Members (2023-2025)
The DKN is an interdisciplinary committee of nine renowned scientists from research institutions, science organizations and universities, who are being appointed ad personam by the German Research Foundation (DFG) for a three-year term. They deal with topics and methods of sustainability research. They provide expertise from various subject areas relevant to Future Earth and WCRP and are responsible for the strategic orientation and the activities of the DKN.
Prof. Dr. Daniela Jacob
Chair
Prof. Dr. Daniela Jacob heads the Climate Service Center Germany (GERICS) in Hamburg, an institution of Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, is visiting professor at the Faculty of Sustainability of the Leuphana University of Lüneburg and co-chair of the Science Platform Sustainability (WPN2030). Her research focuses and areas of interest are regional climate modelling, the water cycle, climate services, and adaptation to climate change.
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Prof. Dr. Michael Bollig
Appointed Member
Prof. Dr. Michael Bollig is Professor for Anthropology, Board Member of the Global South Studies Center (GSCC) in Cologne and Associate Vice Rector for International Relations with the Global South at the University of Cologne. His research focuses on human-environmental relations, political ecology, and environmental history, transition of local knowledge, globalization and conflict research.
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Prof. Dr. Aletta Bonn
Appointed Member
Prof. Dr. Aletta Bonn is head of the Department of Ecosystem Services at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ in Leipzig and Professor for Ecosystem Services at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena within the framework of the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle - Jena - Leipzig. Her research focuses on trend analysis and telecoupling of ecosystem services into social-ecological systems and citizen science.
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Prof. Dr. Anna-Katharina Hornidge
Appointed Member
Prof. Dr. Anna-Katharina Hornidge is Director of the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), Professor for Global Sustainable Development at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University in Bonn as well as co-chair of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network Germany (SDSN Germany). In her research, Ms Hornidge focuses on (a) the role of different types of knowledge in and for processes of change, as well as (b) questions of natural resources governance in agricultural and marine contexts. Her regional focus lies on Southeast and Central Asia, West and East Africa.
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Prof. Dr. Thomas Potthast
Appointed Member
Prof. Dr. Thomas Potthast is Professor for Ethics, Philosophy, and History of the Life Sciences and Co-Directorof the International Center for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities (IZEW) at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen. His research focuses on moral philosophy, bioethics, environmental ethics; ethics and sustainable development with regard to global change, agriculture and food, bioeconomy and preservation of nature; scientific theory and history of science of biological science and ecology; nature ethics and nature philosophy of biodiversity; concepts of values and questions of valuation in environmental politics, preservation of nature, ecosystem services, biotechnology and bioeconomy.
Personal website
Prof. Dr. Markus Reichstein
Appointed Member
Markus Reichstein is Director at the Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena, Professor for Global Geoecology and Founding Director of the Michael Stifel Center Jena for Data-Driven and Simulation Sciences at Friedrich Schiller University Jena.
His research interests lie within Earth System Science and primarily involve interactions between climate and the biosphere. Of particular relevance to DKN, he is interested in the impacts of extreme events on ecosystems and society. Methodologically, he combines system modeling with artificial intelligence/machine learning to extract knowledge from heterogeneous data sets (remote sensing, in-situ, modelling).
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Prof. Dr. Britta Renner
Appointed Member
Prof. Dr. Britta Renner is Professor for Psychological Assessment and Health Psychology at the University of Konstanz, Vice Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board for Agricultural Policy, Nutrition and Consumer Health Protection (WBAE) at the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) and Vice President of the German Nutrition Society (DGE). Her research focuses on psychological influences on individual and collective nutrition behaviors, risk perceptions, and the use of mobile technologies to change nutrition and health behaviors.
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Prof. Dr. Jakob Rhyner
Appointed Member
Prof. Dr. Jakob Rhyner is Professor of Global Change and Systemic Risks at the Agricultural Faculty of the University of Bonn and Scientific Director of the Bonn Alliance for Sustainability Research. His research focuses on risk assessment as well as impacts of technology and, particularly, digital innovations on questions of sustainable development.
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Prof. Dr. Bernd Siebenhüner
Appointed Member
Prof. Dr. Bernd Siebenhüner is Professor for Ecological Economics at the Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law of the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg. His main research interests include climate adaptation, global environmental and sustainability governance, international organizations, social learning, and the role of science in global environmental governance.
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Dr. Christiane Joerk
Ex-Officio
Dr. Christiane Joerk is Program Director in the Humanities and Social Sciences Group of the German Research Foundation (DFG) with a focus on economics.
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Dr. Sebastian Sonntag
Ex-Officio
Dr. Sebastian Sonntag Sonntag is Executive Director of the DKN and heads the DKN secretariat at the Climate Service Center Germany (GERICS).
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