At the signing of the contract:

From left: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Marquardt (Chair of the Board of Directors of Forschungszentrum Jülich), Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Michael Hoch (Rector University of Bonn), Prof. Dr. Astrid Kiendler-Scharr (Forschungszentrum Jülich, CESOC), Prof. Dr. Susanne Crewell (University of Cologne, CESOC), Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Axel Freimuth (Rector of the University of Cologne), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Kusche (University of Bonn, CESOC), Dr. Jean-Noël Thépaut (ECMWF, Director of Copernicus Services), Prof. Dr. Walter Witke (Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Bonn) and Prof. Dr. Thomas Heckelei (Dean of the Agricultural Faculty, University of Bonn).