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JPI Oceans elects two new Vice Chairs

Dr Angelo Camerlenghi and Dr Benjamin Kürten were elected for a term of three years and will help to steer JPI Oceans through the dynamically evolving landscape of ocean-related initiatives.

JPI Oceans elects two new Vice Chairs


  • 06 January 2022

Dr Angelo Camerlenghi is a senior researcher at the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (OGS), funded by Italian Ministry of University and Research the (MUR). Besides research activities, he dedicates a substantial amount of time to activities of research management and advisorship. Angelo has been with JPI Oceans since the early days of 2013 when he was delegated by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) to the Management Board of JPI Oceans. Since 2019, Angelo is also a member of JPI Oceans’ Internal Advisory Committee. Looking forward to his new role Angelo said: ‘With the important future challenge of closely collaborating with the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership and the Mission to Restore our Ocean and Waters, I welcome the opportunity to increase the impact of JPI Oceans on European research and policies. I would like us to especially consider the needs of the European marine regions, among them the one with a high priority for my country, the Mediterranean.’ Dr Benjamin Kürten is a biological oceanographer with a versatile background in biogeochemistry and various applications of stable isotopes in ecosystem studies. After working for about 15 years in international academic research environments, he left the academic research track in 2019 turning toward the interface between politics and national/international research and education by joining Project Management Jülich, where he soon became a member of the JPI Oceans Management Board on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Benjamin reflected on how the early-career mentorship received by the EU FP6 EUR-OCEANS Network of Excellence had sparked his advocacy for integrated research and multinational collaboration at JPI Oceans. ‘Now, I love to devote my aspiration to both traditional and innovative research ideas which help us conducting the Science We Need For The Ocean We Want, to quote the UN Ocean Decade. Since physics drive biology, I will promote the generation and use of ocean observations, e.g. through collaboration with the G7 Future of the Seas and Oceans Initiative, in support of international ocean governance and a Sustainable Blue Economy. With the election of the new Vice Chairs, we also say farewell to Dr Joachim Harms and Corinne Muscat Terribile who will both explore new horizons by entering retirement and by moving career and country, respectively. The whole JPI Oceans team and fellow Board members would like to thank Joachim and Corinne for their years of dedicated support and collaboration and wish them all the best with their new ventures.