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IIASA Population and Just Societies Program Research Scholar Alexia Fürnkranz-Prskawetz has been elected to the Academia Europaea

It is our pleasure to announce that IIASA Emeritus Research Scholar, Arnulf Grubler, has been elected as a member of the Academia Europaea.

Migration is a highly complex social phenomenon and migration decisions depend on a variety of social, political and economic factors. Researchers from IIASA and Wittgenstein Centre published the Fact Sheet Migration, providing information about the challenges, that might be confronted for a successful adaptation.

IIASA Cooperation and Transformative Governance Research Group Leader, Nadejda Komendantova, has been appointed as an international expert for the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)/Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)’s Constructing a Digital Environment Program.

It is our pleasure to announce that IIASA Distinguished Visiting Fellow and longtime collaborator, Simon Levin, was one of the three recipients of the 14th BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Ecology and Conservation Biology.

The International Science Council (ISC) has appointed IIASA Director General Albert van Jaarsveld as a Foundation Fellow in recognition of his exceptional contribution to the role of science as a global public good.

The Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use signed at COP26 represents a commitment by leaders representing over 85% of the world’s forests to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by 2030. But could the declaration’s ambitions be too ambiguous? An international team of researchers looked into this question.

It is our pleasure to announce that Senior Population and Just Societies Program Advisor, Wolfgang Lutz, will take up the reins as interim IIASA Deputy Director for Science from 1 August 2022.

We are proud to announce that Dr. Kazu Takemoto, Vice-Chair of the IIASA Council and Council member for Japan, has been awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Star, by His Majesty the Emperor of Japan for distinguished service to the nation and for long years of public service.

With the rapid reduction in the costs of renewable energy generation, such as wind and solar power, there is a growing need for energy storage technologies to make sure that electricity supply and demand are balanced properly. IIASA researchers have come up with a new energy storage concept that could turn tall buildings into batteries to improve the power quality in urban settings.

Population structure and dynamics are directly interlinked with economic development. The new Fact Sheet Economic Demography developed by researchers from IIASA and the Wittgenstein Centre puts the economic consequences of demographic changes into perspective, showing a realistic picture of challenges and opportunities in the future.

In recent years, crowdsourcing, which involves recruiting members of the public to help collect data, has been tremendously helpful to provide researchers with unique and rich datasets, while also engaging the public in the process of scientific discovery. In a new study, an international team of researchers explored how crowdsourcing projects can make the most effective use of volunteer contributions.

IIASA has joined international science organizations across the world to sign the Science in Exile Declaration in support of at-risk, displaced, and refugee scientists.

The reciprocal relationships between human populations and the environment becomes increasingly important in the light of climate change. Researchers from IIASA and Wittgenstein Centre published the Fact Sheet Climate Change and Demography, providing information for policy makers and scientists about some key areas where demography can contribute to climate research.

IIASA recently instituted a new system of awards to recognize outstanding contributions towards meeting the strategic priorities and values of the institute. We are proud to announce that five IIASA research activities have been recognized in the inaugural 2022 award cycle.

Despite successes in reducing poverty globally in the last two decades, almost one billion people are still living without access to reliable and affordable electricity, which in turn negatively affects health and welfare, and impedes sustainable development. Knowing where these people are is crucial if aid and infrastructure are to reach them. A new IIASA-led study proposes a novel method to estimate global economic wellbeing using nighttime satellite images.

IIASA is proud to announce that Energy, Climate, and Environment Program Director, Keywan Riahi has been elected as a corresponding member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) ̶ Austria’s largest non-university research and science institution.

Researchers from the IIASA Energy, Climate, and Environment Program found that agricultural efforts in downstream countries in Central Asia, traditionally hampered by a lack of water for irrigation during the summer growing season, would be significantly boosted with a “dual water and energy storage scheme”, which also paves the way for high shares of renewable energy generation in the region.

In 2021, the fairSTREAM project was selected as one of the first high impact Strategic Initiatives at IIASA. Below is an update on what the project has achieved to date.

Senior IIASA researcher and Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP) Scientific Coordinator, Brian Fath, has received the 2022 University System of Maryland Board of Regents Faculty Award for Excellence in research, scholarship, and creativity.