YSSP Awards

Annually, up to three participants of the Young Scientists Summer Program are given an award for outstanding work produced during the program. The award provides financial support for the winners to return to IIASA in the following year for an additional three months of research.

The selection procedure

The following criteria will be taken into account by the Awards Selection Committee when reviewing the papers:

Quality of the research: E.g.: how complex is the problem/issue?; is it clearly framed and described?; the methodology well executed?; the study grounded in the literature?; the derived conclusions justifiable?

Originality of the research: E.g.: is the problem framed in a unique way?; the chosen methodology/approach innovative?

Effectiveness of the approach: E.g.: are the research objectives effectively met?, the problem/ issue effectively approached/solved?; the research appropriately interdisciplinary?

Relevance/impact of the research: E.g.: does the research address a timely and original question? does the study advance science or methodology?; is it policy relevant?

The Awards Selection Committee is made up of 1) scientific representatives from IIASA programs as well as 2) external scientists, namely, previous YSSP Award winners.

2025 Winners

Mikhalevich Award

Ross Tieman from the Australian National University's Fenner School of Environment and Society won the Mikhaleivich Award for his research “Algorithmic complexity-based methods for assessing social-ecological resilience”, IIASA Program Advancing Systems Analysis (ASA), Mentors: Brian Fath and Elena Rovenskaya

Levien Award

Parisa Javadi from the University of Virginia, USA, won the Levien Award for her research on “The Role of Land and Ocean-Based Geochemical CO2 Removal Pathways in Climate Mitigation”, IIASA Program: ECE program, YSSP Mentors: Yoga Pratama and Elina Brutschin

2025 Honorable Mentions

Weiyi Gu from Peking University, China, for his research on “Mapping Cost-effective Adaptation Pathways to Global Quantity- and Quality-induced Agricultural Water Scarcity”, YSSP Mentors: Taher Kahil, Julian Joseph; BNR program

Tom Hackbarth from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam - Institute for Environmental Studies, The Netherlands, for his research on “Designing Nature-Positive Pathways for Europe’s Land and Food Systems”, YSSP Mentors: Louise O’Connor, Martin Jung ; BNR program

Sanda Ny Avo Mamiharimalala from the ABIES Doctoral School, France, for her research on “Disaggregating Non-Renewable Energy Use in EU Crop Systems: From Raw FADN Data to Robust Allocation Models”, YSSP Mentors: Felicity Addo, Tamas Krisztin; BNR program

Veronika Schick from ETH Zürich, Switzerland, for her research on “Making Climate Adaptation Acceptable in a Polarized World - The Role of Identity for Distributive Justice Preferences”, YSSP Mentors: Elliott Woodhouse, Thomas Schinko; POPJUS program

2024 Winners

Mikhalevich Award: Todd Davies from the University College London won the Mikhalevich Award for his research “An Ecological Model of Market Competition”, IIASA Program: Advancing Systems Analysis (ASA), YSSP Mentors: Elena Rovenskaya and Gergely Boza

Peccei Award: André Baumgart from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, won the Peccei Award for his research “Prospective Scenarios of Global Mobility Infrastructure and their Embodied CO2 Emissions”, IIASA Program: Energy, Climate and Environment (ECE), YSSP Mentors: Volker Krey and Gamze Ünlü

Levien Award: Sarah Schöngart from the Humboldt University of Berlin won the Levien Award for her research “Attributing Local Climate Extremes to Income Deciles Using a Chain of Computationally Efficient Emulators”, IIASA Program: Energy, Climate and Environment (ECE), YSSP Mentors: Carl-Friedrich Schleußner, Zebedee Nicholls, Roman Hoffmann

Honorable mention: Candelaria Bergero from the University of California Irvine, USA, is receiving an honorable mention for her study on “The Implications of Underdelivering and Underestimating Carbon Sequestration”, IIASA Program: Energy, Climate and Environment (ECE), YSSP Mentors: Elina Brutschin, Matthew Gidden, Zebedee Nichols

Honorable mention: Ted Buskop from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands, for his study on “Plausibilistic Climate Impact Storylines: Risk Priorities and Its Drivers in an Uncertain Future”. IIASA Program: Advancing Systems Analysis (ASA), YSSP Mentors: Stefan Hochrainer-Stigler, Robert Sakic Trogrlic

2023 Winners

Mikhalevich Award: Huiying Ye from the Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT), China won the Mikhalevich Award for her research: “Linking R&D Investment to Emission Reduction Cooperation: Overcoming Free-Riding While Achieving Deep De-Carbonization ”, IIASA Program: Advancing Systems Analysis (ASA), YSSP Mentors: Nikolay Khabarov, Michael Kuhn, Michael Freiberger

Peccei Award: Gaurav Ganti from the Humboldt University of Berlin won the Peccei Award for his research: “Pathways to Inform the Equitable Implementation of the Paris Agreement”, IIASA program: Energy, Climate, and Environment (ECE), YSSP Mentors: Setu Pelz, Matthew Gidden

Levien Award: Lucas Vivier from the Centre International Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement (CIRED) near Paris won the Levien Award for his research: “Decarbonizing the EU Residential Sector: A Modelling Assessment of Current Policies and Future Strategies”, IIASA program: Energy, Climate, and Environment (ECE), YSSP Mentor: Alessio Mastrucci

Honorable mention: Yuanhui Wang from the Beijing Normal University, China for her study on “National Strategy Analysis Towards Mutual Achievement of the SDGs: A Method Coupling Dynamical Model and Network Hierarchy Analysis Based on SDG Interactions”, IIASA Program: Advancing Systems Analysis (ASA), YSSP Mentors: Nikita Strelkovskii, Rotem Zelingher

Dr. Aurelio Peccei

Dr. Aurelio Peccei

Dr. Aurelio Peccei (1908-1984), perhaps best known as the President of the Club of Rome, enjoyed a distinguished career in industry, conservation and international affairs. His hallmark was a humanistic approach to the problems confronting the modern world, be they economic, technological, managerial, or political.

Dr. Peccei was a consistent and devoted friend of IIASA, a member of the small group of individuals who inspired the original concept of the Institute and contributed actively to its realization. In his later years, his overwhelming concern was the challenge of finding creative opportunities for young people to influence a shared future. In 1984, the Peccei Award was established in an effort to meet this charge, as well as to recognize Peccei's contribution to multinational collaborative research.

Academician Vladimir S. Mikhalevich

Academician Vladimir S. Mikhalevich (1930-1994) was the Council Member of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences at the time of his death. He was associated with the Institute for many years, in a scientific capacity as a member of the System and Decision Sciences Advisory Committee, and administratively, as Chairman of the Governing Council from 1987 to 1992.

Perhaps less known, but equally important, was Academician Mikhalevich's role in the academic world of the former Soviet Union. At a time when it was not popular he ventured into cybernetics and employed computers for mathematical problems. He not only conducted his own pioneer work, but unfailingly supported young researchers who came to work with him even when they followed new directions of enquiry, diverging from his own.

Dr. Roger Levien

Dr. Roger Levien became Director of IIASA in 1975, after establishing the Handbook of Applied Systems Analysis project in 1974. During his tenure, IIASA undertook influential global system analyses on Energy Supply and Demand and on Global Food and Agriculture, both using international, interdisciplinary teams at IIASA and collaborating with research organizations from both sides of the Cold War divide. In 1977, he established the Young Scientist Summer Program (YSSP), which has over 2200 alumni worldwide.

Dr. Levien began his career in 1960 at The RAND Corporation, where he served as head of the System Sciences Department, Deputy Vice President, and Head of RAND’s Washington Domestic Program Office. He led major studies of computer technology and educational policy, co- authoring two books: The Emerging Technology and Research and Development Management.

Dr. Levien holds a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics (Computer Science) from Harvard University and a BS in Engineering from Swarthmore College. He is a member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering.