Prof. Dr. Jörg Overmann takes up the position of Director General of the Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns (SNSB). The appointment was officially announced by Bavarian State Minister for Science and the Arts Markus Blume, who emphasized: “Prof. Overmann is an outstanding appointment: an excellent scientist with extensive experience in managing large non-university research institutions.”
This appointment marks an important structural change: for the first time, the position of SNSB Director General will be a full-time role, in close cooperation with Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), where Prof. Overmann will also hold the Chair of Biodiversity Research. According to Minister Blume, this new model will strengthen SNSB as a leading international institution: “We are laying the foundation to transform a well-established system into a modern and dynamic research institution, fully in step with the times.”
Previously, Prof. Overmann served as Director of the Leibniz Institute DSMZ – German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, one of the world’s most important biological resource collections. A recognized expert in biodiversity research, he also brings extensive leadership experience from within the Leibniz Association. Overmann’s extensive scientific work focuses particularly on the biological diversity of microorganisms, ranging from deep-sea bacteria and their role in the carbon cycle, to the influence of bacterial communities on plant roots, amphibians, and fish.
SNSB, an active member of CETAF, brings together more than 33 million objects spanning zoology, botany, paleontology, mineralogy, and anthropology. Its ten museums — including the Museum Mensch und Natur and the Botanischer Garten München-Nymphenburg — together with five regional museums, attract more than 800,000 visitors annually, making SNSB one of the oldest and most significant natural history collections worldwide.
With Prof. Overmann’s appointment, SNSB is expected to further strengthen its role as a European leader in biodiversity, geosciences, and global change research, as well as in engaging society with scientific knowledge.