The team behind the portal
The Global Heat Flow Data Research Infrastructure is developed and maintained by a dedicated team of researchers, developers, and geoinformatics, data science, and geothermal energy experts. The project is led by the GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences (Potsdam) in collaboration with the Technical University Dresden and supported by an international network of contributors and partners.
Project Leadership & Management
PD Dr. habil. Sven Fuchs (PI & IHFC Custodian Global Heat Flow Database [since 2019])
Section Geoenergy, GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences
Institutional profile | Contact: email | ORCID: 0000-0002-2896-6662
Principal Investigator, responsible for scientific leadership and heat flow data management.
Dr. Kirsten Elger (Co-PI, Data Management Lead GFZ Data Services)
Data and Information Management, GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences
Institutional profile | Contact: email | ORCID: 0000-0001-5140-8602
Co-Principal Investigator, overseeing data management and interoperability with global geoscience infrastructures, and responsible for the research data repository GFZ Data Services.
Dr. Stephan Mäs (Co-PI, Geoinformatics & Development Lead)
Chair of Geoinformatics, TU Dresden | Institutional profile | Contact: email | ORCID: 0000-0002-9016-1996
Co-Principal Investigator, leading the technical development of the database and portal infrastructure.
Development Team
Dr. Samuel Jennings (Lead Database & Portal Developer)
Data and Information Management, GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences
Institutional profile | Contact: email | ORCID: 0000-0003-3762-7336
Responsible for back-end development, database optimization, and API integration.
Nikolas Ott (Lead UI & Mapping Developer)
Chair of Geoinformatics, TU Dresden | Institutional profile | Contact: email | ORCID: 0000-0003-1633-0058
Leads front-end development, including interactive mapping tools and data visualization.
Simone Frenzel (Developer & Data Management Support)
Data and Information Management, GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences
Institutional profile | Contact: email | ORCID: 0000-0002-7558-4640
Supports metadata management and system optimization.
Heat Flow Core Team
Dr. Florian Neumann (Lead Technical Assessment 2022–2024)
Section Geoenergy, GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences (now: MARUM University of Bremen)
Institutional profile | Contact: email | ORCID: 0000-0002-9666-5087
Marine heat flow specialist, data processing and coordinating heat flow assessment
Dr. Samah Elbarbary (Lead Technical Assessment 2025ff)
Section Geoenergy, GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences |
Institutional profile | Contact: email| ORCID: 0000-0002-1479-787X
Specialist in subsurface heat flow analysis and geothermal research.
Dr. Elif Balkan-Pazvantoğlu
Section Geoenergy, GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences (Now: Dokz. University Izmir, Türkiye) |
Institutional profile | Contact: email | ORCID: 0000-0002-8117-4576
Heat flow data specialist, focusing on regional datasets and historical data integration.
Dr. Alexey Petrunin
Section Geodynamic Modelling , GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences |
Institutional profile | Contact: email | ORCID: 0000-0002-5439-4178
Geodynamic modeling and heat flow data validation expert.
Dr. Ben Norden
Section Geoenergy, GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences |
Institutional profile | Contact: email | ORCID: 0000-0003-2228-9979
Heat flow measurement and geothermal reservoir characterization expert.
Student Support Team
The student team assists in data processing, validation, digitization efforts, and outreach activities.
- Viktoria Dergunova – Computational Science, University of Potsdam
- Zlata Trepalova – Geodesy and Geoinformation Science, Technical University of Berlin
- Leonard Berger – Geoscience, University of Potsdam
- Muhammet Gündogdu – Geodesy and Geoinformation Science, Technical University of Berlin
- Denise Verch – Geoecology, University of Potsdam
- Marvin Schulz – Geoecology, University of Potsdam
- Pia Schuppe – Geoecology, University of Potsdam
- Saman Firdaus Chishti – Remote Sensing, University of Potsdam
- Helena Liebing – Geoscience, University of Potsdam
- Robert Fröhder – Geoscience, University of Potsdam
- Anne Nitzspan – Arts, Muthesius University of Fine Arts and Design, Kiel
- Yui Takahashi – Spatial Development and Natural Resource Management, Dresden University of Technology
- Babu Antalyn – Hydro Science and Engineering, Dresden University of Technology
- Holger Ehrmann – Information Sciences and Data Management, University of Applied Sciences Potsdam
- Ali Mohammedn – Information Sciences and Data Management, University of Applied Sciences Potsdam
Contributors & Collaborators
The IHFC Global Heat Flow Database assessment runs as a voluntary global collaborative approach. Thus, the project massively benefits from the contributions of our international partners. Their collective efforts ensure data accuracy, scientific credibility, and continuous improvement of the data behind the portal.
If you want to contribute data or collaborate with the team, please visit our Contribute Data page or contact us directly.