GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences

German Research Centre for Geosciences
Founded	11 December 1956
Headquarters	Telegrafenberg,Potsdam,Brandenburg
Revenue	95,000,000 Euro (2020)
Parent	Helmholtz Association
Website	www.gfz-potsdam.de/en/

TheGFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences,also known asGFZ Helmholtz Centre Potsdamor justGFZ,is the national research center forEarth Sciencesin Germany, located on theTelegrafenberginPotsdam,in the German federal state ofBrandenburg,and is part of theHelmholtz Association of National Research Centres.

"GFZ" stands forGeoForschungsZentrum(Geo-research Centre).

History

The GFZ was founded in 1992. It is the latest in a long line of research institutes that have been located on the Telegrafenberg. These have included the Central Institute of for Physics of the Earth (ZIPE), which was an institute of theAcademy of Sciences of the GDR(German Democratic Republic) that was actively involved inGeodesy.The history of the GFZ can be traced back to theGeodätisches Institut Potsdam[de],an institution of thePrussian Academy of Sciences.Under the directorship ofFriedrich Robert Helmertfrom 1886 to 1917, the institute developed into the world's leading center for scientific geodesy. The current GFZ is supported 90% by theGerman Ministry of Education and Research,and 10% from the Ministry of Science, Research, and Culture from the state of Brandenburg.

Exhibition

Between 24 March and 9 July 2017 GFZ shows a bilingual exhibition (German / English) with the titleFocus: Earth - Measuring our Worldin the Haus der Brandenburgisch-Preußischen Geschichte inPotsdamwith many exhibits of the history of geosciences on theTelegrafenberghill.^[1]^[2]

Exhibition 2017 (selection)
Surveyor's wheel,London(around 1760)
Historicaluniversal theodolite,Pistor & Martins,Berlin(1851)
Basis apparatus for surveying geodetic base lines, Gebrüder Brunner,Paris(1876 to 1878)
Electromagnetic dipnumber 1, G. Schulze,Potsdam(around 1900)
Marine chronometer,A. Lange & Söhne,Glashütte(1948)
Square academic capsmade with helmets of theNationale VolksarmeeofSigmund Jähnand Karl-Heinz Marek (1983)
Three-dimensionales model of the so-called"Potsdamer Kartoffel" (Potato of Potsdam)with a 15000 times magnification of the surface's level of theearth,Potsdam(2017)