MARK
LAWRENCE

Prof. Dr. Mark Lawrence is scientific director at the RIFS (formerly IASS) in Potsdam and an integrative scientist who addresses key challenges of the Anthropocene by bringing together and applying a wide range of academic expertise in his team, including his own background in atmospheric science, as well as going beyond this interdisciplinary foundation to also involve societal actors in a transdisciplinary approach.

His main research topics include air pollution, climate change, climate geoengineering, environment-related governance of vulnerable regions like the Himalayas and the Arctic, and the interface between sustainability and spirituality.

Prof. Lawrence received his Ph.D. in 1996 from the Georgia Institute of Technology. From 2000 until 2011 he was a research group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz. He served as interim professor for meteorology at the University of Mainz during 2009-2010 and moved to the IASS in 2011. In 2014, he was appointed to be an Honorary Professor at the University of Potsdam.

Prof. Lawrence is the author or co-author of over 180 peer-reviewed publications, with an h-index of 75 on Google Scholar. He has led various international projects and has been serving on the editorial and advisory boards of various journals and on various international committees, including having been co-chair of the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry program (IGAC) from 2015-2018, and currently being co-chair of the German Science Platform Sustainability 2030, a member of the German Council for Sustainable Development, and in the Board of Directors of the German Climate Consortium.