Venia Legendi lecture of Volker Matthias

24 February 2025

Photo: UHH/Lange

A special and rare academic event took place today at our Meteorological Institute: Dr. Volker Matthias from the Helmholtz Centre Hereon delivered his sample lecture as part of the procedure for obtaining teaching authorization, known as the Venia Legendi. In line with his long-standing lectures on atmospheric chemistry, the topic of his talk was “Yay or nay? The Role of Ground-Level Ozone in the Lower Troposphere”. Before students of the Meteorology program, members of the institute, and a committee of experts, Volker Matthias presented a lively and comprehensible lecture about the supposedly “nasty” ozone near the ground, which surprisingly has other aspects as well and can, for example, have a cleansing effect on the air. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Volker Matthias on successfully completing the process, which recognizes his long-standing teaching activities and, as a newly qualified university lecturer, opens up new possibilities for him.

The Venia Legendi (Latin for “permission to teach”) is the teaching authorization granted to a lecturer at the university. The prerequisite for this is the teaching qualification, which is previously certified by the habilitation. Upon completion of the process, the candidate becomes a university lecturer with the title of Privatdozent (PD) and is allowed to independently conduct teaching activities.

(This news article was translated from German to English by UHHGPT.)