Highlights of the RCC Research Forum 2023

On Friday, 21 July 2023, the Rachel Carson Center (RCC) celebrated the end of the academic term with the biannual Research Forum. This year’s Research Forum additionally celebrated fourteen years of funding through the Käte Hamburger Kolleg from 2009 to 2023. The RCC community and numerous other RCC-affiliated, distinguished guests gathered to appropriately celebrate and introduce new research at the RCC.

LMU Vice President Francesca Biagini and Vice President of the Society of Fellows Rob Gioielli were among those who joined RCC Director Christof Mauch and Managing Director Lena Engel in welcoming the guests to the festivities. RCC Co-Director Helmuth Trischler and Christof Mauch paused for a moment to reminisce about the origins of the RCC as well as its growth and evolution since it was first founded in 2009. After explaining how the RCC will transition into the future with multiple programs, partnerships, and diverse sources of funding, incoming co-director Sonja Dümpelmann expanded upon this vision with three core concepts she would like the RCC to embody: reciprocal relationships, freiraum, and excellence. Shortly thereafter, Francesca Mezzenzana and her research group presented their project on children’s experiences of learning about the nonhuman world, and the Landhaus fellows gave short presentations on how their current research at the RCC benefits from living at the Landhaus.

After the mid-afternoon coffee break, the editorial and communications team presented the RCC’s publication projects and outreach work as well as the vision for the Environmental Writing Studio. Seven postdoctoral researchers introduced their work on which they are currently working at the RCC. Director of Graduate Programs Gesa Lüdecke introduced ten students from the Environmental Studies Certificate Program (ESCP) who presented their final projects. Among these projects were a documentary film, a sustainability guide, and a podcast about environmental injustices in Chicago. More information on the students’ final projects can be found on the ESCP’s website.

The 2023 RCC Research Forum drew to an end with the Awards Ceremony, which gave special thanks to Gesa Lüdecke for her steadfast commitment to the graduate programs and her dedication to the RCC. Nakul Heroor, speaker of the ProEnviron Doctoral Program, received the ProEnviron Award for strengthening community amongst the doctoral candidates. Finally, the RCC community celebrated the passing of the torch to Sonja Dümpelmann, the new co-director alongside Christof Mauch.

The evening was rounded out with dinner in the foyer of LMU’s main building and live music by the Ukrainian band KoloYolo.