Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research

Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research

Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung
Agency overview
Formed	1980
Headquarters	Bremerhaven, Germany
Employees	>1,000 in 2021[1] (2009: 770)
Annual budget	140 Million Euro / year Federal Ministry of Education and Research: 90%, State of Bremen: 8%, State of Brandenburg: 1%, State of Schleswig-Holstein: 1 %
Agency executives	Prof. Dr. Antje Boetius Dr. Karsten Wurr
Parent agency	Helmholtz Association
Website	www.awi.de/

The Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (German: Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung) is located in Bremerhaven, Germany, and a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres. It conducts research in the Arctic, the Antarctic, and the high and mid latitude oceans. Additional research topics are: North Sea research, marine biological monitoring, and technical marine developments. The institute was founded in 1980 and is named after meteorologist, climatologist, and geologist Alfred Wegener.

AWI is the biggest institution for polar and ocean research and science in Germany. The annual budget is 140 Mio EUR (2018) and the institute has a staff of more than 1000 people.^[2]