My awareness journey on the climate crisis started in 2022, reading the words from Hans-Otto Pörtner, co-chair of IPCC’s WG II: “The scientific evidence is unequivocal: climate change is a threat to human well-being and the health of the planet. Any further delay in concerted global action will miss a brief and rapidly closing window to secure a liveable future”.
I have started to question my sphere of influence as astronomer.
Astronomy is beautiful because it tells us about our past and origins. It is fascinating, stimulating human curiosity, creativity, and imagination. But astronomy offers even more, something I explored in my PhD Thesis (available here).
We, as astronomers, know how rare life on a planet is. […] We, as astronomers, know that there is no Planet B.
I decided to merge my engineering expertise with knowledge in astronomy and sustainability to advance sustainability in our research infrastructures, focusing on a ground-based telescope project.
In April 2025, I was appointed as a postdoctoral researcher on the sustainability of the Wide-field Spectroscopic Telescope (WST), a next-generation 12-meter ground-based telescope concept.
I assessed the environmental impact of the instruments of the WST through a Life Cycle Assessment of parts of the system using the software SimaPro. For the first time in astronomy, we included the carbon footprint as a trade-off parameter in instrument design.
Projects
Astronomers for Planet Earth (A4E)
I am an executive board member of A4E.
Our mission: ”To mobilize and empower the global astronomical community to take action on the climate crisis.”
We are more than 2,300 members from 85 countries
Curious? Check out our website: https://a4e.org/
Teaching sustainability in academia
I have created and taught a course on sustainability in academia at the University of Vienna since 2023. This interdisciplinary course aims to understand the role that academia can play in tackling the climate crisis.
The PLEES index
I am part of an interdisciplinary research project aiming at efficiently communicating on climate change: the PLEES index. This index takes into account the psychological, social, and economics impact of climate change worldwide and can be projected under different climate change scenarios.