The Leopoldina is the oldest continuously existing scientific and medical academy in the world. It was named the National Academy of Sciences in 2008. Researchers who have distinguished themselves through significant scientific achievements are elected as members of the academy. "I am particularly looking forward to exchanging ideas with colleagues from other disciplines," says Prof. Amelung. Among other things, he sees issues of health, sustainable nutrition, nature conservation and the ecological limits of our planet as societal challenges that can only be researched across disciplines.
Wulf Amelung has been Professor of General Soil Science and Soil Ecology at the Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation (INRES) at the University of Bonn since 2004 and has been Director of the Institute of Agrosphere at Forschungszentrum Jülich since 2011. The scientist focuses on questions concerning nutrient cycles in soils, soil restoration and the behavior of pollutants in soils.
Amelung is a member of the PhenoRob Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bonn and was listed as a "Higly Cited Researcher" in 2021 and 2018, making him one of the world's most frequently cited scientists. The soil researcher's other honors include the Emil Ramann Medal of the German Soil Science Society, which he received in 2019.