6. Januar 2025
Dr. Stephanie Bauer took over as Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors at Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ) on 1 January 2025, assuming responsibility for the Management Division for Infrastructure. She succeeds Karsten Beneke, who retired on 31 December 2024. Beneke was Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of Forschungszentrum Jülich for 13 years. Stephanie Bauer had headed Project Management Jülich (PtJ) until the end of 2024.
I am aware that the move from PtJ to the Board of Directors of Forschungszentrum Jülich represents a big leap for me. However, I am very excited about the many new tasks and challenges - and the opportunity to contribute to the strategic direction of FZJ. Forschungszentrum Jülich's various structural change activities in the region are particularly important to me personally - as are application-oriented projects such as the Living Lab Energy Campus. I want to provide the best possible support here in terms of infrastructure. I also hope to further improve the professional cooperation between colleagues in administration and science - and, for example, focus more strongly on digitizing administrative processes.
Diverse range of experience
The 57-year-old has come full circle with her new role. In the 1990s, she completed her doctoral degree in mineralogy at Forschungszentrum Jülich. Her career then took her outside science to various positions at the interface between administration, science, and politics. In 2018, she returned to Jülich - to Project Management Jülich and project funding. As a member of the Board of Directors of FZJ, she will be working more closely with the areas of research and innovation as well as with the infrastructure within Forschungszentrum Jülich.
Bauer can draw on extensive experience in leadership positions for her new role. Her degree in business administration and economics stood to her in the six years that she headed PtJ, the largest organizational unit (OU) at Forschungszentrum Jülich - with over 1,600 employees across four locations and responsibility for a funding volume exceeding € 3.3 billion. Under her leadership, PtJ grew into the largest funding agency in Germany. She was also responsible for the transition of PtJ to its current structure with three business areas, the merger of PtJ and the project management organization ETN, and the introduction of electronic file management. A rebranding process with a completely new image for PtJ and the relocation of over 500 employees in the Berlin branch office to a sustainable new build also took place under her leadership. The 50th anniversary of PtJ last year was another important milestone in Stephanie Bauer's career. Now, a new brief awaits her in her position on the Board of Directors of FZJ.
