Position: Chairman EFB Section on Biodiversity
Organisation: University of Bern
Location: Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Email: klaus.ammann@ips.unibe.ch

Klaus Ammann is emeritus Honorary Professor for Biodiversity and former Director of the Botanical Garden, University of Bern Switzerland. He lectured on Plant Systematics, Evolution and Biogeography, and on Air Pollution Biomonitoring at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich. He is a member of numerous committees, including the European Group of Plant Specialists, Swiss Committe on Biosafety. He was involved in several international research projects focusing on chemotaxonomy of macro-lichens, ecological monitoring, ecological risk assessment of vertical gene flow in Switzerland.  He is also involved in two EU projects on gene flow and plant conservation of Europe.

and updated CV with links under
http://www.botanischergarten.ch/Curriculum/Recent-Links.pdf

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Curriculum Vitae

Born December 6, 1940

Studied at University of Berne: Thesis on Vegetation History 1972, summa cum laude

Studies at Duke University, NC, USA, Bergen, Norway and Kingston, Jamaica

Director of the Botanical Garden, University of Bern 1996 - 2006

Prof. Hon. University of Bern since 2000

Teaching:

>> Lecturing in Plant Systematics and Evolution, Biogeography

>> Lectures on Air Pollution Biomonitoring at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich

>> Committees, among others:
-Chairman European Group of Plant Specialists, IUCN (until 2004)
-Steering Committee of PLANTA EUROPA (until 2004)
-Project coordinator and member of executive board Euro+Med, Red List of Threatened Plants of Europe (closed 2003)
-Member of coordination group European Science Foundation: AIGM, Risk assessment on transgenic crops (closed 2002)
-Biosafety Committee of the Government of Switzerland
-Chairman of the Section on Biodiversity of EFB European Federation of Biotechnology
-Editor in Chief (Ecology) of Environmental Biosafety Research

Research Projects:
>>  Chemotaxonomy of macro-lichens, calibrated biomonitoring of air pollution with lichens, European plant conservation, ecological monitoring, ethnobotany in Jamaica, ecological monitoring in Bulgaria.

>>  Ecological risk assessment of vertical gene flow in Switzerland (closed 1999)

>>  2 EU-Projects on Gene Flow and Plant Conservation of Europe
  a) Gene Flow of Brassicaceae in Europe, coordinator Swiss participation (closed 2002)
  b) Euro+Med, coordinator work packages Atlas Florae Europaeae Helsinki, Finland, Caryological Data Base Patras, Greece, European Red List and Website on Popularized Flora Europaea Contents, Botanical Garden, University of Berne, a joint venture with IUCN SSC Group European Plants, Planta Europa and the Council of Europe (closed 2003)

>>  2 Projects in collaboration with UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organisation:
  a) Compendium on Risk Assessment Research (closed 2001)
  b) Global Initiative on Education in Biotechnology

Participation in recent initiatives and projects:
Africa Harvest, Project SuperSorghum http://www.supersorghum.org
PRRI, Public Research and Regulation Initiative, http://www.pubresreg.org
Faculty of 1000, http://www.facultyof1000.org

His intention is to encourage the process leading to solutions concerning today’s crucial themes such as protection of biodiversity, risk assessment of genetically engineered crops and the public debate about biotechnology.