Prof. Dr. Manuel Steinbauer is Head of Sports Ecology

"Creating forward-looking connections between different scientific fields has always been a trademark of the University of Bayreuth. By establishing its Professorship for Sports Ecology, it has set a further interdisciplinary focus that represents a stand-out USP in research and teaching with a reach well beyond the region. The very successful focus areas of 'Ecology & Environmental Sciences' and 'Food & Health Sciences' will be further networked and strengthened by Sports Ecology. The relationship between sport, health, the environment, and nature is currently gaining increasing importance in society, the private sector, and politics. I am all the more pleased to be able to develop this highly interesting field of research in close cooperation with scientists from various disciplines in Bayreuth, and to establish it in interdisciplinary courses of study," says Prof. Dr. Manuel Steinbauer.

From 2004 to 2009, he studied geo ecology and global change ecology at the University of Bayreuth, to subsequently complete his doctorate with a thesis on biodiversity under Prof. Dr. Carl Beierkuhnlein. He then moved to the Aarhus University in Denmark as a postdoctoral researcher, and was appointed professor at Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg in 2018. In taking on the new professorship, he has now returned to his Bayreuth alma mater.

Climber Sofie Paulus is a student of the Bayreuth degree programme Global Change Ecology, and works at the Sports Ecology Professorship as a 'Hiwine' (Research assistant). Image 1+2: Climbing at Axenstrasse in the canton of Uri, Switzerland. The Lake of Uri far below, climbing the limestone here is a breathtaking experience. Route: ‘Calderon‘, 7c. Photo: Luisa Deubzer. 

Research and teaching in sports ecology covers a wide range of natural, cultural, and economic issues. These include, for example, sports tourism and its effects on ecosystems, the environmentally compatible design of sports facilities, and the interactions between sports behaviour, the experience of nature, and health status. In all of these issues, the idea of sustainability - in ecological, social, and economic terms - is very much in the foreground of sports ecology.in Bayreuth.

Digitalization plays a central role in this context. "Sports and health sciences as well as ecology are today among the research areas with the fastest growing availability of large data sets. Modern measurement techniques deliver exercise profiles, key values relevant to sports medicine, ecosystem information, and remote sensing data at high speed. The acquisition and analysis of measurement data at the interfaces between health, outdoor sports, and the environment will therefore be an important focus of sports ecology in Bayreuth, and will further enhance the attractive research profile of our Institute of Sports Science," explains Steinbauer. Based on his research experience in ecology and climate impact research, he will also work closely with another research institution on the Bayreuth campus, the Bayreuth Centre of Ecology & Environmental Research (BayCEER).

The new professorship will further strengthen the range of courses offered by the University of Bayreuth in an innovative way. The courses of study in the fields of Sport, Business & Law, Sports Technology, Geo-Ecology, Biodiversity & Ecology, as well as Global Change Ecology will in future also include practical courses in sports ecology, not least in the field of modern data analysis and programming. The linking of exercise and health data with information from the environmental and earth sciences will open up future-oriented professional fields in business and research for students.