Jörg Schäfer, Vice-President for European affairs

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Jörg Schäfer, professor of environmental geochemistry, was appointed Vice-President for European affairs in July 2026 by Dean Lewis, President of the University of Bordeaux.

Photo : Jörg Schäfer © Hugues Breteau
Jörg Schäfer © Hugues Breteau

A German national with a passion for environmental sciences - particularly the geochemistry of trace metal elements in natural and anthropogenic environments - Jörg Schäfer graduated in geoecology from the University of Karlsruhe (Germany) in 1994 and was awarded a PhD in geochemistry by the same university in 1998. His dissertation focused on the emerging contamination of urban and semi-urban environments by elements of the platinum group.

In 1999, he continued his research at the University of Bordeaux 1 within the EPOC laboratory as a contract researcher, and subsequently received a Marie Curie Individual Fellowship (2000–2002). His research now focuses on the transport and eco-dynamics of ultra-trace metal contaminants (both historical and emerging) in the land-sea continuum. After being appointed an associate professor of earth and marine sciences at the University of Bordeaux 1 in 2002 and obtaining his HDR in 2006, Jörg Schäfer was named full professor in 2010.

In parallel, he has held various leadership roles: Member of the Executive Committee of the National Commission for the Coastal Fleet (CNFC) from 2009 to 2018, coastal vessel scheduler for the Atlantic coast on behalf of the French Oceanographic Fleet (FOF), chair of the local committee for scheduling the University of Bordeaux’s research vessel, HCERES research expert, organiser of the International Estuarine Biogeochemistry Symposium series since 2008, and associate editor of the journal *Geochemistry* since 2008. In 2016, he took charge of the Geochemical Metal Transfers (TGM) team within the EPOC Joint Research Unit (UMR) (2016–2021), which he has co-led since 2021. In March 2022, he was appointed director of the Environmental sciences research department at the University of Bordeaux; his term was extended from February to July 2026.

Since the beginning of his career, Jörg Schäfer has been deeply involved in various research and teaching activities at the European level, such as the SCHEMA research project on aquatic environments, the European research network COST Action 1409 NOTICE (Management Committee, 2014-2018), and through several teaching exchanges (Germany, Portugal, Scotland), particularly for the Mundus Master programme in Marine Environment (MER, local coordinator 2010–2026). These experiences have allowed him to appreciate the importance of European and international collaborations and to support communities through teaching, research and innovation projects aligned with the university’s strategy.

Jörg Schäfer was appointed Vice-President for European affairs in July 2026 by Dean Lewis, President of the University of Bordeaux.

My mission is to advance the university’s European strategy by leading its participation in the ENLIGHT consortium and strengthening the university’s standing at the European and international levels.

Jörg Schäfer, Vice-President for European affairs

Key dates

1998: PhD in geoecology from the University of Karlsruhe (Germany)

1999: Contract researcher at the EPOC laboratory at the University of Bordeaux 1

2002: Associate professor of earth and marine sciences at the University of Bordeaux 1

2010: Full professor

2016–2021: Head of the Geochemical Metal Transfers (TGM) team at the EPOC Joint Research Unit (UMR)

2022–2026: Director of the Environmental sciences research department at the University of Bordeaux

2026: Vice-President for European affairs

Contact

  • Laurence Masset

    Assistant
    351 cours de la Libération CS 10004
    33405 Talence CEDEX

    05 40 00 31 41

    laurence.masset%40u-bordeaux.fr