Julia K. Steinberger (born 1974) is Professor of

Ecological Economics Ecological economics, bioeconomics, ecolonomy, eco-economics, or ecol-econ is both a transdisciplinary and an interdisciplinary field of academic research addressing the interdependence and coevolution of human economy, economies and natural ec ...

at the

University of Lausanne The University of Lausanne (UNIL; ) in Lausanne, Switzerland, was founded in 1537 as a school of Protestant theology, before being made a university in 1890. The university is the second-oldest in Switzerland, and one of the oldest universities ...

. She studies the relationships between the use of resources and performance of societies. She is an author of the

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations. Its job is to "provide governments at all levels with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies". The World Met ...

(IPCC) 6th Assessment Report, contributing to the report's discussion of

climate change mitigation Climate change mitigation (or decarbonisation) is action to limit the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that cause climate change. Climate change mitigation actions include energy conservation, conserving energy and Fossil fuel phase-out, repl ...

pathways.

Education and early life

Steinberger, daughter of Nobel laureate in Physics

Jack Steinberger Jack Steinberger (born Hans Jakob Steinberger; May 25, 1921December 12, 2020) was a German-born American physicist noted for his work with neutrinos, the subatomic particles considered to be elementary constituents of matter. He was a recipient o ...

, studied science at the Collège de Saussure in Switzerland, where she was awarded the de Saussure prize in 1993. Steinberger moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

for her graduate degree, working at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

on the

cosmic microwave background The cosmic microwave background (CMB, CMBR), or relic radiation, is microwave radiation that fills all space in the observable universe. With a standard optical telescope, the background space between stars and galaxies is almost completely dar ...

. She earned her

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

studying

ultracold atom In condensed matter physics, an ultracold atom is an atom with a temperature near absolute zero. At such temperatures, an atom's quantum-mechanical properties become important, especially through what's known as a "superfluid", such as Superfl ...

s at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

. She worked in the centre for

s with

Thomas Greytak Thomas Greytak is the Lester Wolfe Professor of Physics, emeritus, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His areas of research include experimental low temperature condensed matter physics and superfluid systems. Currently, he is workin ...

and Daniel Kleppner, developing new ways to trap ultracold hydrogen and

deuterium Deuterium (hydrogen-2, symbol H or D, also known as heavy hydrogen) is one of two stable isotopes of hydrogen; the other is protium, or hydrogen-1, H. The deuterium nucleus (deuteron) contains one proton and one neutron, whereas the far more c ...

. The comparison of hyperfine splitting in the ground and excited state is expected to test

quantum electrodynamics In particle physics, quantum electrodynamics (QED) is the Theory of relativity, relativistic quantum field theory of electrodynamics. In essence, it describes how light and matter interact and is the first theory where full agreement between quant ...

. During graduate school Steinberger was a member of the

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

Social Justice Cooperative.

Research and career

Steinberger was a

postdoctoral A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

at the

and then the

University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...

, working alongside Claudia R. Binder. Steinberger was appointed Senior Researcher at the

University of Klagenfurt The University of Klagenfurt ( or ''Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt'', AAU) is a federal Austrian research university and the largest research and higher education institution in the States of Austria, state of Carinthia. It has its campus in ...

Institute of Social Ecology in 2007. 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). She is interested in identifying new development pathways toward a

low carbon A low-carbon economy (LCE) is an economy which absorbs as much greenhouse gas as it emits. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to human activity are the dominant cause of observed climate change since the mid-20th century. There are many proven ...

society. She joined the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

as an associate professor in ecological economics in 2011. She is a member of the

Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy The Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy (CCCEP) is a climate change research centre in England, which studies the economics of global warming. It is hosted jointly by the University of Leeds and the London School of Economics and Polit ...

(CCCEP). On 1 August 2020, Steinberger joined the

as a full professor on the social impact of climate change. Steinberger showed the

greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...

of global cities depends on the relation between geophysical and technical factors. She has also investigated the textile chain,

food waste The causes of food going uneaten are numerous and occur throughout the food system, during food production, production, food processing, processing, Food distribution, distribution, Grocery store, retail and food service sales, and Social clas ...

and materials use. Steinberger is a member of the

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is a British UK Research Councils, Research Council that provides government funding for grants to undertake research and postgraduate degrees in engineering and the physical scienc ...

(EPSRC) iBUILD (''Infrastructure BUsiness models, valuation and Innovation for Local Delivery''). Steinberger is the Principal Investigator on the

Leverhulme Trust The Leverhulme Trust () is a large national grant-making organisation in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1925 under the will of the 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), with the instruction that its resources should be used to cover ...

Project "Living Well Within Limits". The project investigates what the biophysical requirements are for human well-being, and the influence of social provisioning on the levels of resource associated with this. The project also looks to understand how the world's limited resources could be used to preserve human wellbeing. To achieve this, Steinberger believes it is necessary to define what a "good" life is, understand what the requirements are for wellbeing and the context surrounding international inequality. Steinberger has studied how humanity can maintain a good quality of life without damaging the planet. She argues that to achieve the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

(UN)

Sustainable Development Goals The ''2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development'', adopted by all United Nations (UN) members in 2015, created 17 world Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The aim of these global goals is "peace and prosperity for people and the planet" – wh ...

the world must move away from growth and toward an economic model that promotes sustainability and equity. Steinberger and colleagues visualised the relationship between national performance in several

environmental sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

indicators and social thresholds for a 'good life'. In 2020, environmental journalist

Roger Harrabin Roger Harrabin (born 28 March 1955) is a British journalist who was the BBC's energy and environment analyst until July 2022. He has broadcast on environmental issues since the 1980s and has won many awards in print, TV and radio. Aside from hi ...

reported on her research on the responsibility of the rich for climate change. Steinberger supports the work of

Greta Thunberg Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg (; born 3January 2003) is a Swedish climate activist, climate and political activist initially known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action to climate change mitigation, mitigate the effec ...

and the

school strike for climate Fridays for Future (FFF), also known as the School Strike for Climate ( ), is an international movement of school students who skip Friday classes to participate in demonstrations to demand climate change mitigation, action from political le ...

activists. She was one of 238 academics who called for the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

to limit economic growth and instead promote stability and wellbeing. Steinberger has been the Lead Author on the

6th Assessment Report for Working Group 3. She was also Lead Author on the Urbanisation knowledge module of the

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) is an independent International research institute located in Laxenburg, near Vienna in Austria, founded as an East-West scientific cooperation initiative during the Cold War. Th ...

(IIASA) Global Energy Assessment. She is on the Steering Committee of

Future Earth Future Earth is an international research program which aims to build knowledge about the environmental and human aspects of Global change, and to find solutions for sustainable development. It aims to increase the impact of scientific research o ...

. In October 2022, Steinberger participated at a road blockage in Bern with the Swiss ecological movement Renovate Switzerland, and glued her hand to the pavement alongside five other people. Ten weeks into the second Trump presidency, Steinberger writes in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' 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". She argues that this new phase builds on

neoliberalism Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pe ...

but is indifferent to a deteriorating economy. Steinberger outlines three cornerstones for a successful resistance, while observing that:

Personal life

Steinberger is the daughter of

and Cynthia Steinberger. She is the half-sister of musical instrument and industrial designer Ned Steinberger.

References

External links

Julia Steinberger's profile
at School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Julia K. Steinberger's profile
at

Google Scholar Google Scholar is a freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text or metadata of Academic publishing, scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines. Released in Beta release, beta in November 2004, th ...

Julia K. Steinberger's profile
at

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

Living Well Within Limits
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steinberger, Julia 1974 births Living people Swiss women academics 21st-century Swiss women scientists 21st-century Swiss scientists Swiss women physicists Climate change and society Academics of the University of Leeds Academic staff of the University of Lausanne Brown University alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Swiss people of German-Jewish descent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change lead authors