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Julia Steinberger

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Julia Steinberger
Steinberger in 2023
Born
Julia K. Steinberger

1974 (age 51–52)[1]
Geneva[2]
EducationCollège de Saussure
Brown University (MS)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD)
Scientific career
FieldsSocial ecology
Ecological economics[3]
WorkplacesUniversity of Leeds
University of Lausanne
University of Zurich
University of Klagenfurt
ThesisProgress towards high precision measurements on ultracold metastable hydrogen and trapping deuterium (2004)
Thomas Greytak
Daniel Kleppner[1]
Websiteprofjuliasteinberger.wordpress.com

Julia K. Steinberger (born 1974) is a professor of societal impacts of climate change at the University of Lausanne.[4] She studies the relationship between resource use and societal performance.[5] She is an author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report, contributing to the report's discussion of climate change mitigation pathways.[6]

Education and early life

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Steinberger is the daughter of Nobel laureate in Physics Jack Steinberger.[7] She is the half-sister of musical instrument and industrial designer Ned Steinberger.[8]

She studied science at the Collège de Saussure in Switzerland, where she was awarded the de Saussure prize in 1993.[citation needed] Steinberger moved to the United States for her graduate degree, working at Brown University on the cosmic microwave background.[9]

She earned her PhD studying ultracold atoms at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She worked in the centre for ultracold atoms with Thomas Greytak and Daniel Kleppner,[10] developing new ways to trap ultracold hydrogen and deuterium.[11][12] During graduate school Steinberger was a member of the MIT Social Justice Cooperative.[13][14][15]

Career and research

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Steinberger was a postdoctoral fellow in 2006-2007 at the University of Lausanne with Suren Erkman and Dominique Bourgand, then at the University of Zurich working alongside Claudia R. Binder.[10][16][17] Steinberger was appointed Senior Researcher at the University of Klagenfurt Institute of Social Ecology in 2007.[18][19][5]

She joined the University of Leeds as an associate professor in ecological economics in 2011.[20][21] She is a member of the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy (CCCEP).[22] On 1 August 2020, Steinberger joined the University of Lausanne as a full professor on the social impact of climate change.[17]

Steinberger is a co-investigator of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)'s iBUILD (Infrastructure BUsiness models, valuation and Innovation for Local Delivery).[23][24]

Steinberger is the leader of the Leverhulme Trust project "Living Well Within Limits".[25][21] The project investigates the biophysical requirements of human well-being and the influence of social provisioning on associated resource levels. The project also looks to understand how the world's limited resources could be used to preserve human well-being.[26] To achieve this, Steinberger believes it is necessary to understand what the requirements are for well-being and the context surrounding international inequality.[27]

Her research considers the relationships between the use of resources (energy, materials, and emission of greenhouse gases) and performance of societies (wellbeing and economic output).[5][28] She is interested in identifying new development pathways toward a low carbon society.[29]

Steinberger has shown that the greenhouse gas emissions of global cities depend on the relation between geophysical and technical factors.[30] She has also investigated the textile chain,[31] food waste,[32] and materials use.[33][34]

Steinberger has studied how humanity can maintain a good quality of life without damaging the planet. She argues that to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the world must move away from growth and toward an economic model that promotes sustainability and equity.[35] Steinberger and her colleagues visualise the relationship between national performance in several environmental sustainability indicators and social thresholds for a 'good life'.[36][37] She was one of 238 academics who called for the European Union to limit economic growth and instead promote stability and wellbeing.[38]

In 2020, environmental journalist Roger Harrabin reported on her research on the responsibility of the rich for climate change.[39]

Steinberger supports the work of Greta Thunberg and the School Strike for Climate movement.[40] She was a lead author for Working Group 3 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment Report .[41] She was also a lead author on the urbanisation knowledge module of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis Global Energy Assessment.[42] She is on the Future Earth Systems of Sustainable Consumption and Production Knowledge-Action Network's Political Economy Working Group.[43]

In October 2022, Steinberger participated in a road blockage in Bern with the Swiss ecological movement Renovate Switzerland, gluing her hand to the pavement alongside five other people.[44]

Ten weeks into the second Trump presidency, Steinberger wrote in The Guardian that humanity faces unprecedented threats and that "we need an appropriate name for this new era of fossil and tech bros accelerating attacks on democracy and the planet: cataclysm capitalism."[45] She argues that this new phase builds on neoliberalism but is indifferent to a deteriorating economy. Steinberger outlines three cornerstones for a successful resistance: understanding of the destructive powers, collective organising, and strategic positive response action.[45]

References

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  1. 1 2 Steinberger, Julia K. (2004). Progress towards high precision measurements on ultracold metastable hydrogen and trapping deuterium (PhD thesis). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. hdl:1721.1/28649. OCLC 655586822. Free access icon
  2. ↑ Julia K. Steinberger. Curriculum Vitae, 2011 (PDF, Retrieved 14 October 2022.)
  3. ↑ Julia Steinberger publications indexed by Google Scholar Edit this at Wikidata
  4. ↑ "Professor Julia K. Steinberger". Google Scholar. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 "Julia Steinberger | Presentation". Institute of Geography and Sustainability - FGSE Unil. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  6. ↑ Riahi, K., R. Schaeffer, J. Arango, K. Calvin, C. Guivarch, T. Hasegawa, K. Jiang, E. Kriegler, R. Matthews, G.P. Peters, A. Rao, S. Robertson, A.M. Sebbit, J. Steinberger, M. Tavoni, D.P. van Vuuren (2022), "Mitigation Pathways Compatible with Long-term Goals", in P.R. Shukla, J. Skea, R. Slade, A. Al Khourdajie, R. van Diemen, D. McCollum, M. Pathak, S. Some, P. Vyas, R. Fradera, M. Belkacemi, A. Hasija, G. Lisboa, S. Luz, J. Malley (ed.), Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Cambridge University Press, doi:10.1017/9781009157926.005, hdl:10568/127324{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ Gatignon, Lau (5 July 2023). "A tribute to a great physicist". CERN Courier. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  8. ↑ "Jack Steinberger". The Nobel Prize. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  9. ↑ Steinberger, Julia (October 2003). "TFBCON2003 (Students): Julia Steinberger '97". Brown Department of Mathematics. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  10. 1 2 Steinberger, Julia K. (2004). Progress towards high precision measurements on ultracold metastable hydrogen and trapping deuterium (Ph.D. thesis). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. hdl:1721.1/28649.
  11. ↑ "Ultracold Hydrogen Group Personal". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  12. ↑ Johnson, Cort; Matos, Lia; Newman, Bonna; Steinberger, Julia; vant, Kendra; Yi, Peng; Ueno, Tomohiro; Willmann, Lorenz; Greytak, Thomas (2003). "Developments with Ultracold Hydrogen". APS Division of Atomic. 34: D1.067. Bibcode:2003APS..DMP.D1067J.
  13. ↑ Maheshwari, Richa (5 February 2002). "MIT Student Groups Take Petition to Vest" (PDF). The Tech. Vol. 122, no. 1. p. 25.
  14. ↑ "Michelle Povinelli: Adventures in Activism". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  15. ↑ Cunningham, Bill. "'Security' Concerns Trump Academic Freedom at Commencement". The Thistle. Vol. 16, no. 1. Archived from the original on 7 April 2019.
  16. ↑ "Julia K. Steinberger Homepage". public.julias.promessage.com. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  17. 1 2 "Julia Steinberger, professeure ordinaire". Université de Lausanne (in Swiss French). 8 July 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  18. ↑ "IFF Institute of Social Ecology". Social Ecology Vienna. Archived from the original on 4 July 2010.
  19. ↑ "Julia Steinberger". orcid.org. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  20. ↑ "Julia Steinberger". Bluedot Festival. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  21. 1 2 Capstick, Stuart; Steinberger, Julia K. (30 July 2020). "Climate denial hasn't gone away – here's how to spot arguments for delaying climate action". The Conversation. doi:10.64628/ab.3gt37y6ph. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  22. ↑ "Julia Steinberger". Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  23. ↑ "Dr. Julia Steinberger". iBUILD - Newcastle University. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  24. ↑ University of Leeds (19 May 2017). Valuing Infrastructure Conference 2017 - Julia Steinberger. Retrieved 30 May 2026 – via YouTube.
  25. ↑ "Dr Julia Steinberger". Living Well Within Limits [LiLi]. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  26. ↑ "Homepage of the LiLi Leverhulme Research Leadership Award Project". Living Well Within Limits [LiLi]. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  27. ↑ "EESS talk on 'Well-being and climate change mitigation: the Living Well Within Limits approach'". Memento EPFL. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  28. ↑ Steinberger, Julia K. (31 January 2014). "Growth and sustainability: When can enough be enough?" (PDF). University of Lancaster. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2019.
  29. ↑ "LIDA Seminar: The answer to life, the universe and everything?". Consumer Data Research Centre. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  30. ↑ Kennedy, Christopher; Steinberger, Julia; Gasson, Barrie; Hansen, Yvonne; Hillman, Timothy; Havránek, Miroslav; Pataki, Diane; Phdungsilp, Aumnad; Ramaswami, Anu (2009). "Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Global Cities". Environmental Science & Technology. 43 (19): 7297–7302. Bibcode:2009EnST...43.7297K. doi:10.1021/es900213p. ISSN 0013-936X. PMID 19848137.
  31. ↑ Steinberger, Julia; Friot, Damien; Jolliet, Olivier; Erkman, Suren (2009). "A spatially explicit life cycle inventory of the global textile chain". The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 14 (5): 443–455. Bibcode:2009IJLCA..14..443S. doi:10.1007/s11367-009-0078-4. ISSN 0948-3349. S2CID 153975438.
  32. ↑ Papargyropoulou, Effie; Lozano, Rodrigo; K. Steinberger, Julia; Wright, Nigel; Ujang, Zaini bin (2014). "The food waste hierarchy as a framework for the management of food surplus and food waste" (PDF). Journal of Cleaner Production. 76: 106–115. Bibcode:2014JCPro..76..106P. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.04.020. ISSN 0959-6526. S2CID 154562712. Closed access icon
  33. ↑ Steinberger, Julia K.; Krausmann, Fridolin; Eisenmenger, Nina (2010). "Global patterns of materials use: A socioeconomic and geophysical analysis". Ecological Economics. 69 (5): 1148–1158. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2009.12.009. ISSN 0921-8009. Closed access icon
  34. ↑ Weisz, Helga; Steinberger, Julia K (2010). "Reducing energy and material flows in cities". Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. 2 (3): 185–192. Bibcode:2010COES....2..185W. doi:10.1016/j.cosust.2010.05.010. ISSN 1877-3435. Closed access icon
  35. ↑ Steinberger, Julia K.; William F. Lamb; Fanning, Andrew L.; O’Neill, Daniel W. (2018). "A good life for all within planetary boundaries" (PDF). Nature Sustainability. 1 (2): 88–95. Bibcode:2018NatSu...1...88O. doi:10.1038/s41893-018-0021-4. ISSN 2398-9629. S2CID 169679920. Closed access icon
  36. ↑ "Home". A Good Life For All Within Planetary Boundaries. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  37. ↑ "About". A Good Life For All Within Planetary Boundaries. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  38. ↑ Letters (16 September 2018). "The EU needs a stability and wellbeing pact, not more growth". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  39. ↑ Harrabin, Roger (16 March 2020). "Climate change: The rich are to blame, international study finds". BBC News. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  40. ↑ Steinberger, Julia (17 February 2019). "Gaslighting the climate-striking students". Medium. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  41. ↑ "AR6 - Mitigation of Climate Change (AR6-WG3)". Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  42. ↑ "Urban Energy Systems" (PDF). IIASA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2019.
  43. ↑ "People". Systems of Sustainable Consumption and Production. Future Earth. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  44. ↑ Ongweso, Edward Jr (12 October 2022). "'We don't have much time left': co-author of UN climate report detained at climate protest". Vice. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
  45. 1 2 Steinberger, Julia (2 April 2025). "Trump and Musk have ushered in the era of cataclysm capitalism. But I have a plan to counter it". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
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