Dear Linda, could you please briefly introduce yourself?
I studied physics with a minor in meteorology in Hamburg. I wrote my diploma and doctoral theses at ETH Zurich. I was involved at the very beginning of HErZ's first funding phase as a postdoctoral researcher at the MPI for Meteorology in Hamburg. The group there and the build-up of HErZ made for a very exciting time. After that, I went back to Zurich as a Senior Scientist. In 2013, I got a position at the DWD (German Meteorological Service) and became the leader of the competence area with focus on the boundary layer in Frankfurt for the third funding phase of HErZ. At that time, the focus was on the FESSTVaL measurement campaign, and I was heavily involved with measurements (mainly Doppler lidars for wind and turbulence measurements). Since 2020, I have been heading the department "Physical Processes" at the DWD.
Why is HErZ important for the DWD from your perspective?
HErZ offers the DWD a unique opportunity to conduct basic research closely together with universities and research institutes. The DWD needs this long-term partnership in order to have an efficient "research to operation" process. The HErZ partners gain access to DWD infrastructure and support from DWD experts, such as the leaders of competence areas (see the interviews with Maike Ahlgrimm and Martin Göber). They provide technical and professional support to the HErZ projects and connect them within the DWD so that the basic research conducted at universities can be utilized at the DWD.
What are success stories at the DWD that would not have happened without HErZ?
From my perspective, recruiting personnel from the HErZ community is a success story for the DWD. It works well because early-career scientists have close contact with DWD employees and gain insight into the DWD way of working and its infrastructure. I am an example of this! HErZ places great importance on the training and education of early-career scientists because they could become the next generation of researchers and colleagues.
With which challenges in basic research could HErZ continue to support the DWD in the future?
There is still much to be done in basic research at the DWD. For example, data assimilation methods could be used to better represent the physics in the ICON model.
In addition, the DWD is currently working on "open software development" for the ICON model. HErZ is a predestined network to continue driving the further development of ICON at the participating universities, which in the long term improves the weather forecasts produced by the DWD, among other things. Within the framework of the ICON consortium, the DWD works closely with major partners such as the MPI for Meteorology in Hamburg or KIT in Karlsruhe. However, smaller universities and research institutes can also establish long-term collaborations with the DWD through HErZ. All parties involved benefit from this.