!!Todd Ehlers - Biography
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Todd A. Ehlers, PhD (2001) is a geoscientist who integrates geophysical, geochemical, and geologic methods to address fundamental questions related to the interactions between climate, tectonics, biota, and mountain topography. He is the Professor for Geology (W3), and department chair, of the Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, Germany. He directs the Earth System Dynamics research group which is composed of ~40 researchers, staff, and students.\\
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Professor Ehlers’ approach to research involves integrating high-performance computer models with geochemical and geologic data sets.  He uses a mixture of atmospheric general circulation models and dynamic vegetation models to understand the past and present controls on Earth’s climate and vegetation.  These models are applied in combination with landscape evolution and plate tectonic (thermo-mechanical) computer models to quantify how atmospheric, biotic, and geologic processes influence topography over geologic (million year) time scales.  Characteristic of his approach is the integration of diverse geochemical (e.g. thermochronology, cosmogenic and stable isotope) and geologic (sedimentology, glacial, and structural) data sets to provide a physics-based understanding of model predictions and the key processes, couplings, and feedbacks present in the evolution of Earth’s surface. Fundamental research topics he addresses range from the climate, tectonic and topographic evolution of Earth’s largest mountain ranges (e.g. the Andes and Himalaya-Tibet) to the glacial and biotic controls on topography.\\
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Professor Ehlers is the coordinator for two large European research projects worth over 12 Mio Euros including a European Research Council (ERC) consolidator grant, and co-coordinator for a German science foundation priority research program. He has >10 years’ editorial experience for leading journals in his field and has co-authored a US National Academy of Science (NRC) report on the future of Earth surface processes research. He is a member of several national and international geoscience steering committees and commissions related to long-term planning of Earth science research. Prior to moving to Germany in 2009, he was an assistant and associate professor (with tenure) at the University of Michigan, USA.\\ \\