News

Hello students: Apply now for our Humboldt-Scholarship!

The Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin is once again awarding scholarships from the Deutschlandstipendium programme to its students. Among them are 15 positions for the Humboldt-Scholarship (Themenklasse) Sustainability & Global Justice, which is based at IRI THESys. Interested students are invited to apply until 15 December 2024! Humboldt-Scholarship 2025/26: Food, Agriculture and Land Use in a Climate-Neutral…

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Award-winning documentary on Tobias Sauter’s work in Patagonia

In 2023, ZDF released a documentary highlighting the scientific work of THESys Member Tobias Sauter, Head of the Climate Lab at HU’s Geography Department. The documentary combines environmental issues in Patagonia and compelling storytelling. It has received international acclaim and has been awarded seven prizes: Best Environmental Film at the Terres Festival (Tortosa, Spain) Best…

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Publication: Overconfidence in climate overshoot

A new paper from 30 scientists under the lead of THESys Member Prof. Carl-Friedrich Schleussner published in Nature analyses future scenarios in which we temporarily exceed 1.5°C and bring temperatures back down in the long run. It finds overshoot comes with irreversible consequences and rapid near-term emissions reductions are essential to reducing climate risks. The…

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Award: Water Resource Prize 2024 for Dörthe Tetzlaff

THESys Member Prof. Dr. Dörthe Tetzlaff was recently awarded the Water Resource Prize 2024 by the Rüdiger Kurt Bode Foundation for her outstanding research into the sustainable use of water under drought conditions. Congratulations! Dörthe Tetzlaff is Professor in Ecohydrology at the Geography Department of HU Berlin and Head of the Department 1 Ecohydrology at…

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IRI Open Science Ambassadors

Tobias Krüger, Director of IRI THESys, and communications expert Pauline Münch were appointed as Open Science Ambassadors from the Berlin University Alliance to promote open science standards. This two-year programme aims to raise awareness and encourage the use of open science practices such as transdisciplinary research and transparent handling of research data. The 23 ambassadors,…

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New paper: Moving beyond simplistic representations of land use in conservation

In a new paper published in Conservation Letters, THESys Member Tobias Kümmerle discusses how land use is often oversimplified in conservation assessments, policy, and planning—and how integrating Land System Science and Conservation Science can help overcome this. Specifically, he highlights how limited data on (global) land use, weak consideration of land-use dynamics and actor diversity,…

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Successful PhD: Congratulations to Ana Buchadas

On September 09, 2024, Ana Buchadas successfully defended her PhD thesis “Understanding deforestation frontiers in the world’s tropical dry woodlands” at the Geography Department of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Her thesis was supervised by Tobias Kuemmerle and Patrick Meyfroidt. Ana graduated with summa cum laude. This doctoral research sought to understand the patterns, processes, and consequences…

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Call out: THESys Award 2024 for Bachelor and Master theses 

Since 2015, the IRI THESys has been awarding prizes for excellent Bachelor and Master theses in the field of human-environmental research. Now, all bachelor and master graduates of HU Berlin are again cordially invited to apply! Applications for the THESys Award 2024 can be submitted during the application period from 15 July to 01 November…

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