History of the IAP

Following a recommendation of the Wissenschaftsrat (a scientific panel of the federal government of Germany) the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Rostock (IAP) was founded on January 1, 1992. Since then, it was part of the science organisation Blaue Liste. It consisted of independent research institutions conducting research of nationwide significance and of national scientific policy interest, funded under the Framework Agreement between the Federal Government and the Länder on the joint funding of research pursuant to Article 91b of the Basic Constitutional Law of 28 November 1975 (Rahmenvereinbarung Forschungsförderung - Framework Agreement on Research Funding).

In 1995, most of these institutions, including the IAP, became members of the new organisation Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Blaue Liste (WBL), which was renamed to Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (WGL) in 1997. Since October 18, 1998, the name of our institute is Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Rostock.

Prof. Dr. Hans Hinzpeter was appointed as founding director of the IAP in 1991. On April 1, 1993, Prof. Dr. Ulf von Zahn was appointed as the institute’s first director. On September 1, 1999, Prof. Dr. Franz-Josef Lubken was appointed as the next director and was followed by the appointment of the current IAP director, Prof. Dr. Claudia Stolle, on October 1, 2021.