

Also re-elected as one of the four Vice Presidents was Prof. Dr. Martin J. Lohse, Professor of Pharmacology und Toxicology at the University of Würzburg. Prof. Dr. Martin Quack, Professor of Physical Chemistry at the ETH Zürich (Switzerland) became a new addition to the Presidium by virtue of assuming the role of the representative of the Swiss Academy members. He replaces the Swiss pathologist Prof. Dr. Philipp U. Heitz, who after two terms did not stand for re-election. Heitz had also held the position of Secretary of Class III (Life Sciences). The Leopoldina Senate elected Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Zenner, Director of the University of Tübingen´s Otolaryngology Clinic, as the successor for that position.

The Annual Assembly of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina opens today in Rostock. The theme of the conference is „Wahrnehmen und Steuern – Sensorsysteme in Biologie und Technik“ (Perception and Control – Sensory Systems in Biology and Engineering). An interdisciplinary group of approximately 200 participants examine sensory organs and their engineering counterparts, i.e. sensors.

On the occasion of the Annual Assembly, the Leopoldina, in conjunction with the Commerzbank Foundation, has conferred the Early Career Award on the young biochemist Dr. Carsten Grashoff. In addition, the Academy´s Medal of Merit was awarded to the Swiss pathologist Prof. Dr. Philipp U. Heitz.