In 1981, he helped found and became the first director of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven, and the same year, he also became director of the Institute for Polar Ecology at the University of Kiel.
He helped found and became the first director of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven. This was in 1981. He also became director of the Institute for Polar Ecology at the University of Kiel. This was in 1981.1981 was the same year.