It is our pleasure to announce that Principal Research Scholar and Senior Program Advisor Wolfgang Lutz, will be assuming the role of IIASA Acting Director General throughout the month of November 2023, in addition to his current tenure as IIASA Interim Deputy Director General for Science.
In light of the transitional phase in leadership at IIASA, with the departure of the current Director General Albert van Jaarsveld at the end of October 2023, and the incoming Director General Hans Joachim (John) Schellnhuber, set to commence on 1 December 2023, the Council designated Lutz as IIASA Acting Director General for the interim duration.
Lutz brings a wealth of experience to this position, in which he will not only oversee all institute activities but also work closely with the IIASA Council, Executive team, and essential stakeholders and collaborators.
© Silveri | IIASAIn additional to the various roles he has filled at IIASA over the years, Lutz is the Founding Director of the Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital, a cooperation between IIASA, the University of Vienna, and the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
He has won numerous prestigious awards, including the Wittgenstein Prize, two European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grants, the Mindel C. Sheps Award of the Population Association of America (PAA), and 2023 Austrian Science Prize. He is a member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the German National Academy Leopoldina, the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), the Finnish Society for Sciences and Letters, and the Academia Europaea. He was co-author of the UN Global Sustainable Development Report 2019 and serves as special advisor to the Vice-President of the European Commission Dubravka Suica.
Lutz has published over 280 scientific articles, including 24 in Science, Nature and PNAS. He also wrote or edited 27 books and special issues.
"Over the course of five decades, IIASA has stood as a distinctive hub for conducting comprehensive studies of the multiple challenges to human well-being. Equally important, the institute has been a unique bridge between the scientific communities in different parts of the world. As I step into the role of IIASA Acting Director General, I am driven by the profound belief that science and collaboration are the cornerstones of progress. Guided by this principle, I am committed to fostering an environment where cooperation thrives, and ensuring a smooth transition until John Schellnhuber assumes the role of IIASA Director General," concludes Lutz.
