Prof. Dr. Mark Lawrence
Scientific Director
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Prof. Dr. Mark Lawrence is scientific director at the RIFS 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 focal 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.
He also actively supports whole person development as a component of planetary health, including exploring the common ground between the personal transformations and systemic transformations that will be associated with sustainable development, as well as the mindsets needed to bring these into harmony.
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 Honorary Professor at the University of Potsdam.
Prof. Lawrence is author or co‐author of over 180 peer‐reviewed publications, with an h-index of over 75 on Google Scholar and over 60 on Scopus. He has led various international projects, and has been serving on the editorial and advisory boards of various journals and on various national and international committees, including having been co‐chair of the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry program (IGAC) from 2015‐2018, and now being co-chair of the Science Platform for Sustainability 2030 (wpn2030), as well as a member of the German Sustainability Council (RNE), the steering committee of the German Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), and the board of directors of the German Climate Consortium (DKK).
Groups
Blog Posts
Education:
- 1996 PhD in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology
- 1993 Master of Science in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology
- 1991 Bachelor of Science in Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology Professional Experience:
- 2011 - present Scientific Director Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) Potsdam, Germany
- 2013 - present Honorary Professor, Institute for Environmental Sciences and Geography, University of Potsdam
- 2015 - 2018 Managing Scientific Director Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Potsdam, Germany
- 2009 - 2010 Interim Professor (Vertretungsprofessor) for Meteorology Institute for Physics of the Atmosphere, University of Mainz (on leave from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry)
- 2006 - 2011 Research Group Leader Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany
- 2000 - 2005 Junior Research Group Leader (Nachwuchsgruppenleiter) Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany
- 1996 - 2000 Post-Doctoral Researcher Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany
CV Download:
- Atmospheric science, especially mitigating the impacts of short-lived, climate-forcing pollutants (SLCPs)
- Potential impacts, uncertainties and risks of Climate Geoengineering
- The relationship between mindsets, mindfulness, spirituality and sustainability
Publications at the RIFS
Publications prior to joining the RIFS
- Lawrence, M. G., and J. Lelieveld, Atmospheric pollutant outflow from southern Asia: A review, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 10, 11017-11096, 2010.
- Burrows, S. M., W. Elbert, M. G. Lawrence, and U. Pöschl, Bacteria in the global atmosphere: Part I - Review and synthesis of literature data for different ecosystems, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9, 9263-9280, 2009.
- Burrows, S. M., T. Butler, P. Jöckel, H. Tost, A. Kerkweg, U. Pöschl, and M. G. Lawrence, Bacteria in the global atmosphere: Part II - Modelling of emissions and transport between different ecosystems, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9, 9281-9297, 2009.
- Butler, T. M., and M. G. Lawrence, The influence of megacities on global atmospheric chemistry: a modelling study, Env. Chem., 6, 219-225, doi:10.1071/EN08110, 2009.
- Lawrence, M. G., and M. Salzmann, On interpreting studies of the effects of tracer transport by deep cumulus convection on atmospheric chemistry, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 6037-6050, 2008.
- Butler, T. M., M. G. Lawrence, B. Gurjar, J. van Aardenne, M. Schultz , J. Lelieveld, The representation of emissions from megacities in global emissions inventories, Atmos. Env., 42, 703-719, DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2007.09.060, 2008.
- Lelieveld, J., T. M. Butler, J. Crowley, T. Dillon, H. Fischer, L. Ganzeveld, H. Harder, D. Kubistin, M.G. Lawrence, M. Martinez, D. Taraborrelli, and J. Williams, Atmospheric oxidation capacity sustained by a tropical forest, Nature, 452, 737-740, 2008.
- Rayfuse, R., M. G. Lawrence and K. M. Gjerde, Ocean Fertilisation and Climate Change: The need to regulate emerging high seas uses, Int. J. Marine and Coastal Law, 23, 297-326, 2008.
- Lawrence, M. G., T. M. Butler, J. Steinkamp, B. R. Gurjar, and J. Lelieveld, Regional pollution potentials of megacities and other major population centers, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 7, 3969-3987, 2007.
- Lawrence, M. G., The geoengineering dilemma: to speak or not to speak? Clim. Change, 77, 245-248, DOI: 10.1007/s10584-006-9131-5, 2006.
- von Kuhlmann, R., and M. G. Lawrence, The impact of ice uptake of nitric acid on atmospheric chemistry, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 6, 225-235, 2006.
- Lawrence, M. G., The relationship between relative humidity and the dew point temperature in moist air: A simple conversion and applications, Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 86, 225-233, 2005.
- Lawrence, M. G., and P. J. Rasch, Tracer transport in deep convective updrafts: plume ensemble versus bulk formulations, J. Atmos. Sci., 62, 2880-2894, 2005.
- Lawrence, M.G., Ø. Hov, M. Beekmann, J. Brandt, H. Elbern, H. Eskes, H. Feichter, and M. Takigawa, The chemical weather, Environ. Chem., 2, 6-8, 2005.
- von Kuhlmann, R., M. G. Lawrence, U. Pöschl, and P. J. Crutzen, Sensitivities in global scale modeling of isoprene, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 4, 1-17, 2004.
- Kunhikrishnan, T. and M. G. Lawrence, Sensitivity of NOx over the Indian Ocean to emissions from the surrounding continents: nonlinearities in atmsopheric chemistry responses, Geophys. Res. Lett., 31, doi: 10.1029/2004GL020210, 2004.
- Lawrence, M. G., P. J. Rasch, R. von Kuhlmann, J. Williams, H. Fischer, M. de Reus, J. Lelieveld, P. J. Crutzen, M. Schultz, P. Stier, H. Huntrieser, J. Heland, A. Stohl, C. Forster, H. Elbern, H. Jakobs, and R. R. Dickerson, Global chemical weather forecasts for field campaign planning: predictions and observations of large-scale features during MINOS, CONTRACE, and INDOEX, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 3, 267-289, 2003a.
- Lawrence, M. G., R. von Kuhlmann, M. Salzmann, and P. J. Rasch, The balance of effects of deep convective mixing on tropospheric ozone, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30, 1940, doi:10.1029/2003GL017644, 2003b.
- Lelieveld, J., H. Berresheim, S. Borrmann, P. J. Crutzen, F. J. Dentener, H. Fischer, J. Feichter, P. J. Flatau, J. Heland, R. Holzinger, R. Korrmann, M. G. Lawrence, Z. Levin, K. M. Markowicz, N. Mihalopoulos, A. Minikin, V. Ramanathan, M. de Reus, G. J. Roelofs, H. A. Scheeren, J. Sciare, H. Schlager, M. Schultz, P. Siegmund, B. Steil, E. G. Stephanou, P. Stier, M. Traub, C. Warneke, J. Williams, and H. Ziereis, Global air pollution crossroads over the Mediterranean, Science, 298, 794-799, 2002.
- Lawrence, M. G., Side effects of oceanic iron fertilization, Science, 297, 1993, 2002.
- Lawrence, M. G., Evaluating trace gas sampling strategies with assistance from a global 3D photochemical model: Case studies for CEPEX and NARE O3 profiles, Tellus, 53B, 22-39, 2001.
- Lawrence, M. G., P. J. Jöckel, and R. von Kuhlmann, What does the global mean OH concentration tell us? Atmos. Chem. Phys., 1, 37-49, 2001.
- Lal, S. and M. G. Lawrence, Elevated mixing ratios of surface ozone over the Arabian Sea, Geophys. Res. Lett., 28, 1487-1490, 2001.
- Lelieveld, J., P. J. Crutzen, V. Ramathan, M. O. Andreae, C. A. M. Brenninkmeijer, T. Campos, G. R. Cass, R. R. Dickerson, H. Fischer, J. A. de Gouw, A. Hansel, A. Jefferson, D. Kley, A. T. J. de Laat, S. Lal, M. G. Lawrence, J. M. Lobert, O. L. Mayol-Bracero, A. P. Mitra, T. Novakov, S. J. Oltmans, K. A. Prather, T. Reiner, H. Rodhe, H. A. Scheeren, D. Sikka and J. Williams, The Indian Ocean Experiment: Widespread Air Pollution from South and Southeast Asia, Science, 291, 1031-1036, 2001.
- Crutzen, P. J. and M. G. Lawrence, The impact of precipitation scavenging on the transport of trace gases: A 3-dimensional model sensitivity study, J. Atmos. Chem., 37, 81-112, 2000.
- Lawrence, M. G., P. J. Crutzen, P. J. Rasch, B. E. Eaton and N. M. Mahowald, A model for studies of tropospheric photochemistry: Description, Global Distributions, and Evaluation, J. Geophys. Res., 104, 26245-26277, 1999a.
- Lawrence, M. G., and P. J. Crutzen, Influence of NOx emissions from ships on tropospheric photochemistry and climate, Nature, 402, 167-170, 1999.
- Lawrence, M. G., and P. J. Crutzen, The impact of cloud particle gravitational settling on soluble trace gas distributions, Tellus, 50b, 263-289, 1998.
- Lawrence, M. G., W. L. Chameides, P. S. Kasibhatla, H. Levy, II and W. Moxim, Lightning and atmospheric chemistry: the rate of atmospheric NO production, 189-202, in Handbook of Atmospheric Electrodynamics, Vol. I, ed. Hans Volland, CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, 1995.
- Lawrence, M. G., An empirical analysis of the strength of the phytoplankton-dimethylsulfide-cloud-climate feedback cycle, J. Geophys. Res., 98, 20663-20673, 1993.
- June 1, 2017, Air Pollution in Nepal: Background and Considerations, SusKat Round Table, Kathmandu, Nepal
- May 15, 2017, Why black carbon and why now?, Side Event "Climate and development benefits of black carbon mitigation", COP22-23 Intersessional, Bonn, Germany
- January 31, 2017, What does Physics tell us about the possibilities of achieving the Paris Agreement climate goals?, Physics Colloquium, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany
- November 16, 2016, Actions on Near-Term Climate Mitigation to Protect Air Quality, Achieve the Paris Climate Goals and the SDGs, COP22 Side Event, Marrakech, Morocco
- November 15, 2016, Insights from the IASS, Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, OCP Conference on Industries 4.0 and Climate Change, COP22, Marrakech, Morocco
- September 1, 2016, Climate Engineering und Erdgestaltung - Wie gestaltet die Menschheit ihre neue Rolle im Erdsystem?, CE-Dialog, VDW
- July 4, 2016, Proposals for Climate Engineering: Potentials, Limitations, Uncertainties and Risks, EMBL Forum on Science & Society, Heidelberg, Germany
- June 22, 2016, Eingriffe in das Klima: Ansätze, Unsicherheiten und Risiken, Forschungsgespräche, IHK
- Climate Engineering by Carbon Dioxide Removal, EXPECT Open Session, Oslo, Norway
- May 26, 2016, Short-Lived Climate-forcing Pollutants (SLCPs) in South Asia: The Potential of Mitigation in the Brick Sector, UNEA brick event, Nairobi, Kenya
- May 10, 2016, Eingriffe in das Klima: Ansätze, Unsicherheiten und Risiken, Fachgespräch, SWP Berlin
- March 7, 2016, Key Governance and Related Results in the European Transdisciplinary Assessment of Climate Engineering (EuTRACE), FCEA Workshop, Washington, DC, USA
- February 23, 2016, Reducing air pollution to save lives and combat climate change in South Asia, SAARC Symposium, Kathmandu, Nepal
- February 22, 2016, Air pollution: a major environmental and societal problem in Nepal, Kathmandu Symposium, Kathmandu, Nepal
- February 2, 2016, Air Quality and Climate Change: What Does Science Tell Us About "SLCPs"?, DUH Workshop on "Climate and Health - Reducing SLCPs in the light of Paris' results"
- December 4, 2015, Air pollution and climate change: approaches for policy integration, COP21, Paris, France
- December 3, 2015, Short-Lived Climate-forcing Pollutants (SLCPs) in (South) Asia: Science, Impacts and Action, IGES Side Event, UNFCCC COP-21, Paris, France
- November 23, 2015, Große Wirkungen, hohe Risiken: Welchen Beitrag - wenn überhaupt - können Climate Engineering bei der Eindämmung des Klimawandels haben?, DMG Fachgespräch, Berlin, Germany
- November 19, 2015, Eingriffe in das Klima: Ansätze, Unsicherheiten und Risiken, CE-Dialog, DBU, Osnabrück, Germany
- October 29, 2015, Air Quality and Climate Change in the Context of Regional and Global Sustainable Development, MPI for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
- September 17, 2015, Air Quality and Climate Change in the Context of Regional and Global Sustainable Development, KAST Symposium on „Fine Particles: Cause, Impact and Mitigation", Seoul, South Korea
- September 2, 2015, Air Quality and Climate Change in the Context of Regional and Global Sustainable Development, Zentrum für Forschungsentwicklung, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
- July 22, 2015, Climate Engineering: Interdisciplinary Research and Stakeholder Engagement at the IASS, GeoMIP Workshop Dinner Talk, Boulder, CO, USA
- June 11, 2015, (Southern) Asian Pollution Outflow: A Historical Perspective, ACAM Training School, Bangkok
- May 24, 2015, Harmony with Nature and Harmony among Humans: Challenges for the Anthropocene, Global Youth Summit, Tutzing, Germany
- May 18, 2015, Luft - Klima - Rad - frischer Wind in einem bekannten Thema, 4. Nationaler Radverkehrskongress, Potsdam, Germany
- May 16, 2015, Climate Engineering: Hope or Hubris... or the Advent of the Anthropocene 2.0?, EFSRE Conference, Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany March 26, 2015, Atmospheric Pollution, Climate Change, and some „Crazy Ideas", MPI for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany
- April 27, 2015, Harmony with Nature and Harmony among Humans in the Anthropocene, UN General Assembly Dialogue on Harmony with Nature, New York, USA *F ebruary 24, 2015, What's in the name? The tale of SLCPs, Brick Kiln Symposium, Kathmandu, Nepal
- January 22, 2015, To boo or not taboo: Are Discussions and Research on Climate Engineering in the Anthropocene a Moral Hazard, or a Moral Imperative?, Mainz Moral Meeting, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany
- 2010/11 Statewide Teaching Prize (Landeslehrpreis) Rheinland-Pfalz University of Mainz
- 2009/10 Teaching Prize (Lehrpreis) in Physics, Mathematics and Informatics, University of Mainz
- 2000-2005 German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) AFO2000 program, Junior Research Group Grant for "Southern Asian Photochemistry and Impacts of the Redistribution of Emissions", SAPHIRE (Junior Research Group Leader)
- 1992-1995 Graduate Fellowship, US National Science Foundation
- 1991-1995 President's Fellowship, Georgia Institute of Technology
- 1987-1991 President's Scholarship, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Member of the German Council for Sustainable Development (since 2023)
- German Climate Consortium (DKK), Member of the General Assembly (since 2018) and Member of the Board (since 2021)
- REACH (Resilience to Environmental Change and Emerging Health), Member of the International Advisory Panel (since 2021)
- Bürgerrat Klimaschutz, Member of the Curatorium (since 2020)
- Wissenschaftsplattform Nachhaltigkeit 2030, Co-Chair (since 2020)
- Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), Scientific Advisory Board (since 2020)
- Advisor to the University of Nepal Planning Group (since 2019)
- Scientific Advisor for the Interfaith Liaison Committee to the UNFCCC
- Member of the extended Klimarat of the city of Potsdam (2018 – 2019)
- Sustainable Development Solutions Network German Chapter (SDSN Germany), Member of the Steering Committee (since 2016)
- Forum for Climate Engineering Assessment, Member of the Advisory Board (since 2016)
- Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Project (GeoMIP), Member of the Steering Committee (since 2014)
- Geo.X (network of geoscience research centers in the Berlin/Potsdam region), Member of the Curatorium (since 2014)
- International Commission on Atmospheric Chemistry and Global Pollution (iCACGP), Member (2002 – 2010 and since 2014)
- Earth System Research Partnership (ESRP) of the Max Planck Society, Associated Member (since 2013)
- ProWissen (science communication and action network in Potsdam), Member of the Curatorium (since 2011)
- International Global Atmospheric Chemistry program (IGAC), Member of the Scientific Steering Committee (2010 – 2018, co-chair from 2015 – 2018)
- UNEP/ABC (United Nations Environment Program / Atmospheric Brown Clouds project), Member of the Steering Committee (2006 – 2015)
- SCIAMACHY (instrument on the EnviSat satellite), Member of the Steering Group (1999 – 2011)
- Member of the Advisory Board of the Journal One Earth (since 2018)
- Member of the Advisory Board of the Journal Advanced Sustainability Systems (since 2016)
- Board of Directors and founding member of Climanosco (since 2015)
- Associate Editor of Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (2000 – 2008)
- Member of the Editorial Board of the Journal Atmospheric Environment (2001 – 2004)
