Highlights of the Summer Research Forum 2024

Images by Lena Schlegel.

Another semester is over, and we can look back on a multitude of wonderful projects and events at the RCC, with one of the main events being our Summer Semester Research Forum 2024, which took place at the listed Senatssaal in the main building of LMU.

The Research Forum opened with a warm welcome by Director Christof Mauch and Managing Director Lena Engel.

Lena Engel headed the first panel on postdoctoral research currently conducted at the RCC. Judith Bopp gave us a short overview over her project “Exploring Health–Nutrition–Ecology Relationships and Household Resilience through Organic-Farming Practices among Thai Farmers,” which she also discussed in a recent contribution to the RCC blog; Seeing the Woods. Stephen Milder continued with “Everybody’s Talking about the Weather,” and Anna-Maria Walter presented her project “Growing Glaciers.”

Spiked with an appearance of the newly formed Landhaus choir—the true highlight of this research forum—the second panel allowed a glimpse behind the curtains of the Landhaus and into the research of our current cohort of fellows. It was moderated by Landhaus Manager Moremi Zeil.

Panel three was centered around the multidiciplinary project Speak4Nature and the fellows that are currently undertaking their secondment at the RCC. Our new Project Coordinator Jonatan Palmblad moderated the panel and welcomed on stage Nuria del Viso Pabon of FUHEM and Gonzalo Luis Corti of the National University of the Littoral (UNL). 

In the half-time break, everyone had the chance to enjoy a delicious—and colorful—lunch together.

The program continued with a brief introduction by the RCC Alumni Association. Thereafter, Christof Mauch took the lead on the next panel, ready with a little story about each of the four visiting scholars, Alessandro Agosta, Leander Diener, Apoorva Heroor, and Erdentuya Urtnast, who then went on to present their current research.

The next panel, moderated by Codirector Sonja Dümpelmann, was centered around our ProEnviron progam. Dorothea Hutterer presented on “Complaints, Conflicts, Cattle Crisis, and Map Creation” in a Bavarian context. This was followed by Sevgi Mutlu Sirakova’s talk on “Connected Food.” And Andrei Vinogradov rounded off this panel with his doctoral research “In Dire Straits” about water pollution and environmental policy in Russia. Dorothea and Andrei both successfully defended their doctoral theses just a few weeks ago.

The last panel of the day belonged to the final projects of our Environmental Studies Certificate Program and was led by the coordinator of the program, Susanne Unger. Twelve students took us on a research journey from the peaks of Patagonia through the Steigerwald right back to dumpster divers in the heart of Munich.

The forum ended in a festive awards ceremony. Sonja Dümpelmann presented Dorothea Hutterer and Andrei Vinogradov with their ProEnviron certificates and Susanne Unger honored the certificate-program students.

To allow the forum to end slowly and in good company, everyone was invited to a farewell coffee and cake back at the Speerträgerbereich.