Hannah Prawitz is a Doctoral Researcher in the Earth Resilience Science Unit and the COPAN collaboration at PIK and the Max-Plank-Institute of Geoanthropology.
With an academic background in both natural and social sciences, Hannah’s research focuses on understanding the complex dynamics of planetary-scale socio-ecological systems. She explores how societies and the environment co-evolve, with a particular emphasis on the roles of institutions and political systems in sustainability transformations. While a significant part of her work centers on agri-food systems, her research interests extend to other domains of human-environment interactions as well. Hannah is interested in developing and applying both conceptual models and quantitative simulation models to better capture the feedbacks and interplay between human and natural systems. In her work, she draws on a wide variety of methods, ranging from automated literature reviews and simulation modeling to statistical data analysis and qualitative research. Her goal is to advance our understanding of human-environment interactions and to inform pathways towards a more sustainable future. Beyond research, she is also engaged in various forms of public outreach, such as giving talks at schools and taking part in public science events.
FutureLab / Science Unit
Contact
14412 Potsdam
Max-Plank-Institut of Geoanthropology
Department Integrative Earth System Science
prawitz[at]gea.mpg.de
Professional Positions:
- From 2024: Doctoral researcher at the Max-Plank-Institute of Geoanthropology in the Department of Integrative Earth System Sciences
- From 2024: Research Associate at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Earth Resilience Research Unit
- 2023-2024: Research Associate at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Department Ecosystem Services
- 2021-2024: Guest researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate-Impact Research (PIK), Research department 1: Earth System Analysis
- 2020-2023: Student Assistant at the Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human-Environment Systems (IRI THESys) at Humboldt-University Berlin
Education:
- 2024: Master of Sciences in Urban Ecosystem Sciences at Technical University Berlin
- 2023: Master of Sciences in Integrated Natural Resource Management at Humboldt-University Berlin
- 2021/2022: Exchange Semester at University Stockholm, Sweden
- 2020: Bachelor of Sciences in Biophysics at Humboldt-University Berlin
- 2019: Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences at Humboldt-University Berlin
- 2018: Exchange Semester Sciences Po Paris, Campus de Menton, France
- Dynamics of planetary-scale socio-ecological systems
- Roles of institutions and political systems in sustainability transformations
- Co-evolution of societies and the environment, with a focus on agri-food systems
- Development and application of conceptual and quantitative simulation models
- Methodological diversity, including automated literature reviews, statistical data analysis, simulation modeling, and qualitative research
Schlüter, M., Wijermans, N., González-Mon, B., Lindkvist, E., Orach, K., Prawitz, H., Martin, R., Martínez-Peña, R., Pellowe, K. E., & Sanga, U. (2025). Navigating the space between empirics and theory – Empirically stylized modelling for theorising social-ecological phenomena. Environmental Modelling & Software, 189, 106444. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2025.106444
Prawitz, H., & Pinzger, V. (2025). Be the Change: How Peer-to-Peer and Project-Based Seminars Open Communicative Arenas and Possibilities to Provoke Institutional Change at Universities. In W. L. Filho, J. Newman, A. Lange Salvia, L. Viera Trevisan, & L. Corazza (Eds.), North American and European Perspectives on Sustainability in Higher Education(pp. 629–644). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-80434-2_34
Klein, A., Unverzagt, K., Alba, R., Donges, J. F., Hertz, T., Krueger, T., Lindkvist, E., Martin, R., Niewöhner, J., Prawitz, H., Schlüter, M., Schwarz, L., & Wijermans, N. (2024). From situated knowledges to situated modelling: A relational framework for simulation modelling. Ecosystems and People, 20(1), 2361706. https://doi.org/10.1080/26395916.2024.2361706
Prawitz, H., Raudonat, J., Schifer, C., Pinzger, V., Kremer, J., Schorr, F., Rode, T., Hinderer, A., Hoffmann-Richter, H., & Kraft, P. (2024). Studieren(d) transformieren – Wie Studierende einen Unterschied machen. In W. Leal Filho (Ed.), Lernziele und Kompetenzen im Bereich Nachhaltigkeit (pp. 63–84). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-67740-7_4
Goldenbogen, B., Adler, S. O., Bodeit, O., Wodke, J. A. H., Escalera‐Fanjul, X., Korman, A., Krantz, M., Bonn, L., Morán‐Torres, R., Haffner, J. E. L., Karnetzki, M., Maintz, I., Mallis, L., Prawitz, H., Segelitz, P. S., Seeger, M., Linding, R., & Klipp, E. (2022). Control of COVID‐19 Outbreaks under Stochastic Community Dynamics, Bimodality, or Limited Vaccination. Advanced Science, 9(23), 2200088. https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202200088
- 2020-2023: Coordination of the Lecture Series “The green Thread” as part of the "Studiu Oecologicum" at Humboldt-University Berlin
- 2022-2023: Seminar "Transform Studieren?! - Die Universität als Reallabor für Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung“ at Humboldt-University Berlin
- 2023: Humboldt Prize of the Humboldt University for outstanding theses for the master's thesis "Towards modelling the Anthropocene: Conception and analysis of planetary-scale social-ecological feedbacks"
- 2023: IRI THESys Award for excellent Bachelor and Master theses in the field of human-environmental research for students at Humboldt-University Berlin (2nd place)
- 2019-2023: Deutschlandstipendium at the Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human-Environment Systems (IRI THESys) at Humboldt-University Berlin with a focus on sustainability and global justice
