February 8, 2019

New Vice Director Appointed at MPI

Alexander Fedorov has been appointed as MPI Vice Director for Science. He succeeds Dr. Viktor Shepelev who had held the position since 1999. Dr. Shepelev will resume his active role in scientific research at the MPI Laboratory of Groundwater and Geochemistry, which he headed in the 1990s. His early research on permafrost aquifers, icings, and suprapermafrost water control in urban and agricultural areas were summarized in several monographs, including "Groundwater Springs in Central Yakutia" (1973), "Permafrost Hydrogeology of East Siberia (1984, in co-authorship), "Spring Waters in Yakutia" (1987), "Groundwater Monitoring In Permafrost Regions" (2002, in co-authorship), and "Suprapermafrost Waters in the Cryolithozone" (2011). Dr. Shepelev will also continue to serve as Editor in Chief of Science and Technology in Yakutia, so far the only journal in the region communicating scientific knowledge to the general public. Alexander Fedorov, who received his undergraduate degree from Voronezh University in 1979 and a Ph.D. in geography in 1990, applies the theories, concepts and methodologies of landscape science to permafrost environments. He has been in charge of the MPI Laboratory of Permafrost Landscapes which has strong ties with researchers from the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (Kyoto, Japan), the University of Paris-Sud (France), the Seoul National University (South Korea), and the Research and Development Center for Global Change (JAMSTEC, Japan). Photo: Viktor Shepelev (left), Alexander Fedorov (right)