On 25 September 2025, it was with mixed feelings that we bid farewell to three outstanding members of our institute.
Together with many colleagues, students and guests of honour, we gathered for a farewell breakfast. Hannah Pomella, Diethard Sanders and Yuri Dublyansky have shaped our institute over many years. With great gratitude and best wishes, we bid them farewell as they embark on new career paths and well-deserved retirements. Through their outstanding work in research, teaching and science communication, they have left a lasting impression that extends far beyond our institute.
Hannah Pomella: as a structural geologist and tectonicist trained in Innsbruck, she conducted research based on excellent fieldwork, low-temperature thermochronology and palaeomagnetism, she researched the thermotectonic development of the Judikaria Fault, the Periadriatic Seam in the area of the Brenner Base Tunnel transect and, most recently, the Dolomite Indenter. She has published numerous scientific papers and successfully supervised master's and doctoral theses. She has also made an unforgettable name for herself at the institute as a teacher and, in particular, as a committed communicator of scientific topics, for example by setting up thematic workshops in the Earth Science Exhibition Collection. On 1 October 2025, she will take over the position of director as scientific coordinator of GEOPARC Bletterbach in the UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site of the Dolomites. We congratulate her warmly on her new role and wish her every success and enjoyment in the further development of this special project.
Diethard Sanders: is taking well-deserved retirement after 35 years of service. After studying at the University of Innsbruck and obtaining his doctorate at ETH Zurich, he returned to the Institute of Geology and Palaeontology at the University of Innsbruck, where he devoted himself tirelessly to research and teaching for more than three decades. As the institute's long-standing director, he shaped its development. His scientific work is characterised by an impressive breadth of topics – from carbonate sedimentology, the genesis of calcareous tufa and biogenic calcareous formations to the reconstruction of Quaternary mass movements in the Alps. In teaching, he inspired students in lectures and especially on numerous field trips. We would like to thank Diethard Sanders warmly for his great commitment to research, teaching and academic self-administration – and wish him much joy, good health and continued curiosity for future geological discoveries in this new phase of his life.
Yuri Dublyansky: has played a key role in establishing the laboratory for fluid inclusion analysis in Christoph Spötl's research group since 2006. He developed innovative methods for analysing water trapped in minerals, and his research on hypogenic and hydrothermal speleogenesis and palaeohydrogeology in cave and groundwater systems has attracted considerable international attention. He has thus made a decisive contribution to the international visibility of Quaternary geology and the Institute. Now, after almost two decades of dedicated research, he is also entering well-deserved retirement. We would like to thank Yuri Dublyansky warmly for his outstanding scientific contributions and wish him health, happiness and many more inspiring discoveries in this new phase of his life.
A heartfelt thank you and best wishes for the future
We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to Hannah, Diethard and Yuri for their many years of service and their extraordinary commitment. With their personalities, their passion for their field and their expertise, they have had a lasting impact on and enriched our institute. We wish Diethard and Yuri all the best for their research in retirement, and Hannah our best wishes on her new career path. Our institute will miss them all very much. At the same time, we look forward to following their future developments – and hope that they will remain connected to us.