Johannes Müller looks back on successes, but also on challenges of the year 2022. Photo: Jan Steffen, Cluster ROOTS

The first events in person after two years, numerous field campaigns and conferences, but also staff changes and the impact of the Russian attack on Ukraine: the year 2022 was both successful and challenging for the members of the Cluster of Excellence ROOTS. During the 2022 Cluster Plenary Assembly on 7 December, ROOTS speaker Johannes Müller, scientific coordinator Mara Weinelt, as well as Vesa Arponen and Eileen Eckmeier on behalf of the subclusters, platforms, Reflective Turn Forum and Young Academy reflected on the achievements of the last twelve months. The program of the meeting included the welcoming of the new members and the farewell of former members, who either found new career paths in Germany or abroad or recently begun their well-deserved retirements.

Eileen Eckmeier and Vesa Arponen  on behalf of the subclusters, platforms, Reflective Turn Forum and Young Academy reflect on the achievements of the last twelve months. Photo: Jan Steffen, Cluster ROOTS

Additionally, the elections to the ROOTS Executive Board for the 2023-2024 period was on the agenda.

The archaeologist Johannes Müller continues as ROOTS speaker, while his colleague Martin Furholt succeeds the chemist and didactics expert Ilka Parchmann as co-speaker. In addition, geoarchaeologist Eileen Eckmeier was elected to succeed geophysicist Wolfgang Rabbel as co-speaker once he will retire in October 2023. In the "Hazard" subcluster, Eileen Eckmeier will also take over the position as speaker. In the "Knowledge" subcluster, the Greek philologist Lutz Käppel will pass on the baton of the speaker to his colleague Andreas Schwab, who has been working at Kiel University since spring 2022. The historian Gerald Schwedler was elected co-speaker of the "Knowledge" subcluster. In the "Inequalities" subcluster, archaeologist Martin Furholt took over the speaker position from prehistoric archaeologist Henny Piezonka. The new co-speaker here is Johannes Müller. In the "Conflict" subcluster, the chemist and nano-expert Lorenz Kienle replaces Claus von Carnap-Bornheim, who retired, while the archaeologist Jens Schneeweiß was elected co-speaker. For the Technical Platform, Eileen Eckmeier takes over the co-speaker post from Wolfgang Rabbel and for the Communication Platform, archaeologist Andrea Ricci takes over the co-speaker role from Claus von Carnap-Bornheim.

According to the results of the elections, all candidates were elected with large majority of votes.

The new composition of the ROOTS Executive Board is as follows:

Speaker: Johannes Müller
Co-Speaker: Martin Furholt
Co-Speaker (until September 30, 2023): Wolfgang Rabbel
Co-Speaker (from October 1, 2023): Eileen Eckmeier

Subcluster 1 - Hazards: Eileen Eckmeier (Deputy: Mara Weinelt)
Subcluster 2 - Diets: Cheryl Makarewicz (Deputy: Ben Krause-Kyora)
Subcluster 3 - Knowledge: Andreas Schwab (Deputy: Gerald Schwedler)
Subcluster 4 - Urban: Annette Haug (Deputy: Ulrich Müller)
Subcluster 5 - Inequality: Martin Furholt (Deputy: Johannes Müller)
Subcluster 6 - Conflict: Lorenz Kienle (Deputy: Jens Schneeweiß)
Reflective Turn: Vesa Arponen (Deputy: Konrad Ott)
Young Academy: Tim Kerig (Deputy: Andrea Ricci)
Platform 1 - Technical: Wiebke Kirleis (Deputy: Eileen Eckmeier)
Platform 2 - Communication: Ilka Parchmann (Deputy: Andrea Ricci)
Platform 3 - Humanities: Nils Müller-Scheeßel (Deputy: John Peterson)
Postdoc Representative: Pawel Cembrzyński
PhD Representatives: Benjamin Claaßen, Benjamin Serbe
For Kiel University: Kiel University President
For ZBSA: Berit Eriksen (Deputy: Ulrich Schmölcke)
Scientific Coordinator: Mara Weinelt (Deputy: Andrea Ricci)

Lutz Käppel chairs the elections of the ROOTS Cluster Executive Board. Photo: Jan Steffen, Cluster ROOTS