GFZ German research centre for geo sciences

Talk 1 (Monday morning): Reference Frame

Speaker: Dr. Zuheir Altamimi

Dr. Zuheir Altamimi is the Research Director at IGN France, Vice-President of the International Association of Geodesy and Head, International Terrestrial Reference Frame Center. Dr. Altamimi holds a Ph.D. in space geodesy from Paris Observatory, and Habilitation (2nd doctorate) from Paris University VI. His research focus is space geodesy, theory and realization of terrestrial reference systems.

Talk 2 (Monday morning): Earth Rotation

Speaker: Dr. Richard Gross

Dr. Richard Gross received a Ph.D. degree in Geophysics from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Since 1988 he has worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he is a Senior Research Scientist and Supervisor of the Geodynamics and Space Geodesy Group. His research interests include Earth rotation, time variable gravity, and terrestrial reference frame determination. He is President of the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU’s) Commission A2 on Rotation of the Earth, Chair of the Science Panel of the International Association of Geodesy’s (IAG’s) Global Geodetic Observing System, and Co-Chair of the IAU/IAG Joint Working Group on Theory of Earth Rotation and Validation.

Talk 3 (Tuesday morning): Synergy between SLR and GNSS

Speaker: Dr. Urs. Hugentobler

Dr. Urs Hugentobler studied theoretical physics at University of Bern and received his PhD in Astronomy in 1998. After a stay at ESA as visiting scientist 1998-1999 and head of the GNSS research group at the Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern 1999-2006 he was appointed as professor for satellite geodesy at Technische Universität München in 2006. He is head of the Research Facility Satellite Geodesy which operates the Geodetic Observatory Wettzell together with the Federal Agency of Cartography and Geodesy. He was Chair of the International GNSS Service Governing Board 2011-2014. His research topics are the use of multi-GNSS observations for precise applications, orbit and clock modelling, use of stable clocks in satellite navigation, and reference frame determination.

Talk 4 (Wednesday morning): Ocean/Ice Altimetry

Speaker: Dr. Frank Lemoine

Dr. Frank Lemoine received a Ph.D in Satellite Geodesy from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Since 1992 he has worked at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. His research interests include precise orbit determination, the determination of the terrestrial reference frame, and the determination of gravity models from satellite tracking data. He has worked with on the mission teams for Earth-orbiting and interplanetary spacecraft that engage in altimetric mapping or the determination of static and time-variable gravity fields, including TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1 to 3, GEOSAT Follow-On-1, GRACE, GRAIL, Mars Global Surveyor, MESSENGER, and the Lunar Reconnaissace Orbiter. He is past analysis coordinator for the International DORIS Service (IDS) (2006-2014).

Talk 5 (Thursday morning): Gravity Field

Speaker: Dr. rer. nat. Christoph Förste

Dr. Christoph Förste received his Ph.D. degree in Physics from the Universität Leipzig in Germany. Since 1988 he has worked at the former Zentralinstitut für Physik der Erde (ZIPE), Potsdam. In 1990 he changed to Deutsches Geodätisches Forschungsinstitut, Munich. Since 1992 he is working at Department 1 “Geodesy” at Helmholtz-Centre Potsdam - GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences where he is Senior Research Scientist and team leader “Terrestrial and Airborne Gravimetry” in Section 1.2 “Global Geomonitoring and Gravity Field”. His research interests include global gravity field determination and the generation of high resolution combined gravity field models. He works in the fields of Airborne, Shipborne and Superconducting Gravimetry. He is member of the GGOS Coordinating Board and of the Directing Board of International Geodynamics and Earth Tide Service (IGETS) and co-chair of the working group WG2.1 of IAG’s Sub-Commission 2.1 “Gravimetry and gravity networks”.

Talk 6 (Friday morning): Relativity and Fundamental Physics

Speaker: Sergei Kopeikin

Sergei Kopeikin is a theoretical physicist working at the University of Missouri in Columbia, USA. He specializes in theoretical and experimental study of gravity and is also an expert in the field of the astronomical reference frames, geodesy and spacetime metrology. He was involved in studies of the Lunar Laser Ranging to measure dynamical features of general relativity in the lunar motion. He has also conducted an active research in gravitational-wave astronomy, VLBI, binary pulsars and cosmology.

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