This year, the award is granted to four researchers: Markus Amann, Joanne Linnerooth-Bayer, Sten Nilsson, and Sergei Scherbov, whose pioneering work has not only guided the global political discourse in the fields of demography, climate change, and the environment but also shaped IIASA as the international hub for systems analysis.
The IIASA Lifetime Achievement Award is the highest honor bestowed by the institute to recognize true flagbearers of IIASA - scientists whose research shaped the world as we know it today. The awards are made to senior IIASA researchers of exceptional distinction after their formal retirement.
Markus Amann
Markus Amann conducted interdisciplinary research at IIASA for 36 years, making a significant contribution to integrated assessment of environmental issues and helping establish the institute as one of the leading science think tanks in the world.
Under his leadership, as part of IIASA's air quality programs, the institute developed and launched the Regional Air Pollution Information and Simulation (RAINS) model, as well as the Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies (GAINS) model. Those models were instrumental in providing scientific evidence and analysis for effective policymaking, helping combat air pollution and its adverse effects on human health, ecosystems, and climate change. His contributions have shaped international agreements and policies, such as the Gothenburg Protocol, EU air quality legislation, and the European Green Deal, driving significant progress in improving air quality and environmental protection.
He also served as the head of the Centre for Integrated Assessment Modeling (CIAM) of the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) under the Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP) until he left IIASA.
Throughout his career, Amann worked with a multiplicity of influential institutions, including WHO, UNEP, CCAC, the World Bank, IPCC (lead author of Working Group III of the Fourth Assessment Report), and others. His scientific contributions are recognized and acknowledged all over the world, with several bodies selecting him to be part of their boards, scientific committees, and provide advice.
Joanne Linnerooth-Bayer
Joanne Linnerooth-Bayer was project leader and program director of IIASA's Risk and Resilience (RISK) Program and its predecessor programs for 20 years. Under her leadership, the RISK Program contributed significantly to the development of catastrophe models, methods for systemic risk assessment, the design of participatory stakeholder processes, and the application of risk transfer instruments, index-based micro-insurance, and regional risk pools to provide safety nets to vulnerable populations. This work had major impacts on international financial institutions, climate negotiations and policymaking.
Through her research Linnerooth-Bayer contributed extensively to the financial resilience of vulnerable countries, especially in the design of insurance instruments for supporting climate adaptation/mitigation, and, most recently, the link of insurance to financing nature restoration through nature-based solutions.
She also provided consultancy services to NGOs, national governments, and international institutions including, for example, the World Bank, UNISDR, UNDP, DFID, and GermanWatch, as well as the IPCC, acting as lead author of an IPCC special report on extreme climate events and review editor of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report.
In addition to her research work, she was also the Dean of the Postdoc and the Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP) for 27 years, mentoring and guiding young scientists.
Sten Nilsson
Over his 38 years at the institute, Sten Nilsson held a variety of senior positions at IIASA, most notably, as Acting Director General, Deputy Director General, Counselor to the Director General, and Leader of the Forestry Program. His groundbreaking studies advanced sustainable forest management, climate change mitigation, and ecological conservation.
Nilsson's influence extends far beyond academia as a key figure who shaped international forestry policy. He became the first IIASA scientist to initiate comprehensive research on Russian and Siberian forestry, a pioneering endeavor that was the first of its kind and helped to strengthen the ties between IIASA and institutions from Germany, USA, India, Russia, and Ukraine. This engagement not only enabled Russian and Ukrainian scientists to share their research with the West in the post-Cold War era but also helped inform the world about some of the most critical natural resources on the planet.
Through his efforts, Nilsson was instrumental in expanding IIASA's membership, enhancing the Institute's international reach and collaborative potential by successfully bringing India and Ukraine on board through his collaboration with these countries on forestry.
During his career, he held several consultancies in organizations such as The World Bank, FAO, OECD, European Commission, and SIDA. He also served as an expert in different international organizations such as the World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development (WCFSD), International Boreal Forest Research Association (IBFRA), International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE), WWF, Forest Trends, and the Rights and Resources Initiative.
He also contributed to the reports published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which, together with Al Gore, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Sergei Scherbov
Sergei Scherbov is a renowned scholar with a distinguished career in demography, population studies, and systems analysis. Over more than four decades, his research has significantly advanced the fields of population dynamics, aging, and global health, with major contributions to probabilistic population projections. His recent work focuses on ageing.
Together with his colleague Warren Sanderson, Scherbov redefined traditional concepts of age and developed innovative measures of ageing, widely recognized by the scientific community and adopted by organizations such as the United Nations. The Austrian newspaper Der Standard hailed this work as one of Austria's most important scientific discoveries.
Scherbov pioneered the development of interactive computer models for multidimensional population projections, which have been applied to modeling noncommunicable diseases and addressing key global health challenges. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he introduced the concept of hybrid life expectancy, which accounts for limited pandemic exposure when estimating life expectancy losses.
In addition to his research, Scherbov made major contributions to capacity building in demography by teaching advanced demographic analysis courses worldwide and mentoring numerous PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. A recipient of two ERC grants, he has authored and co-authored over 200 papers, seven of those published in Science and Nature. Currently, he continues to play an active role in advancing and disseminating demographic knowledge globally.
