Doctoral Researcher Itzell Torres integrates ethnographic research methods with theoretical perspectives from Anthropology, Human Geography, and Political Ecology. In the context of Mexico’s energy transition, her project investigates the power dynamics and (un) sustainable development narratives surrounding solar energy development, as well as the social, ecological, and economic changes it engenders in its deployment locales.…

Doctoral Researcher Marie Hemmen is a doctoral researcher at IRI THESys and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), funded by the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU). Her research focuses on the impacts of high temperatures on global agricultural production. During her PhD, she develops a method for enhanced heat stress representation in process-based crop…

Graduate Program Board

Doctoral Researcher Laura Betancur Alarcón joined IRI THESys in August 2021 as a PhD Researcher in the ‘Water for Whom’ project. She is researching everyday water use practices and adaptation strategies in communities affected by hydro dams through a multi-sited ethnographic study in Colombia. Laura holds a master’s degree in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science…

Doctoral Researcher Liliana Mosquera is a doctoral researcher in the Hydrology and Society research group of the Department of Geography and IRI THESys. She is an Ecologist and holds an MSc from the Erasmus Mundus program of the European Union in International Rural Development. Her research at IRI THESys aims to understand the process of…

Doctoral Researcher David Meng-Chuen Chen is a doctoral researcher at IRI THESys and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). He completed his BSc. in International Agriculture and Food Systems at McGill University (2015) and MSc. at the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin in Integrated Natural Resource Management (2020). His master’s thesis produced projections of…

Doctoral Researcher “Ecological and multi-cultural networks are the heart to face the challenges of global change. Therefore, the inter- and trans-disciplinary interaction that Iri Thesys offers could result in something interesting.” Leonardo R. Ramírez Leonardo R. Ramírez is a Doctoral Researcher at IRI THESys. He is an Agricultural Engineer (Chile) postgraduated in Agroecology (Costa Rica) and…

Doctoral Researcher Luis Zamarioli is researching how financial solutions may affect positively and negatively countries that are already vulnerable to climate risks. This study complements Luis’ work at the FS-UNEP Collaborating Centre, and builds on over 6 years of experience in implementing projects, providing policy advice and researching climate and sustainability-related topics. The research starts…

Doctoral Researcher Olga Statnaia is pursuing her PhD at the Agricultural and Food Policy Group of the Thaer-Institute, Department of Agricultural Economics. She holds two master’s degrees in Economic Sciences from the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova (MSc) and in Global Economy from the Diplomatic Academy of the MFA of the Russian Federation. Her…

Doctoral Researcher Cristián Flores Fernández works with Prof. Dr. Tobias Krüger in the Hydrology and Society research group of the Department of Geography and IRI THESys. His PhD project studies the transformations and uncertainties that brine extraction for lithium and potassium mining generates in the socio-natural metabolism of the salt flats of northern Chile. From…

Doctoral Researcher Kristin Leimer is a doctoral researcher at the Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO) in Halle/Saale. She studied Geography, Economics and Political Science at Martin-Luther-University in Halle/Saale. During her studies she has worked as student assistant for the Department of Economic Geography at MLU and for IAMO. Research Interests Land…